{"id":196685,"date":"2026-03-18T18:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T18:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/196685\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T18:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T18:15:09","slug":"pulse-nightclub-demolished-as-orlando-moves-toward-permanent-memorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/196685\/","title":{"rendered":"Pulse nightclub demolished as Orlando moves toward permanent memorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Nearly a decade after the tragedy at the Pulse nightclub<\/a>, demolition of the building got underway on Wednesday, marking a significant step toward creating a permanent memorial honoring the 49 victims.<\/p>\n

News4JAX sister station WKMG in Orlando<\/a> reported from the site along South Orange Avenue, which has served for years as a place where families, survivors, and community members gathered to remember those killed in the 2016 mass shooting. <\/p>\n

On the eve of demolition, many visited one last time to pay their respects.<\/p>\n

Pulse Memorial design (Public Record)<\/p>\n

\u201cI just never thought I\u2019d be around to see it leave,\u201d said Lillian Shea, who was 13 years old at the time of the tragedy. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of very sad. I remember when it first happened \u2014 I was in school and woke up to it, and I was pretty heartbroken.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heavy equipment, including bulldozers, was positioned outside the building on Tuesday ahead of the scheduled demolition.<\/p>\n

Michael Johnson said passing by the site continues to bring back painful memories.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just reminds you of the terrible tragedy,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cEvery time you see it, it brings back the memories of those people that died.\u201d<\/p>\n

The demolition follows months of planning by the City of Orlando and its Pulse Memorial Advisory Board, which developed a design concept for a permanent memorial. Plans include a water wall, fountain, seating area and the names of all 49 victims.<\/p>\n

WKMG reported<\/a> that city crews began removing items from the building in late December to preserve them. In early February, a fence was installed around the property, and the iconic Pulse sign was taken down last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Pulse sign comes down in Orlando as the city prepares to demolish the nightclub site and replace it with a permanent memorial. (Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

Some visitors said the building has long served as a final connection to loved ones lost in the tragedy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen people crying out here sometimes, and I just think it\u2019s the last piece of the people they lost,\u201d Shea said.<\/p>\n

Crews had taken down most of the structure by midday, though the full cleanup process could take several months.<\/p>\n

While the moment is emotional for many, some say they are ready to see progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be happy to see the building gone. I\u2019ll be happy to see a memorial in its place,\u201d one person said, calling the next step \u201clong overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others acknowledged the difficulty the moment may bring for victims\u2019 families.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the last place they were,\u201d Shea said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of heartbreaking knowing the families are probably very affected by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The City of Orlando estimates the cost of the memorial at roughly $12 million.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Nearly a decade after the tragedy at the Pulse nightclub, demolition of the building got…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[28,139,141,140,8309],"class_list":["post-196685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-florida","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-pulse-nightclub"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196685","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=196685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}