The Grove: the National AIDS Memorial

More Americans have been lost to AIDS than in all the U.S. wars since 1900, and the pandemic has killed 22 million people worldwide.

However, few know about the existence of the National AIDS Memorial, a seven-acre grove hidden in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.


The Grove chronicles the garden’s transformation from a neglected eyesore to landscaped sanctuary to national memorial. The film shows how a community in crisis found healing and remembrance, and how the seeds of a few visionaries blossomed into something larger and more provocative than they could have imagined.

But as the Grove’s stakeholders seek broader public recognition, a battle erupts over what constitutes an appropriate memorial for the AIDS pandemic.

WSBE Rhode Island PBS presents The Grove on Sunday, December 11 at 11 P.M.