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Thanks to thousands of contributors, and dozens of contractors and suppliers the Columbine High School atrium was complete when school opened in August 2000. The ceiling of the new Atrium is a mural of the Colorado forest canopy of aspens and evergreens, by North Carolina artist Virginia Wright-Frierson. The mural–actually 20 different paintings–consists of four large central canvasses and 16 other paintings that float on "clouds" suspended from the ceiling. The Atrium was designed by architect J.D. Nelson of Davis Partnership and built by an outstanding team of contractors led by Turner Construction. The Art Conservation Center at the University of Denver installed the mural.

 

 

 

 
On the day of the Atrium's grand opening, Dawn Anna, whose daughter Lauren Townsend was killed in the library, said: "We wanted heads to be lifted, not hung, wondering 'where did that child die?' When you walk into the atrium, you have to walk with your head held up. The entire room lifts your spirits."

 

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