{"id":189331,"date":"2026-03-12T22:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/189331\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T22:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:43:08","slug":"city-removed-iconic-pulse-sign-demolition-to-begin-next-week-for-memorial-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/189331\/","title":{"rendered":"City removed iconic Pulse sign; demolition to begin next week for memorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Under a bright Wednesday morning sky, crews carefully detached the iconic Pulse nightclub<\/a> sign from its post along South Orange Avenue \u2014 a symbolic first step toward demolishing what remains of the site where 49 people were killed and more than 50 others wounded in the 2016 mass shooting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a preservation today, and then there\u2019s a demolition coming next week,\u201d Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan <\/a>said as workers lowered the sign, which for nearly a decade stood as a somber reminder of the tragedy.<\/p>\n

For survivor Orlando Torres, watching the sign come down carried a complex mix of emotions. <\/p>\n

“It was a place to look forward to enjoyment and dancing,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s all they did \u2014 come out and dance, not to hurt anybody or get shot.”<\/p>\n

\"On<\/p>\n

On March 11, 2026, the City of Orlando removed the Pulse nightclub sign on South Orange Avenue as officials and survivors\u2014including Orlando Torres\u2014prepare for next week\u2019s demolition of the site to move forward with creating a long\u2011delayed permanent memorial honoring the 49 lives lost in the 2016 shooting. (CNN Newsource) <\/p>\n

Torres was inside Pulse in the early hours of June 12, 2016, when gunfire erupted. He hid in a restroom for nearly three and a half hours as SWAT <\/a>teams worked to rescue those trapped inside.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m one of the Pulse survivors that was nearly 3.5 hours in the restroom waiting to get saved,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

See also: Florida school districts embracing continuity of K-8 schools<\/a><\/p>\n

Torres, who recently moved back to Orlando, said the removal of the sign felt overdue. \u201cWe felt like we were sentenced for 10 years of agony, disappointments, and delays,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The City of Orlando purchased the Pulse property in October 2023 for $2 million, taking over the effort to create a permanent memorial after repeated setbacks and controversy surrounding the OnePULSE Foundation<\/a>. Sheehan said the city\u2019s move is about restoring trust and moving forward.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m not happy that millions of dollars are missing and nobody knows where it went,\u201d Sheehan said. \u201cI think part of the acceptance is tearing this down and moving forward with the construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Designs for the future memorial envision a tranquil space for healing, reflection, and remembrance \u2014 a private place where survivors, victims\u2019 families, and the broader community can honor the 49 lives lost. \u201cIt\u2019s deserving to have something more private somewhere that we can pray and show our respects,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n

Demolition of the nightclub structure is expected to begin next week as the city moves ahead with plans for the permanent memorial.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Under a bright Wednesday morning sky, crews carefully detached the iconic Pulse nightclub sign…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-189331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}