The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States Government office building located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing, the most significant act of domestic terrorism on American soil.
The federal building was constructed in 1977 at a cost of $14.5 million, and was named for federal judge Alfred P. Murrah, an Oklahoma native. By the 1990s the building contained regional offices for the Secret Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency (D.E.A.), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and other agencies.
On the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh parked a rental truck with explosives in front of the complex and, at 9:02am, a massive explosion occurred which sheared the entire north side of the building, killing 168 people.
Following the investigation at the site and recovery of victims' bodies, the surviving structure was demolished with explosives on May 23, 1995. The Water Resources Board and Athenian Building, located across 5th street from the building, were heavily damaged and later destroyed. The entire 3.3-acre site subsequently became home to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, a place to honor the victims, survivors and rescue workers, and to learn the impact of violence.
The Memorial Museum takes visitors on a chronological, self-guided tour through the story of April 19, 1995, and the days, weeks, months and years that followed the bombing of Oklahoma City's Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The museum is divided into several galleries detailing the events of April 19, 1995 and the days and months following the bombing. As visitors make their way through the museum galleries, nothing can prepare you for the GALLERY OF HOROR. It is here that visitors come face to face with photos and personal treasures of the 168 victims.
After visiting the museum, visitors exit onto the site where the Murrah Federal Building once stood. Here visitors are met with THE GATES OF TIME, which anchor each end of the memorial. The gates are intended as both a physical and symbolic transition into the site as one is marked "9:01" and the other emblazoned "9:03," in reference to the moments surrounding the 9:02 bombing.
Also here in the Memorial Plaza at THE CHAIRS, Sitting in nine rows, one for each floor of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, the chairs represent the 168 victims. Each chair is made of stone and hand-crafted bronze, and rests on a glass base etched with the name of the victim it represents.
THE SURVIVOR TREE is an American Elm that bloomed even after weathering the blast of the bomb; the tree sits on a promontory at the site and is meant to represent the survivors of the attack. Surrounding the Survivor Tree is the Helpers' Orchard, an army of fruit trees meant to symbolize those who rushed in to help after the bombing.
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