With two months to go before its scheduled opening, the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan will start taking reservations online on Monday morning 7/11/11.

The passes will be free but will be necessary to enter the memorial, which will open to the public on Sept. 12. The ceremony to unveil the memorial is scheduled for Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center and killed almost 3,000 people. But only members of the victims’ families will be allowed to visit the memorial that day.

Starting at 9 a.m. Monday, other people interested in visiting the memorial will be able to obtain passes for half-hour blocks of time through the memorial’s Web site, 911memorial.org. At the time printed on their passes, visitors will be cleared to join the line to enter the memorial’s security screening station. But the length of time each pass holder can spend on the memorial plaza will not be limited, said Joe Daniels, president of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

On Monday, the memorial will also open a telephone line for reservations for groups of 10 or more, Mr. Daniels said. And each day, a limited number of passes will be available to walk-up visitors at the 9/11 Memorial preview site a couple of blocks away at 20 Vesey Street, he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/nyregion/911-memorial-reservations-to-be-offered-on-web-site.html