The white crosses memorial that sat behind the Welcome to Las Vegas sign after the October 1st massacre, have been moved to a better place along with all the trinkets, photos and other memorabilia visitors left alongside them.
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All of the items have been carefully boxed and moved to the Clark County Museum to await further news. The artifacts are now being separated, cataloged, and photographed out of the public eye. The crosses are on display until December 21. After that date, they will also be taken into the back offices for cataloging and preservation. All of this could take months to complete. All of it will be off-limits to the general public, but available to the families of the victims.
For now, the public will need to wait until the powers that be, decide what to do with it all. Do they build a new memorial for the victims and include the crosses? Do they merge this collection with the Remembrance Wall that has been built in the Arts District? Will MGM want to do anything to honor the victims and recognize the tragedy? Or do what MGM did with the artifacts left at the base of New York – New York’s Statue of liberty after the 9/11 attacks and bury them away in the University of Nevada’s special collections vault, never to see the light of day again?
Although the white crosses were an impromptu response by an Illinois carpenter, it was never an “official” memorial and was making the area around the sign a magnet for mourners, the usual tourists as well as problem seekers. Add to it the trinkets on the crosses or around the base of the sign not being held firmly in place, they were being blown around by the bursts of jet exhaust from the neighboring executive terminal, creating a safety hazard.
After six weeks, the county finally had decided it needed to go and the Clark County Museum was the obvious choice to start the preservation process while other matters were worked out. This, like almost every other aspect of the shooting, has been argued and debated by just about everyone who has an opinion on anything. So time will have to tell as to what happens next to these famous wooden crosses and the momentoes that they were adorned with.
You have only a few more weeks to at least see them on display. Just not an easy jaunt for the average Vegas tourist. Unless you use Uber, or you have a desire to try the public transportation system and spend all day on a bus or another way to get off the Strip.
Clark County Museum Options
- The Clark County Museum is 22 miles from the Welcome to Las Vegas sign
- Using public transit: Click here for the details
- Directions to drive: Click here for map
- Want to Use Uber? Here is a sign-up coupon
