Pulse survivor reacts to sign coming down ahead of the nightclub’s demolition
By Justin Schecker
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ORLANDO, Florida (WESH) — For the past ten years, the Pulse sign on South Orange Avenue has been a visible reminder of the tragedy that took place at the former nightclub.
Orlando Torres said he had hoped to watch the removal of the sign by crews hired by the City of Orlando.
“I’m one of the Pulse survivors that was nearly three and a half hours in the restroom, waiting to get saved by the SWAT team,” Torres told WESH 2.
By the time Torres arrived Wednesday morning, the sign was already gone.
“It was important to see something that is showing progress,” he said.
Torres recently moved back to the City Beautiful. He said the sign finally coming down as part of the plans to build a permanent Pulse memorial is long overdue.
“We felt like we were sentenced for 10 years of agony, disappointments and delays,” he said.
In the aftermath of the mass shooting on June 12, 2016, Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan said she got to know many of the 49 families who lost loved ones.
“They’re expecting to go to graduations, weddings,” Sheehan said. “They weren’t expecting to go to funerals, and their lives were cut short.”
Commissioner Sheehan remembers how the Orlando community came together.
“Churches welcomed the LGBTQ community that never had before,” she said. “We had, you know, businesses raising money.”
But then, the commissioner said the failures of the onePULSE Foundation to construct a lasting memorial only caused more pain.
The City purchased the nightclub property for $2 million in October 2023 and then restarted the process of creating a permanent memorial.
“I keep telling people if, unfortunately, it’s not against the law to run a not-for-profit into the ground,” Sheehan said. “I think there should be more rules and regulations, absolutely, but that’s just kind of where we’re at, and I think it’s important to move forward.”
The City is moving forward with plans to demolish the former nightclub building next week, now that the sign is down and artifacts from inside have been removed.
“I do think that the more emotional day for me is actually going to be when the building comes down,” Sheehan said, “because that’s a place where I went and had good times.”
The bar top, posters and two chandeliers are some of the Pulse artifacts the City is preserving.
New renderings released last week from the project managers show the permanent Pulse memorial will feature a reflection pool, a survivors’ common, and 49 rainbow-colored tribute columns.
A section of the nightclub dance floor is also part of the design.
“It was a place to look forward to enjoyment and dancing,” Torres said. “That’s all they did, was to come out and dance, not to hurt anybody and get shot.”
After the site is completely cleared, the City said construction of the permanent Pulse memorial will begin in September.
The plan is for the memorial to be finished in the Fall of 2027.
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