CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Walk through the north doors of the Chicago Cultural Center and you'll see four 10x8 glass houses. Each holds 700 brick sized openings and are filled with mementos and memorials for those lost to gun violence.
"It's a living memorial that was created by MASS Design Group," said Tess Landon, Manager of Learning Initiatives, Chicago Cultural Center.
The Gun Violence Memorial Project has been the centerpiece on the first floor since August.
"The 700 bricks represent the number of people that lose their lives in the United States each week," she said.
"You see things like a deflated basketball, Bulls hats. There are some heart wrenching objects like baby shoes, onsies from mothers whose children have been killed. There are photos, but the objects speak to us the most, because they represent these people and they are things that we recognize or we might own as part of our lives," Landon said.
The houses also have audio interviews from people affected by gun violence.
"We have had a lot of visitors, general public, seeing it and at first glace you don't necessarily understand what it is, but then you see the objects, you read the names and people have been really moved," she said.
"People are touched to see this memorial here. People know this is an ongoing epidemic that's impacting our country, so they are happy to see something that is talking about that," Landon said.