Chris Cornell statue unveiled in Seattle

SEATTLE — A statue of musician Chris Cornell was unveiled outside of the Museum of Pop Culture in a ceremony in his hometown of Seattle on Sunday.

Fans gathered and waited quietly and respectfully for an hour before the event began, listening to an array of Cornell’s music as frontman of Soundgarden and Audioslave.

Cornell died in May 2017 of suicide at age 52.

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Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Cornell's wife, Vicky Cornell, attended the event as speakers. Members of Soundgarden were also there to pay respects before the statue was unveiled.

Speakers all had the same message of keeping Cornell's memory alive through his music.

"This statue is a commemoration," Vicky Cornell, who commissioned the statue and donated it to MoPOP, said in her speech. "A focal point to keep Chris' memory alive in us, in Seattle and in the world."

Cornell’s daughters Lily, 18; Toni, 14; and Christopher, 12, pulled the drape from the statue to unveil the piece.

Fan Jenny Gruber flew in from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to see the unveiling.

“I’m just glad that he’s never going to disappear,” Gruber said. “That was a big fear of mine -- that he was just going to fade away -- and I’m just glad that like people are coming together to make sure that that won't happen.”

Other fans said Cornell’s music shaped their childhood and helped them navigate life’s tougher moments.

"He was just such a huge part of how I see and understand my world,” fan Nichole Nicholson said.

“With the other bands like Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden and Nirvana -- they started a music revolution (in Seattle) and this is my home town,” fan Scott Gallagher said. “I got swept up into it. It collected me and it spoke to my soul.”

An image of Cornell was installed behind the statue, in the wall of the museum itself, facing out for passersby to see.

Cox Media Group