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Children's Memorial
Park
Tucson Clean & Beautiful coordinates several Commemorative/Memorial Park locations, in partnership with the City of Tucson, Pima County, corporate sponsors, and other Tucson-area community groups.
  
Children's Memorial Park is a fitting tribute to the children loved and lost in our community. The park is located at 4851 North 15th Place (west of the River & Oracle Rd. intersection). Formerly known as Edgewater Park, after being destroyed by the 1983 flood, it was rebuilt as part of the Rillito River Linear Park and rededicated as the Children's Memorial Park on November 14, 1987.
The park contains a playground, bike path/exercise trail, basketball court, a multi-use sports field, picnic areas and group ramadas. Children's Memorial Park ramada reservations are available by calling Pima County Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation, (520) 877-6000.
The Children's Memorial Plaza, set off from the more active areas of the park, provides an opportunity for quiet reflection to remember the children who have died. The memorial consists of granite tablets on which the names of children are engraved and is centered around
a sculpture called "Omni," which was created in 1978 by 700 boys & girls at a summer camp.
Improvements to Children's Memorial Park have continued since the park was established, with many trees and other plants donated by community members to the park's now-complete landscape. In 2002, "The Magic Carpet" sculpture was added to the memorial plaza. Commissioned by the Thomason Family and created by artist Nick Burke, this sculpture is the centerpiece of an expanded memorial wall and garden. In 2003, the Children's Memorial Park playground was also renovated with the assistance of a grant from The Wolslager Foundation.
Names of children who have died in the Tucson area community can be inscribed on the memorial wall. Tucson Clean & Beautiful administers the engravings. To have your child's name engraved, please return a completed engraving request form and payment of $3.00 per letter.
The form must be signed by a parent or legal guardian.
Checks should be made payable to:
Tucson Clean & Beautiful
P.O. Box 27210
Tucson, AZ 85726-7210
Children's Memorial Park Brochure: | English
| Spanish |
(Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view and print the application). If you are unable to download or print the brochure, please call 791-3109, or send an email to tcb@tucsonaz.gov to request an application be sent to you by mail.
Once a name has been submitted for engraving, it may take several months for the name to be engraved (they are done in groups approximately 4-5 times per year; we cannot guarantee engraving will be done by a specific date). Applicants will receive notification once engraving has been completed.
We Remember Them
At the rising sun and at its going down we remember them.
At the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter we remember them.
At the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring we remember them.
At the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer we remember them.
At the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of the autum we remember them.
At the begining of the year and when it ends we remember them.
As long as we live, they too will live,
for they are now a part of us, as we remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength we remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart we remember them.
When we have decisions that are difficult to make we remember them.
When we have joy we crave to share we remember them.
When we have achievements that are based on theirs we remember them.
For as long as we live, they too will live,
For they are now a part of us, as we remember them.
--Gates of Prayer-Reform Judaism Prayerbook
The Magic Carpet
When you hear a child’s voice, laughing with glee
Just look in the sky and imagine it’s me.
This carpet has carried me so far above,
Yet I still feel the warmth of your unending love.
I share with all the children who soar with me here
A beautiful life without pain, without fear
In a safe place, a warm place, lofty and bright
Always secure in God’s holy light.
For I am the child, the child of your heart.
And it is only a moment that we’ll be apart.
My heart’s filled with joy, for a secret is mine.
I’ll be back in your arms when God says it’s time.
-- Connie Thomason, 2001
This park is a community effort: a coalition of Pima County Parks and Recreation, Pima
County Flood Control, Tucson Clean & Beautiful and many other organizations, with support
from the Pima County Board of Supervisors and the Pima County Parklands Foundation.
The park is a place of peace, hope and joy.
We remember those children who have died, and draw hope for the future.
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