Design Plans for Columbine Memorial Unveiled

April 7, 2003

Littleton, CO - The Columbine Memorial Committee today unveiled conceptual plans for a permanent memorial honoring the innocent victims of the April 20, 1999 shootings at Columbine High School.
The Memorial will be located in Clement Park, 7306 W. Bowles Avenue in Littleton, CO, adjacent to Columbine High School, situated between two small hills, one of which is known as "Rebel Hill," near the spontaneous memorials that arose in the park in the weeks after the shootings.

The focal points of the memorial are the inner "Ring of Remembrance" and the outer "Ring of Healing." The "Ring of Remembrance contains 13 separate stations with individualized text provided by the families to honor and remember each of the 13 victims who lost their lives. The "Heart of Columbine" ribbon will be incorporated into the paved surface in the center area of the Memorial encompassing the Ring of Remembrance. A grove of trees will also surround the Ring of Remembrance. An outer wall "Ring of Healing" surrounds the core area and will contain additional quotations and text gathered from injured victims, Columbine students, teachers and staff, and other community members.

The Memorial will also include a walkway that traverses the tops of the adjacent small hills and provides access to the top of Rebel Hill. The hillsides surrounding the Memorial will be landscaped with native Colorado plants and shrubs. Two hillside terraces will provide additional passive space for visitors to pause and reflect.

Shortly after the April 20, 1999 tragedy, the Columbine Memorial Committee was formed, consisting of 28 members including students, faculty, parents, emergency responders and community and business leaders. The Committee has been working on the Memorial plans for more than three years. The planning process included the selection of a design consulting team, conducting a series of public meetings, and compiling information gathered from over 3,500 survey responses collected by the Committee, and holding more than a year of design meetings focusing on input from families of the deceased and injured victims. DHM Design (Denver, CO) was chosen by the Committee and designed the Memorial.

"Since October 2001, the Committee has worked directly with the families, and has placed a priority on respecting the wishes of the victims' families, plus considering and incorporating the input from the families, from students and faculty," said Committee Chairman Bob Easton. "We are pleased that the family members have given their approval to this conceptual design and we are now ready to move forward with a more detailed design, the individualized remembrances and the necessary fund raising."

The memorial plan encompasses just over an acre in Clement Park. The initial cost estimate for Memorial construction is approximately $3.0 million, including design costs, utility services, site grading, general construction, and a $500,000 endowment for a maintenance escrow account. The Committee has already collected pledges and in-kind service commitments for nearly one third of the projected cost. A public fundraising campaign will now begin, and the Committee is optimistic that sufficient funds will be raised in order to enable work to begin on the Memorial in 2003.

"Our intention is to have a groundbreaking as soon as possible," said Easton. "We know the community has been anxiously awaiting completion of the design process before they make a commitment of funds or services. We are very pleased to announce that this delicate and important process of Memorial design is to a point where we can now share with the public all that has been accomplished."
For more information and design plan images, visit the Columbine Memorial Web site at www.columbinememorial.org. Contractors, businesses and individuals wishing to contribute materials or services to the project may contact the Committee at www.columbinememorial.org or contributions are tax deductible and may be sent to Columbine Memorial Fund, c/o the Foothills Foundation, P.O. Box 621788, Littleton, CO 80162-1788. Cash donations are accepted at this address as well.

Credit card Contributions: