On Nov. 7, the Seattle Center Fund revealed the portion of Republican Street that is now marked by 12-foot archways, proclaiming the walkway August Wilson Way. A high steel-and-glass door is adorned with an image of Wilson as well as biographical information and inscriptions from his works. Wilson's widow, Constanza Romero was on hand for the Nov. 7 dedication of the promenade that runs through Seattle Center campus from Warren Avenue to Marion Oliver McCaw Hall.
Wilson made Seattle his home from 1994 until his death in 2005. Each of Wilson's plays documents a decade in the history of African-American culture during the 20th century, beginning with Gem of the Ocean, 1904; through Broadway's recent Radio Golf, 1997. The majority of Wilson's plays are set in the Pittsburgh Hill District where he was born and raised.
Wilson won the Tony Award for Fences, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Fences and The Piano Lesson. All of Wilson's plays were Tony-nominated for Best Play, with the exception of Jitney which played Off-Broadway, winning an Olivier for its London production. Wilson is the first African-American playwright to have a Broadway theatre in his name. Wilson died of liver cancer in October of 2005, shortly after finishing rewrites on what would be his last play, Radio Golf, the final chapter in his ten-play legacy.