Crews began demolishing the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday to make way for a memorial honoring the 49 people killed in the attack on the gay-friendly club nearly a decade ago.
Construction workers have begun demolishing walls in the long-closed space It still bore marks of bullet holes From the June 12, 2016, attack, when a gunman opened fire during a Latin Night celebration, killing dozens and wounding 53 others before he was killed by police after a standoff.
City of Orlando I purchased Pulse in 2023 for $2 million and plans to build a $12 million permanent memorial that will open in 2027. The effort followed a failed multi-year attempt by a foundation run by the club’s former owner to buy the property.
The memorial plan comes at a fraught time for monuments related to LGBTQ+ history since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. The federal government removed the Pride flag outside Stonewall National Monument last year, following a National Park Service memo prohibiting the agency from flying any flags besides the American flag and the Department of the Interior flag.
A similar battle broke out in Orlando last year, when local officials clashed with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis because workers painted a rainbow mural on the crosswalk in front of Pulse. The move came after the Florida Department of Transportation issued a memo prohibiting “superficial art” associated with “social, political, or ideological messages or images and does not serve the purpose of traffic control.”
The Pulse attacker had declared his allegiance to ISIS.