Columbine Memorial

The Columbine Memorial is a memorial in Littleton, Colorado, that honors the deceased and injured victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were affected by the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. The memorial is located in Clement Park, which is behind Columbine High School, the site of the massacre. It is operated by a non-profit institution whose mission is to operate the memorial and its upkeeping. The memorial began planning in June 1999, approximately two months after the shooting, for victims, survivors, those involved in rescue and recovery operations and everyone touched by the shooting. Designing took three and a half years. Designing was accepted on a four-level diagram: the first was the people most affected by the shootings, the victims' families; the second was injured victims and their families; the third was past and present students and staff of the high school; and the final was the community and general public. The Foothills Foundation and the Columbine Memorial Committee raised over $1.5 million in donations over eight years of planning. Groundbreaking of the memorial occurred in June 2006. The memorial was opened to the public on September 21, 2007.