Bay Area Reporter - December 20, 2007
Seth Hemmelgarn

The design, entitled "Living Memorial," was proposed by New York architects Chloe Town and Janette Kim. It would have added about 90 blackened steel poles, a new entrance, and a sidewalk overlook to the memorial, located in Golden Gate Park.

After winning an international competition in 2005, the Town and Kim design needed to survive five phases of voting. The first decision the board faced was whether the design should be part of the organization's mission. In the final phase, the board needed to decide whether the organization would be able to raise an estimated $6 million to implement and maintain the design.

Dipping into the organization's endowment fund of about $2 million would have been too unpopular to consider. That fund is supposed to ensure the grove will always have a gardener and be able to meet other expenses.

In what was described as a close vote, the board ultimately decided the organization doesn't have the capacity to raise the money. People familiar with the decision declined to publicize the vote tally.

Gary Pike, a former board co-chair who now handles media relations for World AIDS Day events at the grove, said it was "an emotionally draining process for many people."

Set in Golden Gate Park, the tranquil, tree-lined meadow was transformed from an overgrown patch of land almost 20 years ago and designated as the country's first AIDS memorial in 1996.

The 7.5-acre grove serves as a memorial to people who have died and those whose lives have been affected by AIDS. According to UNAIDS, the disease has killed 25 million people worldwide since 1981, and continues to infect about 6,800 people each day.

Margarita Gandia, board co-chair, supported the design. She said the combination of the poles and the surrounding vegetation "evokes what's left after a forest fire." Like other design supporters, she felt it offered an appropriate metaphor for the continuation of life despite the impact of AIDS.

"It strikes just the right balance of being beautiful, while still being thought provoking," she said.

Many felt the design was unnecessary and intrusive. Petitions aimed at dissuading the board from proceeding with the design even circulated among the volunteers who help maintain the grove.

"I'm quite happy that it was turned down," said Lynn Kormondy, who's been coming to semi-monthly workdays to help maintain the grounds since 1994. "It would've taken away from the beauty of the garden and ... the living aspect of the grove."

Isabel Wade, one of the memorial's founders, said the design made her think of "burned telephone poles."

Regardless of their feelings about the design, most want to draw more attention to the beauty of the grove and keep AIDS in people's minds. But, the grove's supporters said, another challenge is the fact that it's harder to raise money for AIDS-related causes. Treatments widely available in the United States have helped many people living with the disease to enjoy a fuller life. People are not dying in the numbers that were seen two decades ago.

"We need to wake people up," said Jack Porter. Porter was one of the board's original members, but he eventually resigned over the design issue. "AIDS is not over. We need to let the world know the grove is here."

In an e-mail, architects Kim and Town wrote, "We are, of course, disappointed that the project will not be realized, but respect that each person voted with the best interest of the grove in mind."

There appears to be little certainty or agreement on how to do that, though. While there's acknowledgment that even some in San Francisco don't know the grove exists, there's also concern about going too far.

Neal Schwartz, a board member who chaired the design committee, said those involved should look toward the coming decades and consider a question: "Have we done anything that's going to stay in the national consciousness the way the Vietnam Memorial has?" A simple grove likely won't be enough, he said.

Others think the grove is fine as it is. Alice Russell-Shapiro is one of the grove's founders and a former board member. She agrees the memorial needs to be promoted more, but she said, "The grove itself is the marker. Nothing more needs to be superimposed on top of it."

Referring to the design, Marsha Raulston, a board co-chair, said, "Of all the things we've thought about, this was the best opportunity." Raulston said a documentary that's being made about the grove should help, but more funds are needed to complete the film.

Marge Boric, a volunteer who supported the design class=yshortcuts>, is certain that whatever happens, "The board is very committed to the grove and will find other ways to get past this and satisfy everybody."

For more information, visit http://www.aidsmemorial.org.

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