A Sneak Peak at Lubbock’s New Tornado Memorial [Photos]

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Tuesday, May 11th, the City of Lubbock will mark the 51st anniversary of the 1970 tornado that killed 26 and changed Lubbock forever.

City leaders had been scheduled to hold the official dedication of the new Tornado Memorial on the site of the memorial, but due to weather the ceremony will be moved inside the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, which also stands as a memorial to those who died in the 1970 storm.

According to a press release from the City of Lubbock, the event will now take place in the pedestrian mall outside the Moe Turner Banquet Hall at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 11th, 2021.

For those wanting to see the memorial on Tuesday, the city will provide shuttle buses from the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center to the Lubbock Tornado Memorial which is located at Glenda Goodacre Avenue and Avenue Q until noon.

Over $4 million dollars has been raised for the new memorial, which sits on a 4-acre site with trees and green space. Large, black granite walls are the main feature of the site, telling the story of the 1970 tornado. There are quotes and the the names of those who lost their lives etched into the granite. When you're at the site, there are bricks replicating the Lubbock streets. There's also a waterfall.

It's a very well done memorial and one that Lubbock can be proud of. There's plenty of parking nearby, and even though it's located right off of Avenue Q, it's actually peaceful and not too loud. I think those who go to the memorial will also think the light poles that are misshapen and bent, along with the snapped in half utility poll, to be nice additions to the memorial.

Below you will find a few pictures from the new Lubbock Tornado Memorial as workers were putting the finishing touches on the site on Monday.