The National AIDS Memorial Grove, or "The Grove," is located at the de Laveaga Dell in eastern

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development ...

, in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

.golden-gate-park.com/aids-memorial-grove
. accessed 1.9.2012 The Grove is a dedicated space and place in the national landscape where the millions of Americans touched directly or indirectly by

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

can gather to heal, hope, and remember. The mission of the AIDS Memorial Grove is to provide a healing sanctuary and to promote learning and understanding of the human tragedy of the AIDS

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

Introduction

Congress and the President of the United States approved the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 in 1996, which officially set aside the deLaveaga Dell land in Golden Gate Park as the site for the first AIDS memorial in the nation. The Grove continues through the additional generosity of services and financial support given by numerous individuals, corporations, and foundations. Thousands of community volunteers have ensured over 20 years that continuous gardening and regular maintenance occurs, along with periodic enhancement projects, to keep the landscape vital and sense of place beautiful. The Grove serves as an important sanctuary for people, from locals to world visitors, a refuge for memories and a place of new enjoyment. ::''"Most memorials are built after the struggle is over. This battle rages on and we cannot wait, lest any one of our loved ones lost to AIDS be forgotten."'' Aidsmemorial.org: history
. accessed 1.9.2012 The Grove's former executive director and current board member, Thom Weyand, has said that "part of the beauty of the grove is that as a memorial which receives no federal money, it is blessedly removed from the fight over the controversy of AIDS."

Access

The Main Portal entrance is at 856 Stanyan Street in eastern

. The West Portal and South Portal are the two other designated entrances, also on park roads surrounding The Grove. Other secondary walkways enter naturally from the park roads and adjacent park areas. Access to the Grove is open during the park's hours. Free guided tours—excursions are given monthly for the public (except winter).

History of The Grove

AIDS Memorial Grove

1988 * Isabel Wade and Nancy McNally envision: ::''"A beautiful grove where people could find solitude and hope while remembering loved ones… a place to provide a positive focus for our grief."'' * The idea was shared with mutual friends to create a living tribute to friends lost to AIDS. 1989 * The Grove Steering Committee is formed to pursue the idea with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. * (Winter) Three donations, in memory of prominent local landscape architect Stephen Marcus, provide initial funds for the Grove as a project of

Friends of the Urban Forest Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco that plants and maintains trees within the city of San Francisco and its surroundings. FUF was organized as a response to San Francisco's lack of trees. The gro ...

. 1990 * (February) The Grove Steering Committee chooses the long-neglected de Laveaga Dell for the AIDS Memorial Grove. ** The de Laveaga Dell ::The de Laveaga Dell was created through a gift from the estate of Jose Vicente de Laveaga in 1898. When the Dell was opened to the public on June 21, 1921, it included a lake, meandering stream, beds of irises, over-hanging oaks, and spectacular ferns. John McLaren supervised the development, that also featured rare rhododendrons, lush camellias, and artfully constructed faux boulders. ::In the early days, the Dell was known as the Deer Glen and used by the zoo to house animals. In addition, there was a bear housed in the rise at the far western end, now known as the 'Fern Grotto'. ::The Dell was well maintained during the first half of the 20th century, but later suffered from a lack of funds for maintenance. * (November) The first fundraiser was held at the residence of steering committee member James C Hormel. 1991 * (September) The first Volunteer Workday in the Grove — a Ground Breaking with Mayor

Art Agnos Arthur Christ Agnos (born Arthouros Agnos; [] September 1, 1938) is an American politician. He served as the 39th Mayor of San Francisco, mayor of San Francisco, California from 1988 to 1992 and as the Regional Head of the United States Department ...

and 75 community volunteers. * Twenty-two Bay Area landscape architects, garden designers, architects, artists and park personnel, under the guidance of renowned designer

Garrett Eckbo Garrett Eckbo (November 28, 1910 – May 14, 2000) was an American landscape architect notable for his seminal 1950 book '' Landscape for Living''. Youth He was born in Cooperstown, New York to Axel Eckbo, a businessman, and Theodora Munn Eckbo ...

, developed the basic design and Master Plan for the AIDS Memorial Grove. 1992 * The AIDS Memorial Grove design's Master Plan is approved by the San Francisco Park Commission. * The Grove Steering Committee agrees to work with volunteers to clean up and restore the de Laveaga Dell. :The Committee also raised funds for the AIDS Memorial Grove Endowment — to commence paying for a city gardener position at the Grove, and to support maintenance of the Grove in perpetuity. :This project support configuration of volunteers and an endowment created a model to emulate for public—private partnerships in public spaces. 1993 * (July) Kerry Enright hired as first Grove Executive Director. Initial position funds provided by Columbia Foundation and James C. Hormel. :The AIDS Memorial Grove and the City of San Francisco sign a ninety-nine year lease for the de Laveaga Dell site. 1994 * (December) ''First'' official observance of

World AIDS Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired immun ...

in the AIDS Memorial Grove. 1995 * (February) The 'Main Portal' is dedicated by benefactor Steve Silver, the creator and producer of San Francisco's

Beach Blanket Babylon ''Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon'' was the world's longest-running musical revue. The show began its run in 1974, at the Savoy Tivoli and later moved to the larger Club Fugazi in the North Beach district of San Francisco. The show was cr ...

, on his 51st (and last) birthday. In Steve's words: ::''"The Grove represents the spirit of the people who have left and the memories that will always be there."'' * (July) The ''first'' full-time gardener funded by the Grove begins as part of agreement with the San Francisco Parks Dept. The full-time gardener, Joan Chase Velluntini, has worked at Golden Gate Park for 20 years. * (December) On

the 7 ton Sierra

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

boulder with inscribed Grove sign is installed at the entrance terrace of the 'Main Portal'.

National AIDS Memorial Grove

1996 * (February) Roll-out of the 'Circle of Friends' feature, a terrace of honor and memory, and place for names to be engraved into the floor of flagstone. New names will be added annually — inscribed before the Grove's World AIDS Day commemoration each December 1. :A later inscription expresses the 'Circle of Friends' spirit of place: ::“Circle of Friends: Lives Touched By AIDS…Donors to the Grove…Those Who Have Died…Those Who Loved Them.” * (April) NBC's Today Show spotlights the AIDS Memorial Grove in a segment by correspondent Dawn Frantangelo. It was filmed in January during the inscribing of her AIDS deceased brother's name for 'Circle of Friends' inclusion. * The 'Dogwood Crescent', home of the 'Circle of Friends' terrace, is created. * The 'Woodland Path' accessibility ramp from the 'South Portal' is built. * The 'Meadow Overlook' is created at the 'West Portal', through the first major capital campaign gift, funded by the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund * The 'Woodland Stream' is created over two work-days, by bucket brigades of volunteers handing stones from delivery pallets into the streambed.

National Memorial of the United States

* (October) U.S. Congress designates The AIDS Memorial Grove as an official National Memorial of the United States. :Legislation was written by Executive Director Kerry Enright, who worked with staff of Representative

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

and Senator

Dianne Feinstein Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( ; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who serves as the senior United States senator from California, a seat she has held since 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, she was ...

. * (December)

; Dedication of the 'South Portal' feature, underwritten by Terry Watanabe of Omaha

1997 * The 'Fern Grotto', a gathering place with the 'Circle of Peace' circular terrace, is created in the far western section of the Grove. :A poem by Thom Gunn is inscribed here: ::''"dedicated to all of the unidentified individuals who fell victim to AIDS."'' 1998 * (August) Garden Design magazine publishes the article “A Healing Landscape”, by Harriet Heyman with input from the Grove's founders and designers. 1998 * (December) At the fifth

, Irene Smith receives the ''first'' GROVE AWARD for her pioneering work in founding Service Through Touch. * (December) First Lady

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

visits the National AIDS Memorial Grove. 1999 * The National AIDS Memorial Grove receives the Silver Medal Award from the

Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA) was established in 1986 by Cambridge, Massachusetts architect Simeon Bruner. The award is named after Simeon Bruner's late father, Rudy Bruner, founder of the Bruner Foundation. According to the Bru ...

in the United States program. ::The Bruner Award — “seeks to illuminate the complex process of urban place-making, so that it may be strengthened to better reflect the balance between form and use; opportunity and cost; preservation and change.” *

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

records Public Service Announcement for The National AIDS Memorial Grove. Hanks won Academy Award for Best Actor (Oscar) for his portrayal of a gay man in the film “

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

," who was suing his employer for AIDS based discrimination. * 'Moonwalk Way', a new element, approved to control erosion. It is funded by the Moonwalk Foundation honoring Vivien Schneider and Silva Watson. * (December)

; Grove Award honors Celi Adams RN, the founder of Home Care Companions. National AIDS Memorial Grove 20181027-5651

2000 * (March) Garden Design magazine publishes the article “A Healing Garden”, by Zazel Loven, with emphasis on the healing function of the AIDS Memorial Grove. * (April) The 'Woodland Stream' feature is extended westward to the edge of 'The Meadow'. * (May) First annual fundraiser in the Grove — “An Fair to Remember” gala and bazaar. * (September) State of California appropriates $500,000 to the Grove (the only public monies in Grove history). * (October) World Landmarks.com lists National AIDS Memorial Grove. * (December)

observed with “All Our Communities Can Make a Difference” theme. Grove Award for Community Service to Hosea Turner, Shanti's Transportation Manager. 2001 * (May) Second Annual Fundraiser — “Oasis – a Shopping Safari”. * (June) Grove commemorates 20 years of the AIDS pandemic. * (December)

; Grove honors families at World AIDS Day Observance. Grove Award for Community Service to Jim Greenshields, Coming Home Hospice Chef. 2002 * The 'Western Portal' constructed, a gift of the Donald O Collins Foundation. * (May) Third Annual Grove Fundraiser — “Shangri La, A Shoppers Paradise”. * (May) Construction of 'Crossroads Circle', the final hardscape feature in the original 1991 design, is completed. * (August) 'The Meadow' is reseeded. 2002 * The 'Belvedere Overlook' feature constructed, providing a view into the Grove, and a granite "Timeline of the Epidemic" sculpture. * (October) Dedication Ceremony and picnic, honoring the completion of the improvements and features originally envisioned in the 1991 design by the founders of the AIDS Memorial Grove, and the establishment of the initial $1.5 million endowment fund. * (December)

“Stigma and Discrimination”. Grove Award for Volunteer Service to F. Vic Galvan, longtime volunteer and Grove tour guide. 2003 * (April) Board votes to proceed with a Memorial Design Feature Competition. The idea is to add to the experience of visiting the Grove and to increase public awareness of this as the National Memorial to those lost to AIDS. *

; Grove Award for Community Service to Paul Miller; and Award of Hope to Thomas J Coats, PhD 2004 * Initial money raised to hire Andy Abrahams Wilson to write a professional treatment for a documentary film about the Grove. * (May) "Groove in the Grove" gala and concert event. 2005 * Memorial Design Feature Competition winner announced: “Living Memorial” by Janette Kim and Chloe Town, * (December)

; Donor Appreciation Award to Donald O Collins; Community Service Award to Gert McMullin of the

Names Project The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt or AIDS Quilt, is an enormous memorial to celebrate the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes. Weighing an estimated 54 tons, it is the largest piece ...

. 2006 * Open Eye Pictures creates initial trailer for “Forget Me Not” — a documentary film about the Grove. * (September) "Mad Hatter’s Tea Party" 15th Anniversary Gala. * (December)

; Grove Award honors Dr Abraham Verghese; and the McCormick family (owners of Magnani Chicken), honored for 13 years of contributions to Monthly Community Volunteer Workday lunches. 2007 * (December)

; Grove Award for Community Service honored Ruth Brinker, founder of

Project Open Hand Project Open Hand is a California nonprofit organization that provides medically tailored meals and groceries to elderly and homebound people in San Francisco and Alameda County, California, Alameda County. Founded in 1985 to deliver meals to peop ...

; Donor Appreciation Award to Brenda Wright Sr VP Wells Fargo. 2008 * (December)

; Coming Of Age with AIDS Grove Award for HIV/AIDS is given to Don Jacobs Grove, a workday volunteer; Donor Appreciation Award is given to Bill Clark and Alice Russell-Shapiro, founding board members. 2009 * (December)

; National Leadership Award is given to Dr. Stephen F Morin; Local Unsung Hero Award to Bishop

Yvette Flunder Yvette A. Flunder (born July 29, 1955) is an American womanist, preacher, pastor, activist, and singer from San Francisco, CA. She is the senior pastor of the City of Refuge United Church of Christ in Oakland, California and Presiding Bishop of ...

, Executive Director of Ark of Refuge Inc.; First Annual Youth Scholarships awarded to student essay writers. 2010 * Work begins on the South Slope Rhododendron Restoration Project, with initial donations from Polo de Lorenzo. * Words of

Henry Wells Henry Wells (December 12, 1805 – December 10, 1878) was an American businessman important in the history of both the American Express Company and Wells Fargo & Company. Wells worked as a freight agent before joining the express business. Hi ...

inscribed above bench facing Circle of Peace. * (November) First annual "Light In the Grove" gala event. Pat Christen, former director of

San Francisco AIDS Foundation The San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing services for people with HIV/AIDS, with a mission to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States. They were founded in 1982, at the beginning of the AIDS ...

, is honored for her role in creating the

Ryan White Care Act The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act (Ryan White CARE Act), ), was an act of the United States Congress and is the largest federally funded program in the United States for people living with HIV/AIDS. In exchange for State ...

. * (December)

; Local Unsung Hero award to Laura Thomas; National Leadership Award to Jeanne White Gindler and

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

for producing the

and its 1990 Congressional passage. 2011 * Together the 30 year Anniversary of the AIDS pandemic, and 20 year Anniversary of the AIDS Memorial Grove, provide focus for remembering and planning throughout the year leading up to

on 12/01/2011. * (December)

; the National AIDS Memorial Grove's "World AIDS Day Youth Scholarship Program" awards four 2011 World AIDS Day Youth Scholarship awards at the World AIDS Day ceremony. Aidsmemorial.org: News and resources
. accessed 1.9.2012 * Planning and Fundraising begin for the restoration of the old Victorian Falls – a joint project with the

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is a public agency of the City and County of San Francisco that provides water, wastewater, and electric power services to the city and an additional 1.9 million customers within three San Franc ...

in honor of Frances McCormick. 2012 * (November) "Light in the Grove 2012" gala event, planned for November 30 to honor the lifetime contributions of William D. Glenn and Prescott W. Hafner for their personal involvement, leadership and compassion to the many communities affected by the AIDS pandemic. 2017 * (September) The Hemophilia Memorial at the National AIDS Memorial Grove opened. 2019 * (November) The NAMES Project Foundation and House Speaker

announce that the

AIDS Memorial Quilt The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt or AIDS Quilt, is an enormous memorial to celebrate the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes. Weighing an estimated 54 tons, it is the largest piece o ...

will be on permanent display at the Grove starting in 2020. 2020 * (June) All 48,000 tiles of the AIDS Memorial Quilt go online. * (December) The National AIDS Memorial honored

Dr. Anthony Fauci Anthony Stephen Fauci (; born December 24, 1940) is an American physician-scientist and immunologist serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical advisor to the president ...

and Dr. David Ho during the National AIDS Memorial’s virtual World AIDS Day commemoration on Dec. 1, 2020.

References

* ''The National Parks: Index 2001–2003''; Washington, D.C.;

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

External links

Aidsmemorial.org: official National AIDS Memorial Grove website
— ''with internal subject links''.

— ''features, history, images, local map.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:National Aids Memorial Grove

AIDS Memorial Grove The National AIDS Memorial Grove, or "The Grove," is located at the de Laveaga Dell in eastern Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco, California.

National Memorials of the United States Protected areas established in 1991 1991 establishments in California