Peter Daut
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – On Monday – World AIDS Day – the groundbreaking was especially meaningful for the Palm Springs AIDS Memorial at Downtown Park.
Hundreds gathered to witness a major step in finally bringing the Memorial to life. It has been more than a decade in the making, planned for completion in spring of 2026.
The event also included a moving tribute to those lost to HIV and AIDS.
The groundbreaking was the culmination of the 12-year effort to create a lasting place of remembrance, healing, and hope. Palm Springs AIDS Memorial Task Force member Mike Richey said, “It’s going to create awareness about the disease, it’s going to create awareness about the people who helped those who were ill very early on were caregivers for them, it’s going to help those we lost and remember them.”
Monday’s ceremony symbolized more than the start of construction on the Palm Springs AIDS Memorial. For many, it represented the community’s resilience through decades of loss, care, and activism.
Local artist Phillip K. Smith designed the piece, called “The Well of Love,” pro bono. Smith said, “This is a project that’s been talked about for so long, and it’s finally happening.”
Hundreds of donors and residents contributed time, energy, and money toward the $1.2 million fundraising goal, leaving just $275 thousand to go. The Memorial will be gifted to the city and added to its public art installation.
Smith continued, “It’s not in a park somewhere that you have to park and walk to, it’s part of the city, part of the fabric of the city, part of the experience of being in downtown, and that was really important for the whole task force.”
The 11-foot tall stone structure will share three different messages: “Forever Remembered,” Forever Loved,” and Forever Celebrated.” Each vertical glass face holds an oval pool of tears unique to its message.
Vincent Corrales, who has lost friends to AIDS, said, “This memorial here is something that will help us to remember all our friends who have passed and the work ahead to find a cure for HIV.”
Members of the Memorial Task Force say the project will do more than honor the past – It will ensure the history of the AIDS crisis in Palm Springs is never forgotten.
Task Force member Dan Spencer said of choosing World Aids Day for the groundbreaking, “It is an important day because of awareness, and because of the memories we have of so many we lost. And because people are still living with HIV and AIDS and so the community provides a lot of support.”
A digital component will also accompany the physical Memorial, including a QR code to share the Memorial’s concept and to highlight the timeline of HIV and AIDS in Palm Springs.
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