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Jimi was interred in a family plot at Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton. His grave was marked by a simple headstone with an etching of a Fender Stratocaster guitar, his instrument of choice (though the guitar pictured is right-handed, and Jimi adapted his to play left-handed). At the time, this basic grave was all Al Hendrix could afford. Even in death, Jimi's popularity grew. In the 1990s, a generation of young Seattle grunge musicians was inspired by his musical technique. Jimi's legacy instilled local pride, and fans regularly made pilgrimages to his gravesite. The cemetery's management began worrying about damage to nearby graves from all the foot traffic. To ease concerns and to vastly expand the family's burial space (since the extended Hendrix family had significantly grown beyond the original plot's five graves), in 1999 Al Hendrix announced plans for a new memorial to his son, bigger and more fitting to his iconic status. Al envisioned such a memorial for a long time, but only gained the financial means to build it in the mid-1990s after acquiring the rights to Jimi's music. Designed by architect Mark Barthelemy, the memorial was constructed over the next few years by Cold Spring Granite of Minnesota. It was dedicated, still unfinished, in June 2002. Sadly, Al Hendrix had died 2 months earlier, having been in declining health. |
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The memorial also sports a granite-and-brass sundial alongside the main structure. Disputes over the remainder of Jimi's multimillion-dollar estate have divided surviving members of the extended Hendrix family. It's speculated that this is why the statue, supposedly being sculpted in Italy as of the 2002 dedication, has not been mounted in the memorial. (Brass accents on the dome are also delayed.) Instead, fans can admire the statue of Jimi in Seattle's Capitol Hill, on Broadway just north of East Pine Street. Hendrix biographers have noted an odd situation involving the family and Greenwood Memorial Park. Jimi's mother Lucille, who died in 1958 when he was just 15, lies elsewhere in an unmarked pauper's grave. Why was she buried this way? Why didn't Jimi buy her a gravestone after achieving rock stardom, especially given his well-known devotion to her? Why hasn't she been moved to one of the plots at the memorial? The answers may point to more family discord, but ultimately remain unclear. Greenwood Memorial Park is located at 350 Monroe Ave NE in Renton. The Jimi Hendrix Memorial is easily visible on the west side of the cemetery. |