Looking Back, Moving Forward

LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD

Pasadena Weekly
Dec 6 2012
CA

Group reviews designs for Armenian Genocide memorial at Pasadena park

Over the objections of Turkish dignitaries, the Pasadena Armenian
Genocide Memorial Committee (PASAGMC) is moving forward with plans
to place a monument honoring the victims of the Armenian Genocide in
Memorial Park.

On Dec. 1, committee members received 17 design proposals for the
memorial, including six from students at Pasadena’s Art Center College
of Design, according to member Chris Chahinian. The memorial would
be financed with private funds, he said.

“We are excited. The process is not done yet, but in a few months we
will have a final selection,” Chahinian said.

Between 1915 and 1923, nearly 1.5 million Armenians were slain in
what was then part of the former Ottoman Empire. Turkish officials
have long denied the event occurred. Despite the denials, 40 states –
including California – have formally recognized the Armenian Genocide.

Last August, a contingent from the Turkish consul in Los Angeles
visited Pasadena and called the proposed memorial offensive, a remark
that drew the ire of Pasadena’s Armenian community.

The PASAGMC has put together a three-person judging panel to review
the designs. After that, judges will forward their recommendations
to committee members, who will then make the final decision.

If the monument were to be placed in Memorial Park, located at the
corner of Raymond Avenue and Walnut Street in Old Pasadena, it would
be the first non-war-related memorial on the grounds, currently home
to other memorials dedicated to Americans who lost their lives in
the country’s major wars.

According to City Manager Michael Beck, the group originally wanted to
place the memorial in Victory Park, located in East Pasadena, an area
of the city that has a large enclave of Armenian-American residents.

However, city staff members believe Memorial Park would be more
appropriate, Beck said.

“A number of community groups have been proposing Genocide memorials,”
said Beck. “Originally, there was talk about placing it in Victory
Park, but the talks have ended up focusing on Memorial Park.”

From: A. Papazian