Bombing Memorial
Nineteen years after the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, the Reflecting Pool, running east/west along what used to be N.W. 5th Ave., is still a place for many visitors to come and take time to reflect upon that tragic morning. The Field of Empty Chairs is located on the south side of the Reflecting Pool. The 168 empty chairs represent the lives taken on April 19, 1995. They stand in nine rows, representing each floor of the building with the name of someone killed on that floor. Nineteen smaller chairs stand to represent the children who perished that morning. The Field of Empty Chairs sits on the ground the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building once occupied. To the north of the Reflecting Pool is the Memorial Museum. The museum was once the home of the Journal Record which was built in 1923 and withstood the bombing and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At the far west end of the pool is one of two Gates of Time. The west end gate is etched with the time 9:03. This represents the moment after the bombing in which so many were changed forever and the hope that came from the horror in the moments and days following. On the other side if that wall is scribed: “We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.” (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Mark Hybers)