Soundgarden fans in Seattle have begun building a memorial to late singer Chris Cornell in the most fitting place possible: the namesake A Sound Garden musical sculpture park in the band’s hometown from which the band derived its name. The popular spot — which features 12 21-foot-tall steel tower structures with organ pipes at the top of each that create a tone when the wind blows — grew into a living tribute to Cornell with fans arriving all day on Thursday (May 18) to leave flowers and other dedications to the 52-year-old rock icon. Cornell died in his Detroit hotel room a short time after the group’s Wednesday night gig at the city’s Fox Theatre of what the coroner has deemed a suicide.
Several dozen have shown up to the Sound Garden at Magnuson park in #seattle to pay their respects to #chriscornell #soundgarden pic.twitter.com/6yUa6bfM7N
— Joseph Huerta (@JHuertaK5) May 18, 2017
@MoPOPSeattle pays tribute to Chris Cornell. @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/fE2uScfRZN
— AMY CLANCY (@ClancyKIRO7) May 18, 2017
The memorial to #ChrisCornell in the Gathering Space grows; join us at 5PM for a moment of silence, words from @loserboy & @djcherylwaters. pic.twitter.com/m1L0DkrzO8
— KEXP (@kexp) May 18, 2017
The city’s iconic Space Needle went dark from 9-10 p.m. on Thursday night in tribute to Cornell and the Museum of Pop Culture also honored the city’s favorite rock son with a gathering for fans, family and friends for a moment of silence. In addition, the city’s KEXP radio station announced that they would be playing songs by Cornell all day long in what has become a sadly familiar ritual for a town that has lost so many of the leading lights of the 1990s grunge rock scene.
Love to family, friends and fans of #chriscornell #soundgarden we’ll pay tribute to him all day long on @kexp #rip @subpop pic.twitter.com/0HYT7RHEd3
— John Richards (@loserboy) May 18, 2017
Hundreds gather at @kexp to remember #Seattle native Chris Cornell. #komonews pic.twitter.com/39qPCmvpXU
— Patrick Quinn (@PatrickQuinnTV) May 19, 2017
The view from the booth of our memorial and celebration of #ChrisCornell https://t.co/OxHJwrgylQ
— KEXP (@kexp) May 19, 2017
WATCH LIVE: Moment of silence at @KEXP for #ChrisCornell >> https://t.co/Mg999xdE4U https://t.co/zS2keO9n9q
— KING 5 News (@KING5Seattle) May 18, 2017
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The Seattle Mariners baseball team also paid tribute to Cornell with a moment of silence before Thursday night’s home game.
Tonight we’ll remember Chris Cornell throughout the game @SafecoField w/ music from Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and more #RIPChrisCornell
— Kevin Martinez (@Kevin_Martinez) May 18, 2017
Enjoying music from Chris Cornell during the Seattle Mariners game at @SafecoField #music #seattle #safecofield #chriscornell pic.twitter.com/XMKY3boB2O
— Kbooklover (@kbooklover) May 19, 2017
Soundgarden canceled the remainder of their tour in the wake of Cornell’s death. On Friday morning (May 19), Cornell’s wife, Vicky, and lawyer Kirk Pasich released a statement in which they called into question the coroner’s conclusion that Cornell took his life, with Vicky Cornell suggesting that her husband’s actions may have been the result of taking too much of the anti-anxiety medication Ativan.