Sandy Hook memorial opens nearly 10 years after 26 killed

NEWTOWN, Conn. — Bouquets of flowers floated counterclockwise in the waters of the circular memorial pool, passing the engraved names of the 20 first graders and six educators killed a short distance away at Sandy Hook Elementary School nearly 10 years ago.

The long-awaited memorial to the victims officially opened to the public on Sunday, drawing visitors steadily throughout the day. There was no ceremony, in keeping with Newtown’s tradition of marking anniversaries and other remembrances of the shooting with quiet reflection.

“It just takes your breath away,” said Nora Smith, a resident of nearby Monroe who visited the memorial with her husband, Kevin. “It’s something that you hold close to your heart because you feel so bad for these families.”

A path from the small parking lot leads down a hill to the focus of the memorial — a manmade water feature with a sycamore tree sprouting from an island in the middle. The 26 names are engraved in the top of a stone wall supporting the pool. A cobblestone walkway surrounds the feature, its outer ring lined with black-eyed Susan flowers. Other paths lead past a variety of plantings on the grounds.

With tree leaves having fallen, the new Sandy Hook School is now visible from the memorial.

The new school was built on the same property, but not in the same footprint as the old one, which was torn down after the shooting on Dec. 14, 2012.

Relatives’ victims were offered a private tour on Saturday.

Others, including Jennifer Hubbard, visited earlier by private appointment. Her daughter, Catherine Violet Hubbard, 6, was one of the children who died in the shooting.

“It took my breath away in the sense that to see Catherine’s name and to see what has been created in honor of those that lost … the families, those that survived — they’ve lost their innocence,” she said. “And the community. We all suffered because of Dec. 14.

“I think that the memorial is so perfectly appointed in honoring and providing a place of contemplation and reflection for a day that really changed the country,” said Hubbard, who is now executive director of the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary in Newtown.