September 11, 2026
Kristin Hunt/for PhillyVoice
'September 12th' will be on temporary display in 30th Street Station by the 'Spirit of Transportation' mural.
The newest art installation at 30th Street Station isn't on the main concourse, but it's still hard to miss. Right in front of the "Spirit of Transportation" mural sits a triangular display, each side covered in photographs of Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks. Bent pipes, smashed concrete and torn caution tape form a heap of rubble below — the kinds of items emergency responders would have seen at the site in 2001.
Jim Audley and Bill Keokosky would know. The longtime friends and creators of this memorial were there as volunteers, lending their help to clear the debris. When they got back home, they created "September 12th," a tribute that was displayed inside 30th Street Station in October 2001 and later traveled to Amtrak hubs across the country. It has returned in slightly altered form for one week to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Travelers can see it through Friday, Sept. 18.
According to Audley, a now retired civil engineer for Amtrak living near Media, the pair didn't set out to make art all those years ago. They just felt they had to do something after the 9/11 attacks, and caught a fireboat from New Jersey into New York to volunteer. Outfitted in respirators and steel-toed boots, they spent about three days on the bucket brigade, passing collected rubble by hand down the line at Ground Zero. On breaks, Keokosky took photographs with his Olympus point-and-shoot camera.
"After we had this experience, we decided we really wanted to let people know what it was like," Audley said. "What we found and what we saw and what we experienced. Because it was very moving to us and it made us feel very proud to be Americans, to be a part of this.
"It was not an easy thing to be a part of, but it was everyone working together to try to find people, to help people in these very dangerous situations."
Keokosky's photos — which he spliced into panoramic views of the scene — formed the basis of the memorial. He and Audley also scoured junkyards for discarded scraps that resembled the debris they saw in New York. Once it was all pieced together, Audley approached his employers about bringing the piece to the public.
Following its initial display in Philadelphia, "September 12th" popped up in Baltimore, Washington, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Oakland and Seattle from 2001-2003. Some people cried upon seeing it, Audley remembered. Others brought flowers or FDNY hats. Someone in Boston left a plush version of Sirius, the K-9 rescue dog that died when the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.
To bring the memorial back, Audley outfitted the structure with more lightweight beams to ease transport from his backyard. That's where it's lived since its national tour, despite discussions with the National Liberty Museum and 9/11 Memorial & Museum about acquiring it. Its weight and size, Audley acknowledged, make it a difficult sell. He and Keokosky were also burnt out after ferrying it around the country for two years.
"It just went on the shelf," Audley said.
Now that it's returned, he hopes the piece helps the public grieve and understand the events of 9/11, a process he believes is still ongoing.
"I think as time has evolved, people have begun to come to grips somewhat with this," Audley said. "And I think our country is still working it out. But this was something we just felt compelled to do, and I hope it's going to be a part of the solution for America to maintain its freedoms and its way of life and its culture without becoming victims of our own anger."
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