Chicano Park History

Chicano Park Takeover

"On April 22nd, 1970, San Diego City College student Mario Solis spotted a construction crew under the Coronado Bridge in Logan Heights. To residents of Logan, this small plot of land carried a buzz to it as a site of a new community park, as promised by the local political officials. Upon inquiry, the crew revealed to Mario their orders to build a parking lot for a highway patrol police station; the city seemingly changed their minds on the park. Mario rushed back to his school to interrupt a Chicano Studies class with a simple prompt: 'What are you guys gonna do?'" [1]

The Brown Berets

Who are the Brown Berets?

Founded in the 1960s after the emergence of the Chicano Movement, the Brown Berets are an organization that focuses on cultural and land protection, education reform, anti-war activism, police brutality, etc. Within San Diego, their unit is known as The National Brown Berets de Aztlán and The San Diego Chapter of the Brown Beret National Organization. Within the park, their imagery is used to show the struggle for liberation. Their dedicated pillar within the park showcases the major events from 1968 to the present day.

Chicano Park Plans

Original Chicano Park Plan

The phrase "Hasta La Bahia" is shown in this original concept drawing for Chicano Park, which shows a pier reaching out into the bay underneath the Coronado Bay Bridge. This pier was envisioned to have shops and booths owned by the Chicano community.

Chicano Park Gondolas

Gondolas suspended below the Coronado Bay Bridge were proposed for a mural tour.

[1] Dominguez, Bob. La Tierra Mia: A Chicano Park Story. Second edition. San Diego, California: Chicano Park Steering Committee, 2021.