Visitors to Brooklyn will now have a new place where they can honor veterans of the city and the people who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country at the Veterans Memorial Plaza on Memphis Avenue.
The new park was conceptualized when the veteran monuments near the former city hall building had to be relocated to allow for the construction of the new Brooklyn Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. The idea was to relocate the veteran monuments near the existing military jet plane located on Memphis Avenue. As planning got underway, an adjacent residential property went up for sale. The city bought it, and Veterans Memorial Plaza was born.
“It’s a place for reflection,” says Mayor Ron Van Kirk. “The space allows visitors to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. It’s often easy to forget, so this is meant to be a place of remembrance.”
“There will be flags for all branches of service, with beautiful lighting and landscaping,” Van Kirk says. “The park was born out of necessity, but it has turned into a tremendous feature in the city.”
Van Kirk adds that the new Veterans Memorial Plaza somewhat resembles an existing park on Ridge Road called Cpl. Timothy Knight Commons — a space designed to honor Marine Cpl. Knight who was killed died in Iraq.
“This new Veterans Memorial Plaza will be a space that people can visit and remember their loved ones or reflect on all those who died protecting our freedom,” Van Kirk says.
