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Courtesy Las Vegas Veterans Memorial Association
A rendering of the Las Vegas Veterans Memorial designed by Cliff Garten.
By Kyle B. Hansen (contact) 
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 | 7:58 p.m.
Veterans memorial design tour schedule
Wednesday, June 23
Thursday, June 24 to Saturday, June 26
Monday, June 28 to Saturday, July 3
Tuesday, July 6 to Sunday, July 11
Tuesday, July 13 to Saturday, July 17
Wednesday, July 21
Four different visions of a future veterans memorial were presented to the public Wednesday, and in about a month, one will be chosen to be built at Huntridge Circle Park on Maryland Parkway near Charleston Boulevard.
The park, which has been closed since 2006, was once a popular hangout for the homeless, but Las Vegas officials hope the memorial will revive the area and bring more tourists to the city.
“It’s a park that needs to be used,” said City Councilman Gary Reese, who represents the area and has been involved in the plans for the memorial.
Before the artists presented their work, Mayor Oscar Goodman said, “This is a great day for Las Vegas.”
“This is really awesome in the sense that it is symbolic of what we stand for in Las Vegas,” he said.
The memorial is being built by the Las Vegas Veteran Memorial Association, a non-profit that plans to donate the memorial to the city once it is complete.
The association was established by Michael Millett, who served as an Army ranger and now owns the American Shooters gun range and firearms supply store.
Millett said Las Vegas has a large population of veterans and is one of the largest cities in the country without a veterans memorial.
“I know how fortunate I am to be an American,” he said. “We have a chance to make a stand and say thank you to those who have sacrificed and their families.”
The association received about 200 proposals from artists from around the country, officials said. Four finalists were invited to build models of their plans to present to the public.
A committee of representatives from the association, the city and veterans groups will select the winning design next month, Millett said.
But the funding and timeline for the project beyond that is in question.
The city is happy to support the memorial but isn’t ready to spend money on it, and private donations are hard to find right now. The design that is selected will determine how long construction will take and how much the project will cost.
The artists were asked to incorporate ways for people to financially support the memorial, such as buying bricks to dedicate to loved ones who served in the military.
Artist Douwe Blumberg presented a monument with a central scene of soldiers in a modern-day battle surrounded by veterans of other eras. Each of Blumberg’s statues are 125 percent life size.
Joan Benefiel proposed a sculpture of five intertwined figures that would each be 9 feet tall and illuminated by a central light that would gradually change color.
Cliff Garten’s design was primarily based on landscaping, with a 9-foot wall covered with quotations.
And Eugene Daub and Rob Firmin designed a monument that would include every known last name of Americans who have died in battle, toped with a bell tower with a giant eagle.
Models of the four designs will be on a touring display until they are presented to the council July 21. The public is invited to submit comments about the designs, which the association says it will take into account when the committee picks the winner.
Veteran Memorial is for the people that made This country great.
I would like to see the Honor Guards, canons and the United States Flag.
The kids need to learn about history of the Men and Women in uniform.
Good Luck on this project.
The only one that I could even consider just based on the pictures is: Artist Douwe Blumbergs. But, the monument is just...there. It's not engaging. There are no elements that make me want to see it. He could add a water element or a pond?
This looks like a great design, but it leaves lots of people in the neighborhood around it scratching our heads, wondering how this is going to change the problems the park has had in the past while it was opened. The reason for closing the park was because of the constant violence and drug use by the homeless, culminating in the murder of one long-term indigent man by another long-term indigent man. No one from the neighborhood could use the park.
What the Circle Park needs more than anything else is consistent marshal monitoring and an opening and closing time.
These are all great and important proposals but as someone who lives in the neighborhood we simply want our park back whether it has a memorial in it or not. The politicians need to realize that a city needs parks and green spaces especially Downtown. If we are going to close a park at the sight of a homeless person then we might as well close them all.
RE: Before the artists presented their work, Mayor Oscar Goodman said, "This is a great day for Las Vegas."
"This is really awesome in the sense that it is symbolic of what we stand for in Las Vegas," he said.
Above statement, I don't understand. Exactly what is it that "we" stand for in Las Vegas?
I agree entirely with Paco. The neighborhoods surrounding Circle Park are completely under-served by parks relative to Summerlin and Green Valley. The City needs to provide a reasonable expectation of safety, especially for children, so that this park can re-open. The way to do this is consistent marshal monitoring and an opening and closing time. We cannot forget, Paco, that a man lost his life in this park, there were many violent acts in addition to that, and that the neighbors around the park felt unsafe in their own homes in addition to being the constant victims of petty theft and property destruction. Those neighbors are the ones who are the biggest proponents of keeping the park closed. And though I want more parks for my children to enjoy, I cannot blame them.
Congratulations and God Speed to all those working on this project. Considering the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces...it's too small!
Compared to the $300 million monument for Oscar, funded and developed by the City of Las Vegas.
Just goes to show where the priorities are...
Help Homeless Veterans 1-877-4AID VET
http://www1.va.gov/homeless/
This is an awesome idea, but didn't American Shooters have a huge fundraiser for this last summer? Where did the money go?
"It's a park that needs to be used," said City Councilman Gary Reese....."
Are you kidding me? How does a neigborhood use a park that's been closed for four years? It's no secret I and other downtowners-yes, us who live in the hood; loath/opposed this idea and have from the start! No one listened and one gets tired of walking the lovely labyrinth and getting throw out by the park patrol.
Circle Park is a VEGAS ICON and we've never been able to use it. WE want it open as a park not something else. The City treated the killing at Circle Park as IF it were the only park in Vegas where someone was killed, and we know that ain't true. The homeless situation at the park should have been a blinding light that Vegas has a horrible situation on their hands. Still nothings been done about it except we've now lost our park.
We're a tight knit community who actually know our neighbors by name and have each others phone numbers. We're an involved community, not some ghetto rats like some of you posters think.
I agree, build it in Boulder City.
I'm a 'Nam vet, and have seen The Wall first hand on a few occasions, and have never come away dry-eyed. But as moving as that experience is, the most stunning memorial I have seen is the Korean War memorial in D.C. I was fortunate to see it as a morning fog was lifting, it was truly haunting to see those figures become visible as the fog burned off. They seemed alive.
I would love to see something here that makes it impossible to walk away without some of those same emotions I felt seeing the memorials in D.C.
It should be at a different location for "everyone" to see. everyone includes tourist.
Why don't any of the artists' renderings show the neighborhood background so we can see what it will really look like?
"The City treated the killing at Circle Park as IF it were the only park in Vegas where someone was killed, and we know that ain't true." Really? That is really your argument? Let's just re-open Circle Park because, hey, only one person lost his life? Let's also just dismiss the fact that other violent and petty crimes have gone down dramatically in the neighborhood after the closing while we are at it. Let's just throw logic and caution to the wind, because, hey, it's downtown and the only people who live there are mostly old, minority and lefty-liberal UNLV profs or other smarty types. They (and their kids) don't deserve the same safety or amenities that the real people who live in Summerlin or Green Valley do.
Decrease staffing levels. Scale back the scope of this program. Reduce spending. Now let's spend money on a memorial. I agree that Veterans should be honored and revered but now is not the time to be spending money on anything that is not essential to the operation of the city.