WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- Nearly a year and a half after the deadly Navy Yard shooting, employees are moving back into building 197.
That's the building where former contractor Aaron Alexis roamed the halls with a sawed off shotgun and opened fire on Sept. 16, 2013, killing 12 people.
The Navy Sea Systems Command Headquarters has been renamed the Humphreys building and its reopening was marked by a traditional Navy christening ceremony featuring music, prayers and the smashing of champagne.
"This is about resiliency, healing, tribute, and honor," said one of the contractors who helped redesign the building.
The building has been renovated in hopes that the new look will erase horrible memories of the day when employees hid under desks and locked themselves in offices while they heard screams and gunshots. After a $6.4 million renovation, it has a new cafeteria, new offices, new carpeting and a new color scheme.
Still, returning was too hard for some who retired or were reassigned.
"True there are some people who can't get past what happened here and we are working with those folks," said Bill Delign, the Director of NavSea.
Vice Admiral William Hilarides said, "We were knocked down but got back up...it's great to be home."
The only sign of that deadly attack 17 months ago is a memorial space in a former entrance where a security guard was killed. It is now a peaceful tribute to the 12 lives lost, featuring a wall of cascading water, lighted boxes bearing victims' names, and marble benches where employees can sit and reflect.
As workers remember the friends they lost, they return to work with the help of therapy dogs and each other.
"It's wonderful to be back in a place I call home...with my family," said one employee.
In all, about 4,000 employees will return to building 197 in the next eight weeks. Four hundred employees at a time will go back each Monday until all are back.
