9/11 Memorial Tribute Lights
The One World Trade Center is lit up with red, white, and blue as the "Tribute Lights" are turned on to remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks the day before the 10th anniversary, in New York Reuters

A day after white, commemorative ribbons drifted in a cool, late summer breeze amid words and memories honoring those killed on 9/11, the memorial plaza opened on Monday to the the public in New York.

The memorial was opened to attack victims' family members and others attending the commemoration service at Ground Zero on Sunday, the 10th anniversary of the attacks. The musem portion of the exhibit will open at the site next year.

Visitors to the memorial will find two large fountains and reflecting pools where the World Trade Center's twin towers once stood. The granite reflecting pools are open-topped tubes nearly an acre in size. The pools' walls are dark granite and surrounded by brass parapets engraved with nearly 3,000 names of those killed on Sept. 11 in New York, Washington, and Shanksville, Pa.

I see these fountains down here, and it's beautiful, Tom Frost, whose daughter was aboard United Flight 175 that crashed into the South Tower at the World Trade Center site, told ABC News on Monday. I know that this is a fitting tribute to all those who died that day.

The fountains are the largest man-made waterfalls in North America.

Three office towers are under construction. The entire project, including a transportation hub and shopping arcade that will connect the complex underground, won't be completed until near 2015.

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