9/11 Survivor Donates High Heels She Escaped 87 Floors In

The Nine West high heels in the glass case at the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum once were black, but time has faded them to gray. They're the shoes Joanne Capestro wore walking down 87 flights of stairs to escape the North Tower 25 years ago.

Capestro, who now lives in Bay Ridge, donated her shoes to the museum a decade ago. She visits them several times a year, drawn to this personal piece of history that represents the worst and best day of her life.

On September 11, 2001, the 39-year-old sales assistant was working on the 87th floor when Flight 11 crashed into the building at 8:46 a.m. The explosion rocked the tower so violently she thought it would topple into the river.

With ceiling tiles crashing down and glass walls shattering around her, Capestro and her coworkers found a staircase and started the long descent. One colleague, head trader Harry Ramos, stayed behind to help others and never made it out.

As she walked down, firefighters passed her going up. "You saw the fear on their faces," she recalled. "They knew what was going on."

Capestro reached the concourse level but fainted at the sight of debris. A police officer revived her with smelling salts and helped her to an escalator that led outside.

Just as she reached the street, the South Tower collapsed. Covered head to toe in white dust, she ran for her life toward St. Paul's Chapel two blocks away.

A priest pushed her under a parked car as debris rained down from the collapsing building. When she regained consciousness seconds later, he was standing over her praying the Hail Mary.

Photographer Phil Penman captured an iconic image of her that day, covered in dust alongside a coworker. Years later, Capestro reunited with Penman and hired him to photograph her wedding in 2018.

Sunny's Take

Capestro could have tried to forget September 11th. Instead, she chose to remember and help others do the same.

She still works in the financial district, just blocks from where the towers stood. She attends the memorial service every year and visits the museum regularly, always touching Harry Ramos's name on the reflecting pool.

"Some people don't like to come down to the 9/11 museum because they don't want to be reminded of it," she explained. "To me, this is a place of serenity."

Now a director at Oppenheimer & Co., Capestro has found her purpose in telling her story. She believes her survival gave her a responsibility to educate children born after the attacks and keep the memory alive for future generations.

"With the faith in God, I keep it close to my heart," said Capestro, who grew up attending Holy Family Church in Canarsie. "I know that God is looking out for me every single day."

Looking at her faded high heels through the museum glass, Capestro sees more than shoes. She sees a reminder that even on our darkest days, faith and courage can carry us through.