In the lounge at the top of the 40-story Hyatt Regency hotel, where people sip drinks and gaze at the twinkling skyline, there is no hint of the long-ago horror.But for people like Brent Wright, it can never be forgotten. On July 17, 1981, Wright was 17 years old and working at the loading docks at Macy’s, saving money for college, when he heard a radio bulletin about the hotel’s skywalk collapsing into a swing dance in the lobby. He tried to call his mother, Karen Jeter, wondering if she knew anyone there. There was no answer.“My mother was the talker, the hugger,” Wright, now a 45-year-old lawyer, said as he fought to choke back tears. “She liked popcorn. She liked tennis. And she liked to dance.”Wright is a member of the Skywalk Memorial Foundation, which is leading a movement to build a memorial to the 114 people who lost their lives in the collapse. After 27 years, there is not so much as a memorial plaque to commemorate the tragedy. “It was fresh for a very long time,” Wright said. “It has taken this long for people to work through the grief.”The foundation is raising money to build a garden and a fountain in Washington Square Park, about a block from the hotel, dedicated to the victims and survivors of the collapse, along with those who helped with the rescue. In a significant boost for the plans, the Hallmark company, which owns the hotel site through a subsidiary, has pledged $25,000 toward the cost, and the city has agreed to put up $100,000.The Hyatt Regency recently released a brief statement of support for the memorial in the park, noting that “the hotel and our associates continue to honour the lives of those that were lost”. The foundation still needs to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the memorial, which would require the approval of the city parks board.The hotel, just a year old at the time, was the tallest structure in Kansas City. Its regular tea dances had drawn many residents back to a once-sleepy section of the city.“It was the big buzz around town,” said Heather McMichael, a former television anchor. The dance that evening had drawn about 2,000 people. A critical investigation found a design flaw in the walkways’ suspension systems. Jack D Gillum and Associates, the engineering firm that approved the final plans, was stripped of its licence. About $140 million was awarded to victims and their families, much of it paid by the Crown Center Corp.Frank Freeman, now 64, survived the collapse, but he lost his partner, Roger Girgsby. When the authorities urged Freeman to go to the hospital, he initially refused. Freeman is still looking for Roger, still unwilling to leave the hotel. On the 25th anniversary of the disaster, he stood outside the Hyatt Regency in 100-degree heat and soaking air, holding a sign that declared, “114 people deserve a memorial”.
