The photographer who captured some of the most heart-wrenching images of the September 11 terrorist attacks called on Americans to come together like they did that day as he revisited the scene to mark the 20th anniversary of the tragedy.
In pictures exclusively shared with DailyMail.com, Phil Penman returned to Ground Zero in New York City last month to photograph the very same streets and show how the city has recovered and moved on from that horrific day.
Penman recalled how the immense tragedy brought the city and country together and said he fears this unity has been lost over the last two decades.
'Every photo from that day shows someone helping someone else, people with their arms around each other,' he told DailyMail.com.
'The way the country and New York came together was amazing to watch.
'If we look back we see how people worked together, how great tragedy brought a great coming together of people.'
Now, 20 years later, Penman said America needs to remember that unity and 'bring back the togetherness of 9/11': 'It's very important we don't forget history for these very reasons.'
THEN: The view from West Broadway in Soho shows smoke billowing from the Twin Towers after they were struck by airplanes in 2001. NOW: The view from the same spot shows One World Trade Center towering over the city
THEN: Survivors covered in dust help each other away from the World Trade Center, walking through Park Row which is littered in documents and papers blown from offices in the towers. NOW: Cars drive along the road at Park Row
THEN: From the corner of West Broadway and Canal Street, pedestrians stare up at the sky as smoke rises from the North and South Towers. NOW: One World Trade Center is seen above the tops of buildings at the corner of West Broadway and Canal Street
THEN: The moment the South Tower collapses is seen from Broadway while the burning North Tower is still standing. NOW: Sky fills the space where the Twin Towers once stood, while the new One World Trade Center rises to the right. The spire of St. Paul's chapel rises into the sky 20 years apart
Photographer Phil Penman (pictured) returned to Ground Zero in New York City in 2021 to photograph the very same streets and areas where he captured some of the most harrowing images of September 11 2001
Penman was in New York on September 11 2001 when he learned that a plane had flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
The photographer, who had moved to the US from Dorset, England, just one year earlier, rushed to Lower Manhattan with his camera.
The pictures he captured over the next few hours sent shockwaves around the world and continue to serve as some of the most harrowing reminders of what was the darkest day in American history.
Smoke is seen pouring out of the gaping holes in the Twin Towers where the planes struck the skyscrapers.
Plumes of debris billow into the air as the towers collapse, claiming the lives of those still inside.
In the streets of the city, dust and rubble blankets cars, sidewalks and roads, while shocked first responders and New Yorkers clamor to help strangers escape the disaster zone.
Two decades on, Penman retraced his footsteps from that horrific day in 2001 and captured the city in 2021, showing the areas in and around Ground Zero both then and now.
Photos show how One World Trade Center - dubbed the Freedom Tower - rose from the rubble, transforming the city's skyline and symbolizing the nation's rebirth and resilience after the tragedy.
As well as the tower - which is now the tallest building in the US - the new World Trade Center complex includes four smaller skyscrapers and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, along with the adjacent Oculus - a train station, plaza and shopping mall designed with the inspiration of a dove taking flight.
The sky previously filled by the Twin Towers remains poignantly vacant in the images, as the ground once occupied by the towers has instead been transformed into memorial pools engraved with the names of victims.
New Yorkers with buggies are now seen strolling past Fulton Street subway station, in the same spot that office workers covered head to toe in dust were seen walking away from the towers after surviving the attacks.
Where documents blown out of the offices once carpeted the streets, young people now ride their bikes and pedestrians in COVID-19 face masks stroll along sidewalks against the backdrop of the Oculus.
THEN: Plumes of debris and dust billows into the air as the South Tower collapses on the morning of September 11 2001. Dark smoke pours from the North Tower while St. Paul's chapel stands in the foreground
NOW: St. Paul's chapel still stands on Broadway in front of the spot where the World Trade Center stood. A poster on a lamppost shows a woman in a face mask - a reminder of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
THEN: From Park Row, smoke is seen pouring out of the Twin Towers after hijackers flew planes into the buildings. NOW: 3 World Trade Center is now seen standing to the left of where the Twin Towers once stood. The skyscraper is part of the rebuilding of the World Trade Center
THEN: Joseph Kelly (left), Srinath Jinadasa (center), and George Sleigh (right) walk past Fulton Street subway station away from the World Trade Center after the first Tower had fallen. NOW: A man and woman push buggies past Fulton Street subway street set against the backdrop of the Oculus - a train station, plaza and shopping mall whose design is inspired by a dove taking flight
THEN: New Yorkers run from a cloud of dust and debris on Park Row just after the first World Trade Center tower had fallen. NOW: The edge of One World Trade Center can be seen on a clear day from Park Row
Penman told DailyMail.com he has visited the area around Ground Zero roughly every five years over the last two decades.
'I've been going back and forth for the last 20 years seeing the progression of certain areas and how they have moved forward like the World Trade Center and the Oculus,' he said.
'Then there's other areas where nothing has really changed at all.'
Penman pointed to the J&R music store on Park Row that he ran inside for safety as the south tower collapsed before his eyes.
The iconic store was one of the first retailers in the area to reopen after 9/11. It closed for good in 2014 after 43 years of business.
'The store shut down after 9/11 and the space is still empty,' he said.
'There's also small things like road development. I was trying to match the roads and lampposts to my original
