Most days, at least a couple of tour groups can be spotted making their way through Chicano Park, the park tucked under the San Diego-Coronado Bridge in Barrio Logan.
Folks stop to snap selfies in front of the colorful murals as they learn about the park’s history and significance.
Each mural has a story. Each artist who helped paint the murals has a story. And of course, the park itself has a story that’s packed with politics, turmoil and community pride.
For now, volunteer tour guides – local educators, historians, longtime neighborhood residents and the Chicano Park muralists themselves – are the keepers of the park’s history.
But those guides are getting older and some have already passed away. That’s part of what’s behind the push to turn a vacant, city-owned building that borders the park into a museum where the park’s narrative can be stored and accessed by the public for decades to come.
In episode three of Culturecast, VOSD’s podcast covering the intersection of arts and gentrification in Barrio Logan, I dig deep into the movement to open the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center.