Upon entering the Oklahoma City National Memorial, I am often filled with dread and sorrow. These feeling should not be admonished but embraced for the understanding of what occurred and what should never occur again. I was old enough to remember the original Murrah Federal Building, and my grandpa worked at a Lincoln/Ford card dealership nearby to the building. As a kid, my family would visit the area to see my grandpa, and we would always stop off to have food and explore the area.
The OKC National Memorial itself was the headquarters of the Law Journal Record Publishing Company. It remained after the bombing and stands as the only remaining structure in that plaza square. After the incident, my family and I would visit the outdoor memorial repeatedly, yet I had never entered the actual OKC Memorial building until a few months ago.
Upon entering, I was immediately apprehensive of the “get a ticket and get in line” scheme that was occurring. I thought it was going to be a tour-based guide and didn’t feel like being touted around. I realized soon that this was not the case and proceeded to read and learn about all the exhibits. I was blown away by how much detail, information, actual rubble, survivors’ stories, and much more. Every fact and tale pushed me further into the narrative, and I was fully immersed into finding out how the Murrah Building held in some areas and collapsed in others.
The true purpose of this memorial building was to be dedicated to another building. It was built for one building to honor another. The architectural style was not discussed. The color of the façade was not discussed. What was discussed? The structural supports that held after the bombing. The strength of the foundation that survived and managed to keep the entire building from imploding. The outer beams that held up the floor above a nursery to prevent catastrophic failure. This helped to bring into perspective not only what we are putting on the outside of our buildings to look pretty, but also how we build the inner parts to ensure that “pretty” can stand up long enough for people to get out.
