{"id":305386,"date":"2026-06-12T16:48:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/305386\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T16:48:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:48:07","slug":"orlando-community-hopeful-for-memorial-as-city-marks-10-years-since-pulse-massacre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/305386\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando community hopeful for memorial as city marks 10 years since Pulse massacre"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 As Orlando marks 10 years since the Pulse nightclub massacre, a permanent memorial at the site will soon take shape.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">On Friday, crowds gathered at a fence now surrounding the property, where land has been cleared to make way for construction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">On March 11, workers took down the iconic Pulse Orlando sign as friends and loved ones gathered to reflect on the 2016 mass shooting that killed 49 people and injured dozens more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">[REMEMBERING THE PULSE VICTIMS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clickorlando.com\/rememberingpulse49\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.clickorlando.com\/rememberingpulse49\/\">Learn about the 49 who lost their lives<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Orlando Torres was among the patrons who hid in the bathroom for hours, as they waited to be rescued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cYou\u2019re tearing down\u2026not only the bad memories of June 12, 2016,\u201d Torres said. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of great memories \u2026with friends you shared a good time with during those years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">A week later, the building was demolished, marking a significant step toward the creation of a permanent memorial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Bulldozers tore down the structure along South Orange Avenue in a matter of hours, as community members gathered nearby to reflect and remember those lost in the tragedy. The demolition brought a mix of emotions for survivors, families, and visitors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Ermalinda Coira Manning, who lost her friend Shane Tomlinson in the shooting, said it was important for her to be present.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">[WATCH: New renderings released for Pulse memorial as project reaches 60% design phase]<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">\u201cOne of those 49 was a very good friend of mine,\u201d Manning said. \u201cI just wanted to pay my respects and spread the love today on demolition day, you know, after 10 years.\u201d She described the moment as \u201cbittersweet,\u201d adding she is hopeful the community can begin to move forward while still honoring the victims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Plans for the permanent memorial, which is mostly designed, include a water wall, fountain, rainbow-colored glass, and a private gathering space.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">The city of Orlando said construction of the memorial is expected to begin in September and be completed in late 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Breaking News Alerts<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 bTVksG\">Get breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 As Orlando marks 10 years since the Pulse nightclub massacre, a permanent memorial at the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,21152,4738,139,36343,8309,127834,215],"class_list":["post-305386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-mass-shooting","tag-memorial","tag-orlando","tag-pulse","tag-pulse-nightclub","tag-range-county","tag-shooting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305386","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=305386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}