Journal Record Building South Wall
The south wall of the Journal Record Building directly faced the blast's impact and was heavily damaged by the April 19, 1995 bombing. Parts of the south wall were separated from the floor beams, and the arched section of the building's roof was lifted up by the blast and fell to the ground.
The jagged brick edge across the top of the wall shows where the roof broke away from the building.
Structural repairs were made and a new roof installed. However, the south face with its broken bricks and mangled fire escape was left very much as it looked following the bombing. The black brick window openings and dark glass windows help leave the sense of void created by the blown-out glass following the bombing. The fresh angular mortar joints you see were repaired during the building's rehabilitation, but provide a look at locations where portions of the wall were lifted up by the explosion, then settled back without collapsing.
The Oklahoma City National Memorial Trust chose not to repaint this historic south wall. Rather, structural repairs were made and a protective sealant applied to help retain the look of the wall following the 1995 bombing.
Courtesy hmdb.org
