The original Plaza Towers Elementary was destroyed by the EF5 tornado that crossed Moore on the afternoon of 20 May 2013, killing seven children sheltering in interior hallways. The school was rebuilt on the same site with hardened concrete and an above-ground tornado shelter built to FEMA's highest specification — the first of its kind in an Oklahoma public school.
A small memorial garden on the southern edge of the campus lists the names of the seven children. It is open to the public and is a sober place to understand what Moore has lived through. Standing here looking north along the storm's path, you can still see how much of the surrounding neighbourhood is newer than the rest of the city.