The onePULSE Foundation is building a temporary interim memorial to honor the victims and survivors of the Pulse Tragedy.
The onePULSE Foundation is a non-profit organization created by Barbara Poma, the owner of the Pulse Nightclub, in an effort to design, create and build a permanent museum and memorial for the Pulse tragedy.
The interim memorial will give families, survivors, first responders, and other people who visit annually the opportunity to pay their respects, while a permanent memorial is on the way.
onePulse Foundation is working with the Orange County History Center to collect and preserve artifacts, art work and other memorial items left at the site.
Poma said there have been conversations about whether the building should be demolished and the specific elements to include in the memorial. This includes potentially using the site as a place for education and including an element that incorporates "49", to represent the 49 lives lost in the tragedy.
“We have learned over a period of time that our history stands there and it stands there with four walls," Poma said. "And if we take it down, we’ve destroyed part of history. And we have to decide what to do with that."
Poma said they are working on the request for proposals for the memorial and hope to have it ready by July.