All images courtesy of Jack Becker
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Location: San Francisco
Date: 1996
Site: A large secluded area in Golden Gate Park, formerly abandoned due to
budget cuts at the park board. The old grove, plagued by drainage problems,
could not be maintained. The memorial is referred to as a "living memorial."
Funding: Over $200,000 has been raised so far as well as countless hours of
volunteer time and material donations.
History & Description: A group formed to reclaim the site and use it as the
AIDS Memorial Grove (it later received National status from the US Park
Service). The memorial itself was designed through group charrettes (design
brainstorming sessions) and without a designer's name attached to its
creation, The Grove creates a sense of seclusion in an otherwise busy park
surrounding, and as a sunken space, literally removes any references to its
urban environment. It is laid out with generous areas for paths, clearings,
a circular plaza, a dry stream bed, and lots of plants, stones, and benches.
Names are used throughout the site, paid for and defined by patrons or
contributors. Most of the names are of people being remembered, however,
some names are of donors While the names of the many people who originated
the project and those who monthly volunteer to maintain the site are not
displayed, the names of sponsors are clearly and professional engraved on
each major boulder, bench, and section of the Grove. The Circle of Friends
stone plaza includes names inscribed in large rings as funds are raised to
pay for each couple of rings- until, they expect one day, they will have
raised enough to pay for everything; which is how the size of the circular
plaza was determined.
It was not clear to me on my first trip to the site (soon after construction
in 1996) that the names in the circle were sponsored and not necessarily the
name of individuals lost to AIDS. When it was explained to me later, I admit
I was somewhat disappointed, since I had felt lured into mourning all the
names I was reading (the title, "Circle of Friends," apparently has a double
meaning). Indeed, the AIDS Memorial Grove is a sponsored space, and it
became clear to me that the names throughout were listed as a way for each
individual or group to remember a friend, relative, or lover. The size of
the Grove is an advantage itself, it provides a forum big enough for people
to find (or sponsor) a "piece of the site" for themselves.
Perhaps more significant is the role volunteers play in the care and
maintenance of the site, since it is an evolving green space, a lush one
that is in need of lots of attention. (NAMG recently resolved a decades-old
drainage problem that left a seasonal moat in the middle of the site; and
recently lost several old growth trees due to storms and old age). The
monthly work crews, sometimes as many as 100 strong, work under the
supervision of a parks maintenance director. This kind of working together
builds a stronger community of people who are linked via the site and a
common goal. This underscores the true role of memorials; they are for the
living. They help us get on with our lives and face our own mortality.
I asked about artwork being included in the site, a goal of the group
several years ago. The effort was stalled by more pressing issues of site
development and maintenance, and it may be put off for several years.
Over the next few years, a $2 million endowment is an ambitious goal of the
AIDS Memorial Grove organization. Since it was established to create a city
memorial, not run it indefinitely, the endowment-when it is raised-will
provide enough interest to fund a full time city park staff person devoted
to the site.
During my visit last August, there was a druid monk playing a lute, chanting
with bells and arranging offerings to the birds. The water sprinklers were
busy feeding the lush vegetation. My tour guide, director Lance Varholdt,
brought graffiti-cleaning supplies with him (several of the benches had been
tagged. It was not malicious, he stated, just a hassle to clean up.
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