March 18 (UPI) — Pulse Nightclub, the site of a mass shooting that killed 49 people in Orlando in 2016, was demolished on Wednesday.
The nightclub’s space in downtown Orlando is set to be turned into a memorial to the victims. Construction will begin in the fall with a target completion in the second half of 2027.
Some of Pulse Nightclub’s more recognizable features, such as its sign, are planned to be kept as part of the memorial. It will feature an Angel Ellipse, reflecting pool, plaza and private gathering spaces.
The estimated cost of the memorial is $12 million.
It has been nearly a decade since the shooting at the popular LGBTQ club. About 300 people were in attendance as the club celebrated Latin Night on June 12, 2016, when 29-year-old Omar Mateen opened fire. He was killed by police during a shootout at the scene.
Greg Zanis set up 49 memorial cross in remembrance of the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla., on June 16, 2016. File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI.
Fifty-three people were injured. It was one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
For several years after the shooting a rainbow crosswalk stood as a memorial to the victims. In August, the Florida Department of Transportation painted over it with black paint.
People hold a chain of prayers at the memorial on the lawn of the Dr. Phillips Center for the performing arts before holding a candlelight vigil after the shooting at the Orlando Pluse nightclub in Orlando in June 2016. File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI..
The removal of the crosswalk sparked backlash while the LGBTQ community, particularly the trans community, face threats to their rights nationwide.
President Donald Trump has led the charge on those threats, declaring on his first day back in office that the government only recognizes two genders: male and female. He has also sought to block trans athletes from participating in sports and removed LGBTQ symbols from public spaces, such as the Pride flag that once waved outside the Stonewall National Monument in New York city.
A woman stands at a memorial for the victims of the mass shooting at an Orlando, Fla., LGBTQ nightclub outside of The Stonewall Inn on June 13, 2016, in New York City. Thousands gathered in solidarity around Manhattan’s historic Stonewall Inn to express their support for the victims killed at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
The Stonewall National Monument is considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. After the Pulse Nightclub shooting, people gathered, marched and made a memorial at the Stonewall Inn, a bar that is part of the Stonewall National Monument.
Thousands of people gather around the Stonewall Inn in New York City at a memorial for the victims of the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla, in June 2016. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI