Chicano Park in San Diego, California
Tourists and even locals sometimes miss one of the most historic and colorful free outdoor attractions in San Diego when they drive over the Coronado Bay Bridge to visit the sandy shores of Coronado. Underneath the pre-stressed concrete and steal of the bridge lies Chicano Park, home to one of the largest collections of outdoor murals in the United States.
The vibrant murals are not just colorful artwork, but all have a meaningful message of Chicano Pride and the Hispanic history of oppression and resistance. That’s because this park would not exist if it weren’t for the Chicano movement in the 1970’s.
In the late1960’s the largely Hispanic neighborhood of Barrio Logan had five thousand residents displaced when the California Department of Transportation and San Diego City officials used Eminent Domain to build the I-5 freeway and Coronado Bay Bridge. In doing so, the dispersed residents were promised a community park would be created under the bridge. But upon completion of the bridge in 1969, government officials decided to build a new California Highway Patrol office instead.
On April 22, 1970, a Barrio Logan resident, Mario Solis, saw the bulldozers in place and when he inquired about the activity was only then informed that the park was no longer planned. By mid-day Mexican American students walked out of their classes to join other neighbors who had already gathered to block the bulldozers. Some protesters formed human chains around the bulldozers, while others sang peace songs, and planted trees to show the intent of the land. The flag of Aztlán was raised on an old telephone pole, marking a symbolic "reclamation" of land that was once Mexico by people of Mexican descent. The peaceful protests lasted 12 days before government officials caved to the hundreds of residents who gathered to protest to give them back the once promised park. On July 1, 1970, over 20,000 dollars was given to develop the park with a vision of turning the bridge and highway pillars into art itself around the 1.8 acres of land for the park. It was named “Chicano Park” in tribute to the movement which created it.
Today the park features a playground, covered picnic areas and gardens…all surrounded by Hispanic Inspirational figures, messages and art work to reflect Chicano pride. The murals, painted in vivid Aztec Revival styles, blend indigenous and Spanish heritage and depict Mexican American history, folklore, revolutionary struggles, and civil rights issues. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, more artists from California and beyond contributed to the collection. Today, the park is home to more than 100 murals, solidifying its status as the largest concentration of Chicano murals in the world. The mural artwork has naturally extended to nearby homes and business which equally display their Hispanic pride.
On the weekends, be sure to catch the equally artistic lowrider vehicles which gather in the adjacent parking lot and drive up and down the streets of the now developed commercial district around the park.
The park was designated an official historic site by the San Diego Historical Site Board in 1980, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016.
