Garden of Peace Timeline

Below is a timeline of the history of the Garden of Peace.

1995	The late Paul Rober and his co-members of Parents of Murdered Children talked about creating a memorial to victims of homicide. Backed by Gov. Weld’s support for placing a memorial at 100 Cambridge Street, Paul proceeded to work with a coalition of homicide survivors, victims service providers, elected officials, and the business community. Their tireless efforts gained lasting and broad-based support for the creation of the Garden.
2000	The Massachusetts state legislature passed a bill requiring the redevelopment of the Saltonstall state office building include the memorial on its new plaza.
2001	The Garden of Peace was incorporated as a non-profit organization staffed entirely by volunteers.
2004	The Garden of Peace physical space was dedicated September 24, 2004, with 321 victims commemorated.
2005	The first annual Garden of Peace Honor Program was held in September 2005, with 134 names added to the Garden.
2018	After nearly two decades sustained by its devoted founders, directors, volunteers, and the Garden community, and with full support from the Garden's founders and directors, the Massachusetts state legislature transferred the administration and management of the Garden to the Victim & Witness Assistance Board (VWAB), the governing body of the Mass. Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA). Read more about the transfer of the Garden here.
2019	The transfer of the Garden to VWAB and MOVA was completed and the first Garden of Peace Advisory Committee was established.
2022	Construction to expand the engraving capacity in the Garden of Peace was completed. The names of the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Commemorated Victims were engraved on reflection plaques as the first names to be added as part of the expansion of the Garden.