Oklahoma City National Memorial
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Coordinates	35°28′22″N 97°31′2″W / 35.47278, -97.51722
Area	6.24 acres (3.12 federal) 25,300 m²
Established	October 9, 1997
Total visitation	301,018 (in 2003)
Governing body	Oklahoma City Nat'l Memorial Foundation & National Park Service

The Oklahoma City National Memorial is the largest memorial of its kind in the United States. It honors the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were changed by the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The memorial is located in downtown Oklahoma City on the former site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which was destroyed in the 1995 bombing. The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... Image File history File links Red_pog. ... Image File history File links US_Locator_Blank. ... Nickname: Location in Oklahoma County and the state of Oklahoma. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist attack on April 19, 1995 aimed at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, a U.S. government office complex in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Downtown Oklahoma City The State Capitol of Oklahoma From The South Motto: Nickname: Capital of the New Century Founded 1889 Incorporated County Oklahoma County Cleveland County Canadian County Borough {{{borough}}} Parrish {{{parrish}}} Mayor Mick Cornett Area  - Total  - Water 1,608. ... Alfred P. Murrah building during demolition Aerial view of Alfred P. Murrah building after bombing The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States Federal Government complex located at 200 N.W. 5th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ...

The National Memorial was established on October 9, 1997 through the signing of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Act of 1997, by President Bill Clinton, and, as with all National Park Service historic areas, was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places the same day. The memorial is administered by Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation, with the National Park Service maintaining a presence at the memorial for interpretation purposes. In the United States, National Memorial is a designation for a protected area that is commemorative of an historic person or episode. ... October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... A typical plaque showing entry on the National Register of Historic Places. ...

The National Memorial Museum and the Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism are the two components which are housed in the old Journal Record Building on the north side of the memorial grounds. The Memorial Museum is open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.; Sunday, 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Tickets are sold until 5:00 p.m. The Memorial Museum is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's days.

The memorial was formally dedicated on April 19, 2000 - the fifth anniversary of the bombing; the museum was dedicated the following year on February 19.

The Field of Empty Chairs, east Gate of Time, and Reflecting Pool at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

Download high resolution version (2048x1360, 1444 KB)Photograph of the Oklahoma City National Memorial as taken from the south observation area on 18 September 2004 by Dustin M. Ramsey. ... Download high resolution version (2048x1360, 1444 KB)Photograph of the Oklahoma City National Memorial as taken from the south observation area on 18 September 2004 by Dustin M. Ramsey. ...

Memorial features

The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial consists of the following segments on 3.3 acres (13,000 m²), and can be visited 24 hours a day, 362 days a year. An acre is the name of a unit of area in a number of different systems, including Imperial units and United States customary units. ...

The Reflecting Pool at the Oklahoma City National Memorial

• The Gates of Time: Monumental twin bronze gates frame the moment of destruction - 9:02 - and mark the formal entrances to the Outdoor Memorial. 9:01, found on the eastern gate, represents the last moments of peace, while its opposite on the western gate, 9:03, represents the first moments of recovery. Both time stamps are inscribed on the interior of the monument, facing each other and the Reflecting Pool.

The outside of each gate bears this inscription:

• Reflecting Pool: A thin layer of water flowing over polished black granite, the Reflecting Pool runs east to west down the center of the Memorial (also see reflecting pool) on what was once Fifth Street. Visitors who see their reflection in the reflecting pool are supposed to see "a face of a person changed by domestic terrorism."

Flowers and personal items left on several of the 168 memorial chairs on the 10th anniversary of the bombing.

• Field of Empty Chairs: 168 empty chairs hand-crafted from glass, bronze, and stone represent those who lost their lives in the tragedy. A bombing victim's name is etched in the glass base of each chair. The chairs represent the empty chairs at the dinner tables of the victim's family. The chairs are arranged in nine rows symbolizing the nine floors of the building, and each person's chair is on the row (or the floor) on which the person worked or was visiting when the bomb went off. The chairs are also grouped according to the blast pattern, with the most chairs nearest the most heavily damaged portion of the building. The westernmost column of five chairs represents the five people who died but were not in the Murrah Building when the bomb went off (two in the Water Resources Board building, one in the Athenian Building, one outside near the building, and one rescuer). The 19 smaller chairs represent the children killed in the bombing. Three unborn children died along with their mothers, and they are listed on their mothers' chairs beneath their mothers' names.

• Survivors' Chapel: The only remaining original portions of the Murrah Building are the southeast corner, known as the Survivors' Chapel, and a portion of the south wall. The Survivors' Chapel includes several panels of granite salvaged from the Murrah Building itself, inscribed with the names of more than 800 survivors from the building and the surrounding area, many of whom were injured in the blast.

After surviving the bombing, The Survivor Tree elm became an emblem of the Memorial.

• The Survivor Tree: An American elm on the north side of the Memorial, this tree was the only shade tree in the parking lot across the street from the Murrah Building, and commuters came in to work early to get one of the shady parking spots provided by its branches. Photos of Oklahoma City taken around the time of statehood (1907) show this tree, meaning it is currently at least 100 years old. Despite its age, the tree was neglected and taken for granted prior to the blast. Heavily damaged by the bomb, the Tree ultimately survived after nearly being chopped down during the initial investigation, in order to recover evidence hanging in its branches and embedded in its bark.

Once thought to be slowly dying, the Survivor Tree now thrives, in no small part because the specifications for the Outdoor Memorial design included a mandate to feature and protect the Tree. One example of the dramatic measures taken to save the Tree: one of the roots that would have been cut by the wall surrounding the Tree was placed inside a large pipe, so it could reach the soil beyond the wall without being damaged. A second example is the decking around the Tree, which is raised several feet to make an underground crawlspace; workers enter through a secure hatchway and monitor the health of the Tree and maintain its very deep roots. According to its caretaker, the Tree itself has an estimated remaining lifespan of 30 to 40 years. Close-up of granite from Yosemite National Park, valley of the Merced River Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ... One famous reflecting pool lies between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.. A reflecting pool is a structure often used in memorials. ... Download high resolution version (515x772, 131 KB)Flowers and personal items are left on several of the 168 memorial chairs at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on the 10th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ... Download high resolution version (515x772, 131 KB)Flowers and personal items are left on several of the 168 memorial chairs at the Oklahoma City National Memorial on the 10th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ... Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colors as shown in this sphere from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... Assorted ancient Bronze castings found as part of a cache, probably intended for recycling. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 531 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1360 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 531 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1360 pixel, file size: 1. ... Binomial name Ulmus americana L. The American Elm Ulmus americana is a species of elm native to eastern North America, occurring from Nova Scotia west to southeast Saskatchewan, and south to Florida and central Texas. ...

The inscription around the inside of the deck wall around the Survivor Tree reads:

Hundreds of seeds from the Survivor Tree are planted annually and the resulting saplings are distributed each year on the anniversary of the bombing. Thousands of Survivor Trees are growing today in public and private places all over the United States; saplings were sent to Columbine High School after the massacre there, to New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and to many others. The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado (the CDP of Columbine) near Denver and Littleton. ... Nickname: Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1625 Government  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area  - City  468. ... Rudolph William Louis Rudy Giuliani III, KBE (born May 28, 1944) served as the Mayor of New York City from January 1, 1994 through December 31, 2001. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly...

The Memorial Fence and east Gate of Time.

• The Memorial Fence: An ten foot tall (3.05 m) chain link fence was originally installed around the area that is now the Reflecting Pool and the Field of Empty Chairs to protect the site from damage and visitors from injury. The Fence stood for more than four years and became famous itself, with visitors leaving stuffed animals, poems, keychains, and other items there as tributes. During the construction of the Outdoor Memorial, 210 feet (64 m) of the Fence was moved to the west side of the Memorial, along the 9:03 side or the 'healing' side. The remainder of the Fence is in storage. Visitors may still leave small items along and in the Fence; the mementos are periodically collected, catalogued, and stored.

• Rescuers' Orchard: A grove of Oklahoma redbuds (Oklahoma's state tree), Amur Maple, Chinese Pistache, and Bosque Elm trees are planted on the lawn around the Survivor Tree.

• Children's Area: More than 5,000 hand-painted tiles, from all over the United States and Canada, were made by children and sent to Oklahoma City after the bombing in 1995. The tiles are now stored in the Memorial's Archives, and a sampling of those tiles is on the wall in the Children's Area, along with a series of chalkboards where children can draw and share their feelings. The Children's Area is north of the 9:03 gate, on the west side of the Museum.

Across the street from the memorial is the statue And Jesus Wept.

• And Jesus Wept: On a corner adjacent to the memorial is a sculpture of Jesus weeping erected by St. Joseph's Catholic Church. St. Joseph's, one of the first brick and mortar churches in the city, was almost completely destroyed by the blast. The statue is not part of the memorial itself but is popular with visitors nonetheless.

• Journal Record Building: North of the memorial is the Journal Record Building which now houses the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum, which features numerous exhibits and artifacts related to the Oklahoma City Bombing. Also in the building is the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, a non-partisan think tank created shortly after the bombing by family members and survivors to spread knowledge of terrorism and its prevention.

• Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building Plaza: Located just south of the Field of Empty Chairs, above the underground parking garage, is the raised Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building Plaza. The plaza was an original part of the federal building, and contained garden and seating areas, as well as the second floor daycare's playground. Visitors to the Memorial may still access the plaza, and the flagpole from which flies the American flag is the original flagpole that was in place on April 19, 1995.

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 398 × 599 pixels Full resolution (1360 × 2048 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 398 × 599 pixels Full resolution (1360 × 2048 pixel, file size: 1. ... A chain link fence is a type of woven fence usually made from galvanized steel wire. ... Species see text Cercis, the Redbuds, is a genus of about 6-10 species in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to warm-temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. ... Binomial name Acer ginnala Maxim. ... Binomial name Pistacia chinensis L. Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis) is a small to medium-sized tree native to central and western China. ... Binomial name Ulmus parvifolia Jacq. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (480x640, 56 KB) Photo by Ian Ang for Wikipeida article on Oklahoma City Memorial. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (480x640, 56 KB) Photo by Ian Ang for Wikipeida article on Oklahoma City Memorial. ...

Image gallery

The Field of Empty Chairs as seen at night Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 497 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 636 pixel, file size: 95 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This is a photo of the chairs at the Oklahoma City National Memorial as seen at night. ...	The western Gate of Time Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixels Full resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ...	The Memorial Museum in the former Journal Recorder building Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixels Full resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Field of Empty Chairs Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 502 pixelsFull resolution (2062 × 1293 pixel, file size: 1. ...
The Survivor Tree Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 598 pixels Full resolution (2841 × 2122 pixel, file size: 2. ...

References

• The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.

The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Cabinet department of the United States government that manages and conserves most federally owned land. ...

External links

• Oklahoma City National Memorial Official website
• NPS website: Oklahoma City National Memorial
• NewsOK.com report and archive on the Oklahoma City Bombing
• Aerial view of the Memorial: Google Maps

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 35.472761° -97.517079°
  • Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
  • Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image from TerraServer-USA