Kurt Cobain Memorial Park

On the muddy banks of the Wishkah River, this park is dedicated to Kurt Cobain, the leader of one of the most successful bands and the face of the Grunge movement coming out of Seattle in the early 90s. Cobain grew up in Aberdeen and spent many days of a troubled youth under the nearby bridge and considered this site a place of sanctuary. Commemorating Cobain's tragic suicide, the park features a memorial plaque dedicated to Cobain, a stone statue of Cobain's guitar and various portraits, as well as graffiti left by fans underneath the bridge itself in tribute to the artist. A touching tribute to a tragic figure, the Kurt Cobain Memorial invites Nirvana fans from all over the world to pay homage to one of the most talented musicians to grace the world stage.

An unassuming logging town about two hours outside of Seattle, Aberdeen, Washington is the birthplace of one of the largest American cultural icons of the 1990s. On February 20,1967 at Grays Harbor Hospital, Wendy and Donald Cobain gave birth to their first son, Kurt Cobain. As a child, Cobain was filled with energy, and was diagnosed with Ritalin at an early age, as well as prescription sedatives to help him sleep. This may have had a hand in creating a dependence on drugs that would come back to haunt him later in life. At the age of 9, Cobain's parents divorced. At first, he was sent to live with his mother. After a time, his endless energy became too much for her to handle, and she sent him to live with his father. His father eventually had enough and sent him to live with other family members. This cycle of being passed around from house to house, combined with feeling like an outcast at school, left Cobain without a sense of belonging. He felt that he had no true family, no true friends, and no true home. This sense of isolation turned a formerly happy go lucky hyperactive child, into an angry and troubled teenager. He began to vandalize, steal, and smoke marijuana like any rebellious, angsty teen would. During this turbulent youth, Cobain would frequently spend time underneath the Young Street Bridge, spanning over the Wishkah River. It became a place of peace for him, where he would go to unwind and cool off. The time he spent there would be so crucial to his life, that he would go on to reference the bridge in Something in the Way, one of Nirvana's most successful songs.

During his childhood in Aberdeen, Cobain began to develop an interest in music. He was drawn to metal and punk rock as it reflected the anger that he himself felt inside. In high school, Cobain met Buzz Osborne, who would go on to form another successful rock band known as the Melvins. Osbourne introduced Cobain to the world of live music, taking him to his first punk show. Cobain dropped out of high school at 17 after finding out that he did not have enough credits to graduate and met Krist Novoselic, who also had a passion for punk rock. Osbourne, Novoselic, and Cobain would frequently jam together, before replacing Osbourne with a more permanent member in Chad Channing. After some debate on what the band should be named, Cobain settled on Nirvana, as he hoped it would be what people felt when they listened to them. Nirvana would play live shows for small crowds and eventually pooled enough money to record a studio album. They released Bleach in 1989 with Cobain on guitar and vocals, Novoselic on bass, and Channing on drums. Achieving moderate success, Cobain and Novoselic decided to replace Chad Channing on drums. Buzz Osbourne introduced them to Dave Grohl who had been drumming for another punk band called Scream. Grohl blew them away with his audition, and they hired him on the spot. In 1991, this new trio released Nirvana's second album Nevermind. Nirvana became an overnight success. No longer a niche underground punk band, they had been thrust into the mainstream with their hit single Smells Like Teen Spirit playing on MTV. The members of the band had mixed feelings about this newfound success, especially Cobain who would go on to say that he felt like a sellout for releasing such a mainstream album. Nevertheless, whether they liked it or not, Nirvana was now the number one band in the world.

Unfortunately, behind the scenes trouble was brewing. Cobain suffered from a stomach condition that caused extreme pain. He had gone to doctors but nothing seemed to help. Cobain began to try heroin, which did seem to help, however soon enough he became hopelessly addicted. This would begin a physical and mental downward spiral. Wracked with self-doubt, Cobain would release one more album with Nirvana in 1993. Titled In Utero, it featured a very different sound from Nevermind and released to mixed reviews. It was harsher, angrier and, in hindsight, potentially a cry for help. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The reasons for his suicide are hotly debated. It's clear that Cobain struggled mentally his entire life. The feeling of being an outcast followed him everywhere he went, even amongst the people that loved him most. His body degraded physically from his crippling addiction to heroin. He had tried several times to kick the habit, even going to rehab, but nothing seemed to work, which would most certainly have driven him even further down into darkness. It's impossible to know for sure what was going through Kurt Cobain's mind in the moments leading up to his suicide. After his death, fans flocked to Aberdeen to pay their respects. One of their main stops was the Young Street Bridge that Cobain had spent many nights under all those years ago. In 2011, the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park was erected next to the bridge, for fans to come to in remembrance.

Aberdeen, WA. “Cobain Landing.” Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.aberdeenwa.gov/facilities/facility/details/Cobain-Landing-5.

Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck. Documentary. HBO, 2015.

Atlas Obscura. “Kurt Cobain Memorial Park.” Accessed November 12, 2022. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kurt-cobain-memorial-park.

Cobain, Kurt. Kurt Cobain Journals. Penguin , 2003.