Before April 19, 1995, the two-block area between NW 4th and 6th Streets and Robinson and Harvey Avenues formed the northern edge of downtown Oklahoma City's core and served as a workplace for hundreds of people. 5th Street once ran through the space now occupied by the Reflecting Pool, and during construction the east side of the grounds was lowered 11 feet while the west side was raised about seven feet to create a level area. The Gates of Time stand at former crosswalks at 5th Street intersections on the east and west ends of the block. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building stood where the Field of Empty Chairs is now located, and an American elm later known as the Survivor Tree once stood in a public asphalt parking lot. At NW 5th and Harvey, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board Building stood west of the Athenian Building; both were so heavily damaged in the bombing that they had to be razed, and the Rescuers' Orchard now occupies their site. The Memorial Museum occupies part of the former Journal Record Building, where the city's weekday business newspaper was published and other companies and organizations kept offices, while the Children's Area was formerly a covered loading and parking dock used to ship the Journal Record newspaper. The bombing's damage extended far beyond these two blocks, damaging hundreds of buildings, and 16 structures in the surrounding blocks had to be torn down and removed before new buildings rose and many others were refurbished.
