An Orlando citizen’s advisory board wants to preserve part of the defunct Pulse nightclub — but not the entire building — to commemorate the 2016 massacre there.
The future of the nightclub building, a safe space for Orlando’s LGBTQ+ community until the massacre, has long fueled disagreement between the families of the victims and survivors of the mass shooting that left 49 people dead and 53 others injured hit.
“A significant majority” of family members and survivors who have joined the advisory board or shared their opinions want the building demolished, although a few want to keep it, said Larry Schooler, who serves as a facilitator for the advisory group’s discussions.
“For me it is a sacred place,” said committee member Mayra Alvear Benabel, whose daughter Amanda died in Pulse. Demolishing it would be like erasing her daughter, she said. But its presence on South Orange Avenue is causing trauma for others.
Both sentiments are true, said Schooler, who urged the group to strive to understand rather than persuade.
The discussion came as three memorial designs were unveiled this week before the Pulse Advisory Committee, which met Wednesday and Thursday to discuss ideas, their preferences and their concerns for a permanent tribute to the massacre victims, their lives and those who survived . The group has provided input and shaped concepts since earlier this year.
Schooler said memorial designers will likely return to the group in December with a refined concept that preserves parts of the former nightclub, “but does not assume that the building there will remain fully intact as part of the memorial.”
He said those in favor of demolition wanted to preserve the Pulse sign, a chandelier and other features — and that they wanted a final walkthrough of the nightclub.
Of the three designs, the first option shows a U-shaped covered walkway, supported by stone pillars with each victim’s name on it. The interior of the building features benches, shrubs, trees and a fountain in honor of the 49 people who died downtown. This option is very similar to a design originally created for the now-defunct onePulse foundation, which led the memorial efforts before going bankrupt last year.
The second concept is emphasized by a pavilion in the shape of the nightclub building, with a water wall dedicated to the victims and a tribute to the survivors. It has lawn space and greenery, as well as seating for reflection.
The third is mostly open space with a reflecting pool and fountain, as well as a vertical beacon. Like the others it has a lawn and trees.
Members of the public can voice their opinions at engage.orlando.gov.
Schooler, who has worked on memorial efforts for mass shootings in Virginia Beach and San Leandro, California, plans to discuss the concepts with families and survivors in the coming weeks until the board meets again on December 12. expected to see sophisticated drawings. It could choose a final design in January.
The city took over the memorial effort last year when it purchased the nightclub property for $2 million from the Poma family, who owned the nightclub and founded onePulse. The cost of the monument remains unclear, although Mayor Buddy Dyer has said he expects a public contribution will be needed to build it.
Wayne Dunkelberger, chief creative officer of design at Baker Barrios, says the goal should be to create a tribute to the community that made Pulse thrive. He suggested it would be difficult to save the aging South Orange Avenue nightclub building as a whole, but that it would be more practical to preserve parts of the building.
The company’s work includes the HostDime Data Center visible from I-4 north of the Lee Road exit; the Kia Center and the Electronic Arts Sports headquarters in Creative Village, near the downtown campus of the University of Central Florida.
shudak@orlandosentinel.com
