Viretta Park
Encyclopedia
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
in the Denny-Blaine
Denny-Blaine, Seattle, Washington
Denny-Blaine is a neighborhood in east central Seattle, Washington. It is bounded on the east by Lake Washington; on the south by E. Howell Street, beyond which is Madrona; on the west by 32nd Avenue, beyond which is Madison Valley; and on the north by Lake Washington Boulevard E., Hillside Drive...
neighborhood of Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
at the foot of E. John Street at 39th Avenue E., stretching down to Lake Washington Boulevard E. It was named by Charles L. Denny after his wife, Viretta Jackson Denny. It is located to the South of the former home of Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
, where he died. Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
fans gather at the park on the anniversary of Cobain's death (April 5), and to a lesser extent on his birthday (Feb 20), to pay tribute to the musician.
The park's wooden benches, serving as the de facto memorial to Kurt Cobain, are covered with graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
messages to the rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
icon. There has been much speculation over the years on whether the name of the park should be changed to "Kurt's Park", due to the late rock icons large fan base.
Howard Schultz controversy
The first version of Friends of Viretta Park group was formed by area neighbors during a controversy with former neighbor and StarbucksStarbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
CEO Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz is an American business magnate. He is the best known as the chairman and CEO of Starbucks and a former owner of the Seattle SuperSonics...
, who formerly lived to the South. Schultz later moved to a new residence.
Viretta Park Repair
In 2010 a group known as Viretta Park Repair was formed, according to its website: "to repair and restore Seattle's Viretta Park and looks to create a memorial for Nirvana's singer/songwriter Kurt Cobain who died next door to the park". Its first work party was scheduled on Kurt Cobain's 44th birthday on Saturday, February 20, 2011. Volunteers came from all over the Western portion of the United States and SW Canada. The next series of scheduled work parties schedule for March 13, 2011 and April 5, 2011 were shut down by Seattle Parks and RecreationSeattle Parks and Recreation
Seattle Parks and Recreation is the department of government of the city of Seattle, Washington, responsible for maintaining the city's parks, open space, and community centers.The total area of the properties maintained by the department is over , which makes up approximately 11% of the total...
Superintendent Christopher Williams after a neighbor complained about memorial events and sculpture that do not exist, but which were actually scheduled for Aberdeen, Washington
Aberdeen, Washington
Aberdeen is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States, founded by Samuel Benn in 1884. Aberdeen was incorporated on May 12, 1890. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis...
.
Acting Parks Chief Christopher Williams sided with the neighbors in blocking any attempt to have any memorial to Kurt Cobain in the park, despite recent work at Jimi Hendrix Park in Seattle and a memorial sculpture in Aberdeen, Washington
Aberdeen, Washington
Aberdeen is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States, founded by Samuel Benn in 1884. Aberdeen was incorporated on May 12, 1890. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis...
which was supported by Aberdeen's Mayor.
Since then the Viretta park Repair has been given the green light to hold additional work parties. A 2nd work party was held on June 4th, 2011 where volunteers removed invasive holly and blackberry bushes, laid burlap and covered the area with bark mulch.
A future work party will be held July 16th from 11am to 3pm at Viretta Park. The Viretta park Repair is looking for volunteers to help with the removal of the remaining invasives and help with laying burlap & bark mulch. For more information and contact info please visit the Viretta Park Repairs wiki page
Kurt Cobain
There is a bench in Viretta Park that seves as a memorial for Kurt CobainKurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
as seen in the picture
External links
- Viretta Park Repair is the volunteer group associated with the park.
- Viretta Park Repair Facebook group
- Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation
- http://www.seattle.gov/parks/history/VirettaPk.pdf
- Seattle PI article with pictures of bench at Viretta Park and house to the North
Howard Schultz Controversy
- The Neighbors and Friends of Viretta Park, an unincorporated voluntary association
- The Seattle TimesThe Seattle TimesThe Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
Letters: Viretta Park -- Parks Staff Deserves Praise April 4, 1994 - Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle Post-IntelligencerThe Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
VIRETTA PARK NEIGHBORS CITE MORE ENCROACHMENT PUBLIC BACK YARD, By Mark Higgins, March 14, 1996. - Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle Post-IntelligencerThe Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
: Letters To The Editor, Viretta Pak -- Site Was Used As A Play Area April 10, 1996 - The Seattle TimesThe Seattle TimesThe Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
: Viretta Driveway OK But Decoration Must Go By Daryl Strickland May 21, 1994
Viretta Park Repair
- Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle Post-IntelligencerThe Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
: Nirvana fans plan to do Seattle park work Sunday Posted by Casey McNerthney on February 15, 2011 at 7:06 am - KING-TVKING-TVKING-TV, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Seattle, Washington, affiliated with the NBC network. Owned by Belo Corporation, it broadcasts on UHF digital channel 48. Its offices and broadcasting center are located just east of Seattle Center...
Nirvana fans plan to restore park close to Cobain's former home Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:33 AM - The Oregonian Kurt Cobain fans restoring park near Seattle home Published: Friday, February 18, 2011, 2:44 PM
- Nirvana fans plan to restore park close to Cobain's former home updated 2/18/2011 11:45:41 AM ET
- MYNorthwest.com Kurt Cobain fans restoring park near Seattle home Updated Feb 18, 2011 - 2:39 pm
- Kurt Cobain fans restoring park near Seattle home
- The Seattle TimesThe Seattle TimesThe Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
Memorial for Kurt Cobain sought; park neighbors opposed By Nicole Brodeur, Seattle Times staff columnist, Originally published Monday, February 21, 2011 at 10:00 PM - Seattle WeeklySeattle WeeklySeattle Weekly is a freely distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as The Weekly...
Nirvana Fans Hosting a Reunion/Workparty at Viretta Park on Sunday, What Would Have Been Kurt Cobain's 44th Birthday By Chris Kornelis, Fri., Feb. 18 2011 @ 3:04PM