Eerie , haunted , sad . Those words are being used in connection with what some workers at the 9/11 Memorial Museum in Lower Manhattan have called the `` Angel of 9-11 '' -- an image some see in wreckage salvaged from the World Trade Center 's North Tower . Exposure to the elements over more than a decade sculpted what many viewers say is a human visage . The contorted beams were originally part of the first tower that was hit during the terrorist attacks early September 11 , 2001 . They have since been moved to the nearby National September 11 Memorial and Museum . Though the museum does not open to the public until spring 2014 , pictures of the 30-foot structure have elicited what some , in tweets , called `` stunned '' reactions . Some posted that it touched their hearts and that they believe it to be sacred . Others consider it a common type of optical illusion . But their skepticism was tempered with thoughtfulness . Michael Shermer , publisher of Skeptical Inquirer Magazine and author of the book `` The Believing Brain : From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies , '' is among the skeptics . He cited a phenomenon called `` patternicity '' -- the human tendency to find meaningful patterns in meaningless noise . And he credited the brain 's software for allowing to see a face on the metal . Anything that looks like it has two eyes and a mouth `` stimulates the area that recognizes faces , '' he told CNN in a telephone interview , citing such common examples as the man in the moon or a face in a cloud . A spokesman for the museum said he is aware of the symbolism of what some have detected . `` People often find meaning in tragedy , particularly in one as widely felt as the September 11 attacks , '' said Anthony Guido , communications manager for the museum , in a written statement . `` This impact steel is historically important to include in the museum as it will help tell the story of 9/11 to visitors from around the world . '' And the reactions of some of the workers add to that story .
Some people see an image in a piece of 9-11 wreckage at a yet-to-open museum . It is being called the `` Angel of 9-11 '' `` People often find meaning in tragedy , '' says museum spokesman .