In November 1985 , activist Cleve Jones organized a candlelight march in remembrance of the 1978 assassinations of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone , and he asked people to write the names of loved ones lost to AIDS-related causes on signs . At the end of the march , they taped the signs to the walls of this federal building . The signs taped to the building looked like a patchwork quilt to Jones , and he was inspired to start the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt with several collaborators
1978 assassinations
Moscone–Milk assassinations
50 United Nations Plaza Federal Office Building (San Francisco)