ORLANDO, Fla. – With the gray skies looming over the black building surrounded by the black fencing, Orlando resident Wilson Ortiz can't help but feel the darkness outside of Pulse when visiting the nightclub for the first time on Tuesday.
"I'm a little bit overwhelmed honestly," he said. "I just think that these colors of Pulse, the black the white and gray, it doesn't represent what these people's hearts were filled with, which was love and color and vibrancy."
The city of Orlando wants to change that.
On Tuesday, the day after the three-month anniversary of the Pulse shooting, Orlando city officials released a rendering of a smaller fence they plan to install on Monday. It features eight local artists and murals that popped up around Orlando following the June 12 shooting.
"I think it's great," Wilson said. "I think that the local artists bringing more color and vibrancy to the whole place is a good thing."
But it's not only to brighten up the darkness on Orange Avenue, it's also to keep people safe. Officials hope the 8-foot-tall fence, which would be about 10-12 feet closer to Pulse, will keep the thousands of visitors off the roadway and keep traffic moving.
"As safety remains a top priority for the City of Orlando, the new fence will be significantly reduced in size; ensuring residents, visitors and employees and patrons of the surrounding businesses can safely visit and navigate around the site by foot or vehicle," Orlando press secretary Cassandra Lafser said.
Lafser said the city of Orlando will be paying the $4,518 bill to install the fence.
Right now there is no plan for parking on the Pulse site. As for the items at the site now, the city says they will be collected and preserved by Orange County History Center on Friday.
News 6 got in touch with two of the local artists featured on Morgan Walker and Hillery Powers, they released this joint statement in regards to their art being showcased.
"“We feel humbled to be part of this beautiful memorial outside of Pulse and we hope that in some small way it can lift the spirit of our community, and remind all those who see it that there is still love and hope.”