The 1 October Memorial Committee has been diligently working for several years to design and implement an inclusive process for the creation of a permanent memorial to honor the victims and survivors of the 2017 mass shooting that devastated so many lives and deeply impacted the entire Las Vegas community.
The Journey Here
In October of 2019, the Clark County Board of County Commissioners appointed a diverse committee of seven individuals to gather public input and develop recommendations for this project. The memorial is intended to remember those who died, the resilient survivors, the heroes who responded as the tragedy was unfolding, and the greater Las Vegas community, which has proved its resiliency and compassion for all who were affected by the Route 91 shooting.
The memorial committee was chaired by the VSRC’s Director, Tennille Pereira. She was joined by Vice Chair Karessa Royce, a survivor of 1 October; Mynda Smith, whose sister died that night; Kelly McMahill, a retired LVMPD captain who co-authored the 1 October After-Action Review; Harold Bradford, a local artist; Dr. Robert Fielden, an architect who has been engaged with multiple arts professional committees and boards in Southern Nevada; and Rebecca Holden, a local public art project manager. Clark County provided staff to support the committee’s work.
MGM Resorts International agreed to donate two acres on the northeast corner of the Route 91 festival site for the permanent memorial after the committee conducted a broad survey of those affected by the tragedy, who indicated a strong preference for the memorial to be built at the concert site.
Forever One
After nearly four years of collecting input and working through a process to select five design finalists, the committee voted in July to recommend a finalist and an alternate to the county commissioners at their September 5 meeting. The design concept that received the highest score from the committee was submitted by JCJ Architecture.
The design is called “Forever One” and features a Remembrance Ring with 58 candles to represent the 58 victims who perished on October 1, 2017. The designers credited a series of listening sessions with survivors, family members of victims, first responders, and affected community members as inspiration for the design, which also features an infinity symbol to represent perpetuity and limitlessness. The infinity symbol also provides two separate areas for remembrance, grieving, and healing—the Remembrance Ring with 58 candles dedicated to those who died on 1 October, as well as a community plaza where people can gather to share experiences and engage in the healing process. A 58-foot tall tower of light will also provide a visible reminder of the memorial along the Las Vegas strip. You can see more images of the design at jcj.com/thememorial.
The alternate design was created by the OLIN+Andy Scott team, which featured larger than life bronze horses and foals throughout the memorial, along with a trail utilizing native grasses and foliage leading to a center with seating amid seasonal wildflowers. The other three designs that were also highly praised for their thoughtful creativity were submitted by Paul Murdoch Architects, SWA Team, and Aaron Neubert Architects+studioSTIGSGAARD.
Next Steps
Design models can be viewed in the foyer of the Clark County Government Center at 500 S Grand Center Parkway in Las Vegas through September 7. You can click here to view all the designs on the committee’s website. After commissioners have the opportunity to review and vote on the committee’s recommendations, the emphasis will move towards building and maintaining the memorial.
Committee Chair Tennille Pereira thanked everyone who participated in the process of selecting a design, saying, “We have deep appreciation for all those involved in expressing their thoughts and ideas about what our memorial should be and to the professional teams that honored our community through the amazing creativity displayed in each of the design concepts presented to us.”