ORLANDO COLLECTION-The Orlando Times
ORANGE
COUNTY - The One Orlando Collection Initiative – a partnership between Orange
County Government and the City of Orlando – began on June 27 at the Dr.
Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (DPC) and Lake Eola to preserve
memorial items of the Pulse Orlando nightclub tragedy for the long-term memory
of the community. In
partnership with the Historical Society of Central Florida, the City of Orlando
and numerous other community partners and stakeholders, Orange County’s History
Center will, collect items from various temporary memorial sites so that they
may be curated in the future. Orange
County Mayor Teresa Jacobs visited with history center staff at the Dr.
Phillips Center memorial site on Monday morning. Non-perishable
items will be stored and safeguarded by museum staff for the sake of history
and posterity, as well as possible future use in Pulse memorial exhibits,
tributes and, or museums. Flowers will be collected regularly, and organically
turned into soil that will be used in gardens throughout the City of Orlando,
via composting. “The One
Orlando Collection captures our community’s overwhelming response to this
horrific tragedy” said Michael Perkins, museum manager. “We are dedicated to
preserving these cherished items for our community.” The One
Orlando Collection Initiative will be working collaboratively with all local,
regional and impacted individuals, institutions and agencies toward the goal of
expanding our shared understanding of these defining events and their
continuing legacies. Orange County’s Regional History Center will also be
collecting other items related to the Pulse tragedy, including photographs,
digital memories, videos, spoken stories, social media postings, artwork and
other remembrances, so these memories will be available for future generations. ***************************************************************************************************************************** To share
a photo, memory, story or video, please contact Orange County’s History Center
at oneorlandocollection@ocfl.net or visit at www.thehistorycenter.org.
Orange County’s Regional History Center will be the repository for the physical
and digital memory of the Orlando Pulse nightclub tragedy, which occurred on
June 12, 2016.
“It is important to let the community know that our goal is not to take this
away, but to preserve and protect these items for future generations to come,”
Mayor Jacobs said as she visited the memorial. “This event has been such a
hurtful part of our history, but it is a very important part of our story and
we want to be sure to share the love and unity of our community with our
residents and visitors alike.”