The Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation has unveiled its design on Monday for a National Mall monument honoring journalists killed in their line of duty, representing the first memorial for slain journalists on federal grounds.
The Washington D.C. monument, projected to open in 2028, is made up of various cast glass blocks that form a path to the memorial’s center, which culminates in a cylindrical space that includes the text of the First Amendment. The purpose, architect John Ronan said, was to mimic both the transparency journalism provides and the disparate parts that make up a complete story.
“It’s a journey of discovery that unfolds slowly, space by space, like a journalist’s story unfolds line by line,” Ronan told The Daily Beast. “The idea is to cast the visitor in the role of an investigative journalist, pursuing truth wherever it leads.”
Artist renderings of the Fallen Journalist Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation/John Ronan Architects