“The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States Government complex located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and the target of the Oklahoma City bombing.
The federal building was constructed in 1977 at a cost of $14.5 million, and was named for federal judge Alfred P. Murrah, an Oklahoma native. By the 1990s the building contained regional offices for the Secret Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency (D.E.A.), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and other agencies.
On the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh parked a rented Ryder truck with explosives in front of the complex and, at 9:02am, a massive explosion occurred which sheared the entire north side of the building, killing 168 people. In the aftermath, a total of 16 building surrounding the Murrah Federal Building were damaged beyond repair and had to be brought down.
More than 800 names are listed on the Survivors' Wall. The granite panels on which the Survivors' names are etched were salvaged from the Murrah Building and are mounted on the only surviving wall of the Murrah Building on the east side of the footprint.”
The above description does not do the memorial justice. I was lucky enough to be passing through Oklahoma City this past weekend and was able to see the memorial first hand. It is very impressive. The Memorial is divided into two parts – the museum and the Outdoor Symbolic Memorial. The National Parks Services operates the Outdoor Symbolic Memorial. There is a Park Ranger there everyday from 9:00am to 5:00pm to answer questions. There is so much symbolism in the Memorial. Every line, every shadow, every tree is placed with care. Here are some of the pictures I took during my visit.