Chicano Park in Barrio Logan

Editor’s note: Welcome to our newest column, Progressive San Diego! We received an email from Dave, a reader in Liverpool, UK, who’s visiting San Diego later this year. He had one simple question: What are some progressive places to visit?

That got us thinking. There’s nothing really available online that’s broad and comprehensive with regard to San Diego’s progressive history and locales — a directory of sorts. We want to change that.

And so twice a month we will feature a person, place or thing that has done something to contribute to our important cause and culture. Given our time and resource restraints, each feature will be short and sweet, or pulled from other sites with permission. Please feel free to add information in the comments. We would love this to be organic and ever evolving.

If you have a suggestion for a feature, or want to submit an article of your own, please email us at contact@sandiegofreepress.org and put “Progressive San Diego” in the subject line.

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On April 22, 1970 community members of the predominantly working class, Mexican barrio of Logan Heights, after years of asking for a park, took matters into their own hands and occupied land underneath the San Diego-Coronado Bridge.

In 2013, Chicano Park in Barrio Logan was officially recognized as a national treasure of the United States — the first mural site of its time period to be awarded such a title.

Despite the busy I-5 freeway and Coronado Bridge that runs over and through it, Chicano Park has become a place of peaceful, reflection into the struggle that was the Chicano Civil Rights era. With larger-than-life murals that adorn nearly all of the freeway’s concrete support beams, the park is a colorful, rich lesson in history.

Each year, on the Saturday closest to April 22, thousands gather to celebrate Chicano Park Day with traditional dance, music, food, children’s art workshops and a lowrider car show.

Jose Gomez - La Tierra Mia - Chicano Park mural

Jose Gomez - La Tierra Mia - Chicano Park mural
Early work founding Chicano_Park

Early work founding Chicano_Park
A crowd gathers on Chicano Park Day