June 5th Memorial. 🖤

Now maybe someday
The sun’s gonna shine
Flowers will bloom
And all will be fine

Today is the anniversary of one of the most tragic & horrific events in the history of the city of Philadelphia.

In 2013, six people died right here on the corner of Market Street, pronounced dead at the scene. Some sources also report that a seventh person died of his injuries later in a hospital. It’s hard to find information on that one. Most sources report only six deaths, the six who died at the scene.

Along with the deaths, many received non fatal injuries when a building collapsed on top of them, crushing & trapping them all for hours. Some of them died of suffocation, not dying instantly. The incident occurred in the morning, and bodies were still being discovered that evening, even a living person was pulled out after being trapped all day & night. She lost both of her legs and received the largest settlement in state history. (She has since died of Covidvirus)

The building was a thrift store, and the victims were all workers & customers. The building collapse was completely preventable and the result of the recklessness of the workers next door not following proper protocol while demolishing that building. The building next to the thrift store, while in the process of being demolished, collapsed onto the thrift store. The people involved with the demolition were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to many years in prison.

The building inspector, who was cleared of any wrongdoing and not accused or charged or convicted, felt guilty and took his own life in the aftermath of the tragedy. Everyone agreed that he had no part in the recklessness. There were no violations present while inspecting the building. And no one held it against him. But he expressed overwhelming feelings of guilt & insomnia in a video just before ending his own life in his car one week after the incident. He shot himself.

In my opinion, he is worthy of being remembered as one of the victims and has a place at the memorial even though he’s not officially considered a victim of the collapse.

One heartwarming fact of this tragedy is when the building collapsed, an 18 year old high school student(not sure of the gender), who happened to be walking by, ran into the rubble to try to pull the victims out. 

“Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” 💚

Sharing in honor of all those who died on June 5th, 2013 as the result of a preventable & senseless tragedy. A tragedy that leaves an indelible mark on our city. I wasn’t involved or associated in any way, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I was at work that evening, watching the wreckage on the news. Even though it has nothing to do with me, personally, I have been walking around thinking about it with a heavy heart and overwhelming sorrow in my chest.

I remembered it as the date was approaching. I walked by this memorial day after day for so many years, sometimes multiple occasions a day, and never realized it’s the memorial for that event until this year! So, this year, I decided to take a picture and dedicate a post to the victims.

June 5th Memorial Park now stands where the thrift store once was, the very spot that all those people died all those years ago, the spot where their bodies laid, being pulled out of all that devastation that took over the streets and blocked traffic. It’s now a place of hope & healing, according to the Park’s website.

Memorial Park is a very busy place, there’s always people there, often having lunch or coffee on the benches and talking to each other. It’s always sunny there on the corner. When I stand there now, I can’t feel any hint of the tragedy that once struck. To see people alive, eating, drinking, laughing, it doesn’t feel like a dark place where there were once bloodcurdling screams of pain & terror echoing through the streets, where mutilated bodies laid, scattered through the wreckage.

This memorial also serves as a reminder to always be mindful of safety during construction and to honor all the people who helped that day.

There are always people who are helping.

❤️💔

Dedicated to:

Anne Bryan, 24 years old, an art student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and daughter of former Philadelphia City Treasurer Nancy Winkler

Mary Simpson, 24 years old, an audio engineer who was on a shopping trip with Anne Bryan, her best friend, both girls died together at the scene that day

Roseline Conteh, 52 years old, nursing assistant

Bobor Davis, 68 years old, a five-year Salvation Army employee

Kimberly Finnegan, 35 years old, a cashier working her first shift at the Salvation Army thrift store when she died at the scene, just got engaged to be married

Juanita Harmon, 75 years old, a retired secretary at the University of Pennsylvania

Ray William Johnson, 32 year old man who died later of his injuries.

Ronald Wagenhoffer, 52 years old, building inspector/suicide victim who ended his own life on the one week anniversary of the tragedy

Pick Up the Bones – Alice Cooper

Xoxo Kim ❤️