History Center To Commemorate Pulse Tragedy With Special Memorial Exhibit

Community & Services

The Orange County Regional History Center will present a new exhibit to mark the two-year commemoration of the mass shooting that took place in Orlando on June 12, 2016. Titled Another Year Passes: Orlando After the Pulse Nightclub Massacre, the special, limited-run exhibition will open on Saturday, June 2, 2018 and will continue through the summer, ending on October 14, 2018.

Admission to the History Center will be waived from June 10 to June 16, providing the public with an opportunity to visit the exhibit and History Center at no charge.  Operating hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

The exhibit will include more than 200 images and items collected at Pulse memorial sites throughout Orlando, along with community artwork, international messages and tributes, as well as many individual memento and commemoration items. The iconic 49 tribute crosses created in honor of those who died in the shooting will also be displayed at the History Center from June 10 through June 16.

Through the One Orlando Collection Initiative, Orange County’s Regional History Center serves as the guardian and entrusted caretaker of more than 5,000 memorial and tribute items, which were meticulously collected and preserved by curation staff in the wake of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy.

“The tragedy of Pulse and the heartbreaking loss of 49 lives is a permanent part of history – it’s a story that will always be told. Through the One Orlando Collection, we have the chance to tell the other side of the story – how our community reacted with unity, resilience and strength in caring for our shattered brothers and sisters within the LGBTQ, Latinx and Hispanic communities, as well as the loved ones of those who were lost,” said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. “We hope that this memorial exhibition will inspire the change we want to see in our nation and the world, and that the Pulse attack of June 12, 2016 will forever serve as the defining point and time in history when the world began to think and act differently. By memorializing the terrible losses that so many have suffered, as well as the incredible response of love and unity, we hope to educate and inspire people from all walks of life to realize that our everyday acts of love and kindness make a profound difference in this world.”

“Our History Center staff works hard to help remember times of both joy and sorrow in Central Florida’s past,” said Michael Perkins, Orange County Regional History Center manager. “From capturing the texture of everyday life to commemorating singular events – including the tragedy at Pulse, we strive to honor and preserve history. In our special limited run exhibition, ‘Another Year Passes: Orlando After the Pulse Nightclub Massacre,’ we remember the life and legacy of the Pulse victims, and invite the public to join us in paying tribute to those who were lost.”

The History Center’s work related to Pulse, including the commemorative exhibit, is part of the One Orlando Collection Initiative, a partnership of Orange County Government and numerous community partners. Through the initiative, the History Center continues to collect, conserve and catalog artifacts related to the Pulse shooting on June 12, 2016, that left 49 people dead and 68 wounded. The online digital gallery of photos and memorial items pays tribute to the victims and survivors at www.OneOrlandoCollection.com

For more information about the Another Year Passes: Orlando After the Pulse Nightclub Massacre exhibit, visit www.thehistorycenter.org/exhibition/another-year-passes/

The Orange County Regional History Center, housed in the historic 1927 former Orange County Courthouse at 65 E. Central Blvd. in downtown Orlando, features four floors of permanent and limited-run exhibitions. The museum is a Smithsonian Institution affiliate and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

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