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Split in half, chiseled on one side and smooth on the other, the black rock memorializes not just the Armenian genocide, but also survival.

Melani Nazarian, left, and Ashley Muradian view the first permanent monument in L.A. to memorialize the Armenian genocide after it was unveiled at Grand Park. (Credit: Glenn Koenig/Los Angeles Times)
Melani Nazarian, left, and Ashley Muradian view the first permanent monument in L.A. to memorialize the Armenian genocide after it was unveiled at Grand Park. (Credit: Glenn Koenig/Los Angeles Times)

Unveiled Saturday evening as the sun set over Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles, the Armenian Genocide Monument is ringed by metal bars embedded in the ground and etched with the words of Armenian American writer William Saroyan:

“In the time of your life, live — so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it.”

“We wanted something that was uplifting and also spoke to a much broader audience,” said photographer Levon Parian, one of a team who created the monument.

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