In August of 2001, the City Council of Glendale adopted a motion to accept the gift of a monument to honor the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian genocide and the memory of Americans whose actions helped save thousands of Armenian men, women and children from perishing in the genocide between 1915 and 1918.  

In furtherance of the Glendale City Council’s September 24, 2002 motion approving the placement of the Armenian Genocide Memorial Monument on the grounds of the Glendale Civic Auditorium, the Monument Council’s Architectural/Technical Advisory Committee met with City staff to evaluate and discuss the placement of the Monument and further development of the Glendale Civic Auditorium site. Final location/site approval was given by the Glendale City Council on April 8, 2003.

After due consideration of the feasibility of proposed locations on the Civic Auditorium grounds, the Monument Council has envisioned a park-like setting incorporating landscaping elements, walkways, pedestrian paths and other features, including various smaller elements, starting from the southern edge of the grounds (i.e. the northwest corner of the Mountain Street and Verdugo Road) continuing along northbound in parallel to Verdugo Road leading up to the Monument focal point as shown on the site plan indicating the boundaries of the land allocated for the monument. Please refer to the exhibits in the competition packet.

Various elements will likely incorporate multi-lingual text and/or artistic features encouraging interactive use of the grounds. Other elements such as running water, fountains and/or gas flames may also be included creating a relaxing and enjoyable environment for the residents of Glendale.

The Monument itself will be appropriately scaled to be compatible with the surrounding landscaping and horizontal nature of the Civic Auditorium grounds. The design should incorporate an area to serve as a speaker’s platform, which should be located adjacent to the main monument.

Balance of the site shall remain as parking and may require re-striping and lighting adjustments. Additionally, the entire site must be viewed as the gathering place on April 24 (Armenian Genocide Commemoration date) and the orientation of the Monument and its relationship to the rest of the site must be addressed.

Actual parameters of the site, dimensions, grade elevations and other design parameters are included in the registration packet.