A Cleveland City Council committee approved Ordinance 1084-2025 designating the Tamir Rice Butterfly Memorial in Cadell Commons as an individual Cleveland landmark.

Landmarks Commission staff and family representatives presented the memorial’s history and design. Dan Muslin, secretary of the Cleveland Landmarks Commission, said the memorial “rises above and apart from the significance of the rest of the historic district” and that Parks and Recreation and Councilmember Spencer support the designation. Samaria Rice, Tamir Rice’s mother, described the memorial’s origins and the 2022 renovation and expansion under her direction, noting the community-built nature of the site and its plantings, mosaics and plaques.

Why it matters: The memorial commemorates Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old who was shot and killed by Cleveland police in 2014; the site has served as an improvised and then formal memorial and community gathering place. Designation as an individual landmark recognizes the memorial’s cultural and historic significance separate from the Clifton and West Boulevard historic district.

Memorial details
Samaria Rice described the memorial as a one-acre butterfly-shaped site within Cadell Commons Park, featuring planting beds, curvilinear brick paver paths, resin and marble elements, black granite panels engraved with a portrait of Tamir and a panel dedicated to his sister, Tajay Rice. Local artists and landscape architects, including Diane Jones Allen of Design Jones LLC and Derue Landscape Architects, were credited with the memorial design or construction. More than 250 people attended the 2022 ribbon-cutting ceremony, the presenters said.

Council response and next steps
Councilmembers praised the family’s sustained leadership and the memorial’s role in community healing. Councilwoman Spencer and other members noted the memorial’s relationship to broader park and school green-space investments at Cadell Commons and said the city will complete surrounding green-space design work by Design Jones. The committee approved the landmark designation; staff indicated the Parks Department and other city partners plan upgrades and further maintenance work around the site.

Ending note
Councilmembers encouraged public visits to the memorial and said city staff would coordinate any future improvements with the Rice family and community stakeholders.