A unique Canadian memorial dedicated to the victims of the September 11 attacks was unveiled in New York on Friday.

The two glass tower models standing two and a half metres are inscribed with the names of the nearly 3,000 people who perished when planes smashed into the World Trade Center.

The memorial's creator is Master Cpl. Brian Curry, an air force reservist from Edmonton who raised several thousand dollars in Canada to build the models.

Curry was on hand as the grand structure was presented at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

"I've met a numerous amount of widows who lost people in here, and it's pretty saddening," Curry told CBC Radio. "I'm very glad that they like it."

Alicia Bergstein, who lost her husband Daniel in Tower One in the attack, was at was at Friday's ceremony. She expressed deep gratitude to Curry for the memorial.

"To have (my) husband's name remembered in such a beautiful way ... means a lot to us," she said.

"We're very grateful to everybody in Canada and to Mr. Curry."

The memorial will be on display in the Port Authority for the next few months. Officials then hope to find a permanent home for it somewhere else in Manhattan.

"What struck me as most remarkable was that someone from 2,500 miles away found it important to put ... 1,000 hours of effort into this kind of memorial," said Ken Philmus, one of the authority's directors.