Introduction
The City of Corona has always been proud to support the men and women who have served their country as members of the United States Armed Forces. The Veterans Memorial honors local veterans who have made sacrifices to preserve our freedom as members of the Armed Forces.
Site
The first step in establishing the memorial was the selection of an appropriate site. Since early 2001, the City of Corona and the Corona Veterans Memorial Division, a division of the Corona Partners for Parks and Recreation Foundation, discussed the idea of constructing a Veterans Memorial on the City Hall campus.
On October 17, 2001, the City Council designated a future site at its new City Hall as the location for the memorial for veterans from the Corona-Norco area, and the Corona Veterans Memorial Division was tasked with raising funds for the project.
On May 4, 2005, the City Council adopted Council Resolution 2005-34, officially designating the interior courtyard on the south entrance to the new City Hall building as the primary site for this project, and as a sign of commitment to the project, designed and funded a plaque honoring Corona Veterans at the base of the flag poles at the north entrance to City Hall.
Design Process
At the Council Study Session on August 27, 2008, BMLA, a local, landscape architecture firm, and the Corona Veterans Memorial Division, presented a conceptual design of the Memorial to the City Council. The design displayed was a five-sided granite structure, representing each branch of the military with their respective service medallions. The City Council expressed support for the conceptual design presented and encouraged them to continue their fundraising efforts to make the memorial a reality.
On July 21, 2010, the Corona Veterans Memorial Advisory Committee was created by the City Council to provide policy and design recommendations as well as guidance to the City Council on the Veterans Memorial.
On September 13, 2010, the Advisory Committee held a public meeting to solicit input on the Memorial. The meeting was attended by approximately 50 members of the public.
The memorial was designed by BMLA Based on the conceptual designs presented in 2008. The final design of the memorial is a five-sided monolith structure, representing each branch of the military with their respective service medallions. The memorial includes a water feature around the monolith, new stairs, flags, hardscape improvements, trees, sleeves for flags around the memorial, and a kiosk containing a database of local veterans.
Funding
The memorial’s design and construction was funded by a donation from Watermarke Properties, the Corona Veterans Memorial Division, and the City of Corona.
Construction
Micon Construction was awarded contract in the amount of $517,200 to construct the memorial. Construction began in June 2012 and concluded in October 2012.
The memorial was dedicated on November 11, 2012.
