Orlando Demolishes Pulse Nightclub to Build $12 Million Mass‑Shooting Memorial

Orlando crews on March 18, 2026 began demolishing the long‑shuttered Pulse nightclub to clear the site for a permanent memorial honoring the 49 people killed and 53 wounded in the June 12, 2016 mass shooting at the LGBTQ‑friendly club. The city bought the property in 2023 for $2 million and now plans a $12 million memorial slated to open in 2027, ending years of stalled efforts by a foundation run by the club’s former owner to redevelop the site. Workers are tearing down walls that still bear bullet holes from the gunman’s attack during a Latin night event, in which he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group before being killed by police. The memorial push comes as LGBTQ monuments face new political headwinds during President Donald Trump’s second term, including federal rules that led to removal of a Pride flag at Stonewall National Monument and a Florida transportation memo used to justify painting over a rainbow crosswalk outside Pulse. The project underscores how communities are still grappling, nearly a decade later, with how to commemorate mass‑shooting sites amid ongoing fights over LGBTQ visibility and the politics of public spaces.