In the southwest shadow of the Pentagon, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial honors the 184 people who died there on September 11, 2001. This year, for the 25th anniversary of the attack, the nonprofit that stewards the memorial hopes finally to launch a long-planned Visitor Education Center to enhance the project.
The Pentagon Memorial Fund, which maintains the site, has been trying to build such a center since the memorial’s completion in 2008. It’s taken 18 years, but the group says it now plans to break ground the week of September 11, 2026. “While the Pentagon Memorial is a place of reflection and a somber place,” says Joseph Kornhoff, the organization’s executive director, “it’s also a place of learning.”
These days, the memorial’s mission to “never forget” involves educating visitors who weren’t born when the attacks happened. Kornhoff says the memorial—which is free and open to the public 24-7—receives more than a million visitors annually but doesn’t have a facility that offers contextual information. For now, visitors can request a tour with a volunteer docent or download an audio tour for a self-directed walk-through.
The planned education center will include 12 interactive exhibits, concessions, a cafe and bookstore, restrooms, and an event space. A family-friendly area will provide information about 9/11 for children. New dedicated parking near the visitors’ center will cut short the half-mile trek most people currently make to reach the memorial from parking or the Metro.
So why has it taken so long for this to happen? Funding is one issue, of course. So far, the Pentagon Memorial Fund has raised just $16 million toward the estimated $100 million project; the hope is that it will receive another $30 million in private donations and $70 million in federal and state funding. Things have also been held up because the plan is part of a broader expansion of Arlington National Cemetery, a project that isn’t slated for completion until 2028. The bulk of construction on the visitors’ center can’t begin until then, so the groundbreaking this fall would largely be symbolic—and a tool to build interest and raise funds.
As September approaches, the organization will host awareness events, including a roundtable of family members and emergency responders from 9/11, a gala, and a golf tournament. Kornhoff is confident that after all the delay, the center will be a reality sooner rather than later. “Trying to build a building in Washington, DC, does not get done overnight,” he says, but “we are ready.”
This article appears in the March 2026 issue of Washingtonian.
Dara T. Mathis is a journalist and nonfiction writer who joined Washingtonian in Fall 2025 as an Editorial Fellow. A 2024 recipient of the American Mosaic Journalism Prize, she resides in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
