Viretta Park

Viretta Park is a 1.8acre park in the Denny-Blaine neighborhood of Seattle, Washington 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, where he died. Nirvana 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 in Seattle, are covered with graffiti messages to the rock 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 controversyThe first version of Friends of Viretta Park group was formed by area neighbors during a controversy with former neighbor and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who formerly lived to the South. Schultz later moved to a new residence.Viretta Park RepairIn 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 scheduled for March 13, 2011 and April 5, 2011 were shut down by Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Christopher Williams after a neighbor complained about memorial events and sculpture that do not exist, but which were actually scheduled for Aberdeen, Washington.