Memorial

In late 2023, the City of Orlando purchased the Pulse site and is committed to taking a thoughtful, collaborative approach to understand the history of the effort to create a memorial up until this point. 

Pulse wasn’t just a place. It was a community. It was a family.  

Pulse was a cherished LGBTQIA+ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that was safe and inclusive, where everyone was welcomed and could be their true selves. Pulse was a place of joy, belonging and friendship. Pulse symbolized the power of community and of chosen family.  

On June 12, 2016 at 2:02 a.m., nearly 300 individuals were celebrating Latin Night in the nightclub when those feelings of safety and of belonging were shattered forever.  

At the time, it was the largest mass shooting in U.S. history and took the lives of 49 angels, while leaving dozens injured, a city that was heartbroken and a nation and the world grieving with and for Orlando and those impacted.  

All too often, tragedies such as this can divide a community. But not in Orlando. The victims’ families, survivors, first responders, trauma teams, political leaders, community advocates and those mourning for our neighbors chose to show the world that our community was, and still is, Orlando United.  

The City of Orlando plans to work closely with survivors and family members through a Memorial Engagement Process to design a memorial that reflects their desire for a place of solemn reflection that honors and pays tribute to the 49 angels and serves as a place where the victims’ families, survivors, first responders and our community can go to honor, unite and remember this heartbreaking moment in our city’s and our nation’s history, while also serving as a reminder to the world that Orlando is and always will be an inclusive community where every person is welcomed.