Cal Anderson Park, seven acres of lawn and water, is named for the first openly gay man elected to the Washington State Legislature. Cal Anderson served from 1987 until his death from AIDS-related illness in 1995, a tireless advocate for civil rights, healthcare equity, and LGBTQ visibility at a time when AIDS was decimating the gay community and the political response was inadequate and often hostile. The park was renamed in his honor in 2005, when the city renovated the Lincoln Reservoir beneath it and covered it with the lawn and water features you see today.
The reflective pool and fountain at the center draw people on warm afternoons; the lawn fills with frisbee players, readers, and those simply being present in the neighborhood. In 2020, during the CHOP occupation, community members transformed part of the park into an impromptu garden and gathering space. The name on the gate — Cal Anderson — is a reminder that the people who shaped this neighborhood had names and stories, and that remembering them is its own form of justice.