Forty-five years after the AIDS epidemic began, many still mourn lost community members and fight the stigma of a positive diagnosis. Today, an estimated 1.2 million Americans live with HIV — benefiting from improved medical care, yet still navigating life without a cure.
Above Capitol Hill Station, a 20-foot high sculpture made up of speakers creates an “X” above the plaza. Entitled ‘andimgonnamisseverybody,’ the piece is a backdrop to daily life in the neighborhood, from commutes to weekly farmers markets, and a central component of the AIDS Memorial Pathway.
Proposed by Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen in 2015, the AMP project got underway in 2017, beginning its fundraising, artwork selection and installation. It debuted five years ago on a hot and sunny Pride weekend on Capitol Hill.
“We wanted to have a visible site, a place that was physical and accessible that was relevant to the community,” Rasmussen tells CHS.
When the idea was first proposed, multiple locations were scouted throughout the city, but when Sound Transit confirmed the area north of Cal Anderson Park, above the light rail station, was available for local art installations, it seemed the perfect fit for an AIDS Memorial in the city.
“That’s our history — we were there. The gay bars were there, the community organizations were located on Broadway or Capitol Hill, the hospitals that treated those affected were all up there adjacent to or in the vicinity of that space,” Rasmussen reflected. “This is where people lived and died and were cared for.”
Across the street, the neighborhood’s central park was renamed in 2003 after the first openly gay Washington state legislator, Cal Anderson. Anderson died of AIDS related complications in 1995.
The pathway comprises four installations: andimgonnamisseverybody, the glowing Ribbon of Light, In This Way We Loved One Another, and colorful signs of We’re Already Here. The Cathy Hillenbrand community room on the corner of 10th Ave and John is open for community use and houses In This Way We Loved One Another.
Spanning the plaza and into the north end of Cal Anderson, the installations are under the stewardship of Seattle’s LGBTQ+ Center but are maintained with the help of Seattle Parks and Recreation as needed.
Seattle’s LGBTQ+ Center’s Eddy Chavez makes a point to walk through the pathway three times a week regardless of the season, monitoring the installations for any graffiti and to see how the spaces are being used in the neighborhood.
“My biggest goal other than people remembering about this place is I just want it used,” Chavez admits. “I want activations. I don’t want it to be a walkthrough, I want it to be a destination.”
“I want them to enjoy the artwork. I want them to be curious enough that they find out why it’s there, what the meaning behind it is, and tell people about it,” said Chavez.
Former project manager for the AMP, Jason Plourde sees perspective in the pathway in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and the period from the initial wave of the AIDS epidemic.
“What the AMP wanted to do was connect people around shared experiences. I think it was a time to memorialize and remember people directly impacted by the epidemic,” said Plourde. “It was also an opportunity to give hope for the future.”
“I think the fact that these artworks are seen regularly and people interact with them really often is important for the messages they hold and the history they want to share.”
Community is also what Chavez credits with much of the upkeep of the pathway. “Everything that comes out of the AMP is really because of the volunteers that bring it to me,” said Chavez.
While the center officially stewards the installations, volunteers help with social media around the AMP, propose events and usages for spaces like the community room, and are what breathe life into the installations.
Much of the AMP behind the scenes is focused on keeping the installations relevant and accessible to people. The AMP has a website and an app, allowing for an augmented reality experience for people to visit far from Capitol Hill.
Seattle’s LGBTQ+ Center is launching a campaign to raise awareness around HIV for youth, and will start a “Pathway Conversations” discussion series this fall in the Cathy Hillenbrand community room.
“Especially when I’m giving tours to younger people who have lived through COVID, if someone had COVID they stayed inside, they stayed away from everybody, but there was nothing physically changing the way they looked. Here you actually saw people waste away in front of you,” said Chavez. “HIV has been around for decades now and the information is muddled at best, so you really have to set the record straight and we really want to start with the youth.”
Plourde similarly emphasized the hope for activation and engagement.
“I think one of the things that’s changed for me is the ‘Never Forget’ mantra. Vital funding is being taken away from HIV and AIDS, support and eradication, we’re almost at those points of those things happening. I want people to be inspired. To learn more, to do something, to make changes and not let the progress we’ve made roll back.”
“We know that there will be more epidemics, there will be more crises,” Rasmussen said. “We have to be prepared and resist [scapegoating]. So many people in Seattle were affected, so many died. It is an important part of our Seattle history whether it’s LGBT history or not. A story of how the community came together.”
You can find the AIDS Memorial Pathway on the north end of Cal Anderson Park and in the plaza above Capitol Hill Station. Learn more at theamp.org.
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