Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - Saturday, 12 October 1996
The quilt, laid out on 21 miles of black matting to create a giant grid of walkways allowing visitors to inspect each panel, stretched a mile from the Washington Monument to the U.S. Capitol building.
"It's the largest AIDS event in history in the world," said Kate Carpenter, outreach coordinator of the Names Project Foundation, which has organized the event annually since 1987.
The 40,000 panels, made by families and friends of the victims, ranged from a white bedsheet inscribed with a felt-tip marker to elaborate pinpoint embroidery. One bore a rosary made of tablets of AZT, an AIDS treatment drug.
Organizers said they expected at least 750,000 people to inspect the quilt over the three days it will be on display during the Columbus Day holiday weekend.
The names of AIDS victims were being ceremonially recited at the event by celebrities, politicians, activists, family and lovers from around the country.
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