Chicano Park and the Chicano Park Murals: Barrio Logan ... · speeches, music, and dancing. The...

Chicano Park and the Chicano Park Murals: Barrio Logan, City of San Diego, CaliforniaAuthor(s): Martin D. Rosen, James FisherSource: The Public Historian, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Fall 2001), pp. 91-111Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the National Council on Public HistoryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/tph.2001.23.4.91 .

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The Public Historian, Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 91–112 (Fall 2001). ISSN: 0272-3433© 2001 by the Regents of the University of California and the

National Council on Public History. All rights reserved.Send requests for permission to reprint to Rights and Permissions, University of

California Press, 2000 Center St., Ste. 303, Berkeley, CA 94704-1223.

Chicano Park and the ChicanoPark Murals: Barrio Logan,

City of San Diego, California

MARTIN D. ROSEN and JAMES FISHER

After the disastrous Loma Prieta and Northridge earthquakes of 1989 and1994, respectively, then-Governor Pete Wilson mandated that the Califor-nia Department of Transportation (Caltrans) make the highway bridges ofthe state safe for the motoring public. Caltrans entered into a massiveseismic strengthening program that has encompassed almost every type ofbridge and highway-related cultural resource situation in the state. One of

MARTIN D. ROSEN prepared the Section 106 and PRC§5024 documentation for this project,including the Historic Property Survey Report, Historical Resources Compliance Report,and the Negative Archaeological Survey Report. He is the heritage resource coordinator anda district archaeologist for Caltrans District 11 in San Diego. Mr. Rosen’s education in-cludes a B.A. and M.A. in anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Heis a Registered Professional Archaeologist, with archaeological experience in California,Nevada, New Mexico, and Guatemala. He has authored some two dozen articles in his fieldand served as an editor of the Society for California Archaeology’s Proceedings for its firsteight years, the last five of those as editorial chief.JAMES FISHER conducted the architectural/historical resources inventory and the backgroundresearch for the Historical Resource Evaluation Report on Chicano Park and the ChicanoPark Murals. He is an architectural historian and historian with the California Departmentof Transportation, Environmental Program, Sacramento. Dr. Fisher’s education includes aB.A. and an M.A. in history from Sacramento State University, Sacramento, and a Ph.D. inhistory from State University of New York, Stony Brook. His experience includes threeyears as a state historian in the California Office of Historic Preservation, Department ofParks and Recreation; ten years with Caltrans working in cultural resources survey andSection 106 compliance; and twenty years of teaching U.S. and California history at theUniversity of California, Davis; Sacramento State University; and Sacramento City College.



92 n THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN

the most challenging projects has involved the retrofit of the San Diego–Coronado Bay Bridge and its approach ramps. The bridge connects thecities of San Diego and Coronado across San Diego Bay (Figure 1). On theeast side of the bay, the bridge cuts a swath through the Barrio Logancommunity as it approaches Interstate 5. Within that community liesChicano Park, located under the bridge’s five approach ramps. The park isthe site of monumental Hispanic mural art, which uses the bridge’s columnsas its canvas.

Because the seismic retrofit project had to comply with federal and statelaws regarding its impact on significant cultural resources, part of theprocess for this undertaking required researching and evaluating ChicanoPark and the Chicano Park murals. Based on the authors’ research,1 the parkand murals were found eligible for listing on the National Register ofHistoric Places and for placement on the California Register of HistoricalResources.2 Prior to the Caltrans undertaking, the murals had only beenformally recognized by the City of San Diego Historical Site Board.

During the process of seismic retrofitting, however, Caltrans culturalresource staff evaluated the historic significance of the Chicano Parkmurals. As a result of this evaluation, Caltrans successfully determined themurals, all under fifty years old, to be eligible for inclusion in the NationalRegister of Historic Places. This essay examines this unusual combination ofcircumstances that led to the formal recognition of Latino art in San Diegoas an important cultural resource.

Located in southwest San Diego some 17 miles from the United States-Mexico border, Logan Heights was once a predominantly upper-middle-class community known as the East End. It was annexed to San Diego in thelate 1880s, and its name was changed to Logan Heights in 1905. It is one ofSan Diego’s oldest communities and the location of one of the longestestablished Mexican-American (“Chicano” hereafter) communities in SanDiego County. Barrio Logan quickly took on a separate community flairwith a distinctively Latino identity and came to represent a major center forChicano culture and social activities.

As commerce and industry began developing along the bay during and afterthe turn of the century, Barrio Logan prospered and continued to increase inpopulation through World War II. When the war ended, however, much of thearea’s employment ended as well. Later, in the 1950s, the city of San Diego

1. James Fisher, Historic Research Evaluation Report for the San Diego-Coronado BayBridge [#57-857], Chicano Park and the Chicano Park Murals, San Diego County (Sacra-mento: California Department of Transportation, 1996). Martin D. Rosen, Historic PropertySurvey Report, San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, Seismic Retrofit Project 4; 11-SD-75, P.M.R21.9/R22.3, 021941 (San Diego: California Department of Transportation, 1997). Martin D.Rosen, Historical Resources Compliance Report, San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, SeismicRetrofit Project 4; 11-SD-75, P.M. R21.9/R22.3, 021941 (San Diego: California Department ofTransportation, 1998).

2. Chicano Park and the Chicano Park murals were found eligible for the National Registerand placed on the California Register on January 31, 1997.



CHICANO PARK MURALS n 93

revamped its zoning laws. Property in Barrio Logan was changed from strictlyresidential to mixed use, allowing the influx into the community of auto junkyards and wrecking operations and other light industrial plants. The cumulativeeffect of these land use policies resulted in the dislocation of families, businessclosures, and the construction of transportation facilities that required moreand more land in the area. Barrio Logan’s population decreased precipitously,and by 1979, had fallen from a pre-war high of 20,000 to about 5,000.3

3. Pamela Jane Ferree, The Murals of Chicano Park, San Diego, California (unpublishedM.A. thesis, San Diego State University, 1994), 26. Alan W. Barnett, Community Murals: ThePeople’s Art (Philadelphia: The Art Alliance Press, 1984), 107.


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In the early 1960s, the construction of Interstate 5 severed Barrio Loganfrom the larger community of Logan Heights. Then the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, constructed between 1967 and 1969 and sited in aneast-west direction to link with Interstate 5, further bisected the barrio,essentially “completing the devastation,” according to long-time communityactivist Al Ducheny.4

Chicano Park is a 7.4-acre park located in San Diego City’s Barrio Loganbeneath the east-west approach ramps of the San Diego-Coronado BayBridge where the bridge intersects Interstate 5. The park’s main section isbounded by Interstate 5 to the east and National Avenue to the west, with asmaller pan-handle section extending from National Avenue to NewtonAvenue and flanked to the south by Dewey Street (Figure 2). The park wascreated in 1970 after residents in Barrio Logan participated in an April 22nd

“takeover” of land that was being prepared for a substation of the CaliforniaHighway Patrol. Since 1970, Barrio residents have made extensive use oftheir new park for social and political events. Annually, on the Saturdaynearest April 22nd, the Latino community of San Diego and the Barrio Loganneighborhood have celebrated the founding of Chicano Park with feasting,speeches, music, and dancing. The park’s facilities include children’s play-grounds, restrooms, a Kiosko or dance pavilion, a ceremonial kiva, sculp-tures, a water fountain, picnic areas, multi-purpose courts, open play lawns,a raised plaza, and two small parking areas accessed from Logan Avenue andNational Avenue.

Chicano Park is distinguished by approximately forty prominent muralspainted on twenty-four concrete pillars (columns or bents) and two abut-ments sited throughout the park area, which support the San Diego end ofthe San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge. The murals depict images of Mexicanpre-Columbian gods, myths and legendary icons, botanical elements, ani-mal imagery, the Mexican colonial experience, revolutionary struggles,cultural and spiritual reaffirmation through the arts, Chicano achievements,identity and bicultural duality as symbolized in the search for the “indig-enous self,” Mexican and Chicano cultural heroes and heroines such as LaAdelita, Cesar Chavez, Father Miguel Hidalgo, Che Guevara, Pancho Villa,Emiliano Zapata, and scenes based on contemporary Chicano civil rightshistory.

Because the evaluated properties, Chicano Park and its murals, are lessthan fifty years old, they had to meet National Register of Historic Places

4. Michael Granberry, “20 Years Later, Span is Loved and Loathed,” Los Angeles Times, 2August 1989. Also see: Patrick McDonnell, “City Urged to Use Coronado Bridge Tolls forBarrio Logan Projects,” Los Angeles Times, 20 October 1990; Barnett, Community Murals,107. It should be noted that the Interstate 5 and State Route 75 construction projects of the1960s were implemented at a time prior to the enactment of NEPA (National EnvironmentalPolicy Act), CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), or the National Uniform Reloca-tion Act, which today helps to protect communities from the potentially devastating anddisruptive impacts caused by major public improvement projects.




Criterion Consideration G: Properties That Have Achieved SignificanceWithin the Last Fifty Years, as well as the National Register Criteria forEvaluation, in order to be found eligible for the National Register.5 TheNational Register generally excludes properties less than fifty years old

5. National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation(U.S. Department of The Interior, National Park Service, Interagency Resources Division,Washington, D.C.), 41–43.





unless those properties possess exceptional significance. The intent of thetime limit is to ensure that sufficient historical perspective has been devel-oped to identify properties of enduring importance and avoid listing prop-erties of only passing contemporary interest. At the same time, the NationalRegister provides for recognition of properties from the recent past whensufficient historical perspective and scholarly comparative analysis exist andcan justify a finding of exceptional significance. Prototype transportationfacilities, homes of important writers and artists, significant scientific re-search facilities, outstanding examples of modern architecture, extraordi-nary folk art, early examples of icons of popular culture, and propertiesassociated with major themes of the recent past, such as the exploration ofspace, the civil rights movement, and cold war relics, are among the variedproperties under fifty years old that have been listed on or determinedeligible for listing on the National Register.

Barrio Logan’s Chicano Park was found eligible for the National Registerunder Criterion A at the local level of significance due to its criticalassociation with the Chicano Civil Rights Movement and events that havemade a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the City of SanDiego’s political and social history.6 The creation of the park has beenrecognized as a major defining moment in the history and development ofthe Barrio Logan community.

The Chicano Park Murals, even younger than the park, were also foundeligible for listing on the National Register under Criterion A at the locallevel of significance for their association (1) with political and culturalactivities identified with the Chicano Civil Rights Movement and (2) with agrowing recognition of the significance of muralism in mainstream artendeavors. The murals have deep transcendent values and constitute ahistoric resource for which the Barrio Logan community has an unusuallystrong associative attachment. The importance of the Chicano Park muralshas been underscored by local, national, and international recognition oftheir artistic and social value.

After the earthquakes, Caltrans was committed to find a way to retrofitthe bridge and ramps to achieve increased public safety, while at the sametime, protect the murals as significant community resources. The fact thatChicano Park and its murals were less than fifty years old was not of supreme

6. The National Register criteria, as cited in 36CFR§60.4, state that the quality of signifi-cance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture is present indistricts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, design,setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and (Criterion A) that are associatedwith events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or(Criterion B) that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or (CriterionC) that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, orthat represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent asignificant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or(Criterion D) that have yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistoryor history.




importance. Even if they had not been found eligible for the National andCalifornia registers, Caltrans was determined to limit the adverse impactsthat the project might have on the subject resources. From the verybeginning of the project, community input was actively solicited and inte-grated into project proposals and such input was viewed as vital in thesuccessful implementation of the undertaking. Consequently, the engi-neers’ initial and standard retrofit technique of wrapping the columns insteel cylinders and in-filling with concrete was completely unacceptablebecause it would have destroyed the murals. The engineers were tasked todevelop an alternative that would achieve the seismic goals of the projectand preserve the murals. The resultant strategy involved work in thediaphragm areas above the columns, where the bridge deck meets the topsof the columns, and around the bent footings below ground, thereby leavingthe column faces untouched (Figure 3). Only one mural in the park, locatedon Bent G46, was painted above the columns into the diaphragm area, thatbeing Death of the Farm Worker by Michael Schnorr. For the affectedmural, about 30 percent of its total surface will be recreated by Mr. Schnorrafter construction. Scaffolding will be provided to Mr. Schnorr for thispurpose and then donated to the park for future mural projects. (A fairlycomplete listing of the murals, their dates of construction and originalartists, is presented in Appendix A.)

To ensure mural protection during construction, Caltrans hired artconservator Molly Lambert to oversee the contractor’s operations. Thecontractor was also required to hire art conservators to prepare a muralprotection plan and develop the protection strategies. That work wasundertaken by Donna Williams and Aneta Zabata. Photographer PhillippRittermann and Ms. Lambert completely photo-documented the muralsprior to construction to provide a comparative record of before-and-afterconditions to make sure the murals were not damaged during the retrofitprocess. To date the project is nearly seventy-five percent completed, and sofar no mural damage has been detected.

With community input, Chicano Park itself is being enhanced to includea new children’s playground, additional landscaping, new decorated walk-ways (hardscaping), benches, picnic tables, shade structure, barbeques,lighting, electrical outlets, and irrigation. It is Caltrans’ intent to leave thepark in much better condition than when it arrived.

Even though this project was not a federal undertaking, Caltrans still hadto fulfill its cultural resource requirements under state law (PRC§5024.5).Caltrans’ cultural resource process closely follows Section 106 of the Na-tional Historic Preservation Act, as promulgated in 36CFR§800. The pro-cess involved defining the project limits, or what is known as the Area ofPotential Effects (APE). Cultural resources within the APE were invento-ried and evaluated for their potential eligibility to the National Register ofHistoric Places, the California Register of Historical Resources, or both.Finally, determinations were made on how the project affected those




resources deemed significant. It is Caltrans’ policy to avoid adverse effectsfirst, minimize effects second, and consider mitigation as the last resort.Given that the project was only going to effect a portion of one mural, andas mitigation that affected portion was going to be recreated by the originalartist, Caltrans avoided causing an adverse effect to the park and muralsthrough its redesign efforts.

The present authors began their studies by researching Chicano Parkhistory and the history of the murals in the park. To place the resources intheir proper context, the importance of muralism in mainstream art and in





particular to Latino/Chicano cultural heritage had to be researched anddocumented. A significant body of literature was reviewed in this respect.Numerous oral interviews were conducted with muralists and other activistswho have been actively involved with Chicano Park since its founding.Libraries in both San Diego and Sacramento were utilized and newspaperarchival materials were particularly useful. Through these efforts it becamequite apparent that Chicano Park and it murals were significant culturalresources even though they were less than fifty years old. The authors hadno trouble developing an argument in favor of significance. The authors’roles involved analyzing all the various cultural resources studies conductedfor the project, including the Chicano Park and mural evaluations, prehis-toric and historic archaeological surveys, bridge evaluations, historic build-ing surveys, and underwater archaeological surveys, and synthesized themin a report for State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) review. In theformal submittal to the SHPO, Caltrans requested concurrence that thepark and the murals be found eligible for the National and Californiaregisters. The authors continue to work with the Chicano Park SteeringCommittee to help secure future funding for mural restoration projects.

At the same time the cultural resource efforts were underway, otherCaltrans staff, mostly from the environmental (Geralda Stryker) and land-scape architecture (Tom Ham and Beth Hall) departments, continued tomeet with the community to share information with them about the projectand to seek their input on the kinds of park amenities they desired. Theproject was quite complicated in terms of construction staging, as Caltranswanted to minimize the impact of the project on the public’s use of the park.As the engineers continued to develop the strategy that allowed for seismicretrofitting work while leaving the bridge columns relatively untouched,Project Manager Ramon Ruelas, Project Engineer Carlos Cortez, andProject Resident Engineer Dennis Wilder helped tremendously to ensurethat the environmental commitments were carried through during con-struction.

Political Activism and Muralism

Since at least 1967, many residents in Barrio Logan had believed thatthey would be given some land for a park. On April 22, 1970, the formalstruggle for a park in Barrio Logan began when José Gomez, a long-timeresident of the neighborhood, and students, families, and children occupiedthe land under the approach ramps of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge,after they learned that a California Highway Patrol station would be builtthere. Between 250 and 500 people representing a wide cross-section of thecommunity disrupted grading work that was already in progress. Theyoccupied the site for twelve days and demanded that a park be created




immediately. To emphasize their point, the occupiers began the work ofcreating a park by using shovels, pickaxes, hoes, and rakes to prepare theground for the planting of grass, shrubs, and flowers.7 Forming the ChicanoPark Steering Committee, the activists demanded that the property bedonated to the Mexican-American community as a park in which Hispanicculture could be expressed through art.8

Community activists withdrew from the disputed land only after cityofficials promised negotiations regarding the use of the land. San Diego CityCouncilman Leon Williams, whose district included Barrio Logan, assuredthe neighborhood residents that they would have a city park under theCoronado Bridge. The City of San Diego, through the efforts of communityspokeswoman Angie Avila and others, finally negotiated a settlement withthe Chicano Federation, a consortium of various community groups, andthe Chicano Park Steering Committee that required the city to exchangecity-owned land for the disputed state land. The city would then build a 4.5-acre park (eventually to be expanded to a total of 7.4 acres) on the acquiredland bounded by Logan Avenue and National Avenue. The creation of thepark was a major defining moment in the history of the Barrio Logancommunity.9

The civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s inspired a revival ofmuralism, as did the Mexican Revolution of the 1920s and the New Deal ofthe 1930s; however, the differences are crucial. Modern Chicano muralismwas generally not government sponsored. It grew out of a desire for changeand was typically centered in barrios and ghettos of inner cities. Muralisminspired efforts to reclaim a community’s cultural heritage and was used asa means to develop individual and community self-pride. Murals were anexpression of collective vision and tended to link the artists to the people toshape content in the genre of social realism. Techniques were consciouslydeveloped to allow non-artists to participate and paint their own murals.Indeed, community participation underscored community empowerment

7. Armando Acuna, “Saving a Slice of Chicano Park,” Los Angeles Times, 4 June 1989. PhilipBrookman, “Looking for Alternatives: Notes on Chicano Art, 1960-90,” in Richard Griswolddel Castillo, Teresa McKenna, and Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano, eds., Chicano Art: Resistance andAffirmation, 1965–1985 (University of California, Los Angeles: Wright Art Gallery, 1991),185–86. Brookman, “El Centro Cultural De La Raza: Fifteen Years,” in Brookman andGuillermo Gomez-Peña, eds., Made in Aztlan: Centro Cultural De La Raza Fifteenth Anniver-sary (1986), 20. “Work Halted by State At CHP Site Near Bridge,” San Diego Tribune, 23 April1970. Titus Fisher, “City Holds Fate of Park for Chicanos,” San Diego Tribune, 24 April 1970.“State ‘Hold’ Grant Delay Affect Park,” San Diego Tribune, 4 March 1971. Nancy Ray,“Chicanos Vacate Bay Bridge Site,” San Diego Union, 1 May 1970. “Council Okays Bay ParkAgreement,” San Diego Tribune, 12 November 1971. Bill Callahan, “Bay Bridge Art Shows ItsAge,” San Diego Tribune, 28 March 1984.

8. Acuna, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 1989. Brookman, “Looking for Alternatives,” 185–86.Brookman, “El Centro Cultural,” 20. “Work Halted by State at CHP Site Near Bridge,”“Looking for Alternatives”; Fisher, “City Holds Fate.”

9. Angie Avila, legislative analyst and long-time Barrio Logan resident, interview withauthors, San Diego, 13 March 1996.




and its involvement in politics. Chicana muralist Judy Baca, founder of thearts organization known as SPARC (Social and Public Art Resource Center)and a major Los Angeles exponent of the mural art form, noted: “Chicanomurals have influenced international muralism greatly and contributed tothe shift in emphasis from Mexico to the United States as the center of muralproduction in the world.”10

Agreeing, Eva Sperling Cockcroft, muralist and author of Towards aPeople’s Art (1977), one of the first comprehensive studies of the commu-nity mural movement, concluded: “Nowhere did the community-basedmural movement take firmer root than in the Chicano communities ofCalifornia. With the Mexican mural tradition as part of their heritage,murals were a particularly congenial form for Chicano artists to express theircollective vision of their community.”11 Not surprisingly, California hasmore murals than any other part of the United States. The revival ofmuralism in the barrio was a reaction to such contemporary concerns as highlevels of gang and drug violence, restrictive employment opportunities,English-only laws, and a lack of political power in spite of an ever-increasingpopulation base.12

The height of Chicano political activism occurred between 1969 and1975 and not only dictated the specific social and economic issues themovement dealt with, but also coincided with the most productive period ofChicano muralism. Certainly this was the historical context in which theChicano Park murals fit. Such grass-root muralism was generally funded bythe artists themselves, local businesses, or community social and arts cen-ters, and projected the themes of Chicano nationalism and cultural identity.

In keeping with a long tradition of Mexican art as resistance, muralsbecame the art form of choice, silent sentiments and creative yearnings thatwere vivid and eye-catching, explosions of lights that vanquished the shad-ows while merging the past and the future with the present. They spoke tothe ever-increasing social consciousness of the barrio and Chicano sensibili-ties and reflected issues and symbols that ranged from Aztec icons to theUnited Farm Workers’ black eagle, combining the Spanish and Indigenousheritage, a significant source of California’s history. Most of the murals werepainted between 1973 and 1980.13

10. Judy Baca, in Preface to Eva Sperling Cockcroft and Holly Barnet-Sanchez, eds., SignsFrom the Heart: California Chicano Murals (Venice, Calif.: Social and Public Art ResourceCenter, 1990), 1.

11. Cockcroft and Barnet-Sanchez, Signs from the Heart, 1, 9–10. Cockcroft et al., Towardsa People’s Art (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1977).

12. Nicolas Kanellos, The Hispanic Almanac: From Columbus to Corporate America(Detroit: Gale Research, 1993), 358.

13. Ron Buckley, “City of San Diego Historical Site Board Register, #143” (unpublished SanDiego Historical Site Board documentation, 1980), 2. Raul Jaquez, artist, interview withauthors, San Diego, 1 March 1996. Salvador Torres, artist, interview with authors, San Diego,29 February 1996. José Montoya, poet, artist, musician, Professor of Art, California StateUniversity, Sacramento, interview with authors, 10 March 1996.




From the mid-1970s to the 1980s, muralism gained wider acceptanceoutside the barrios and was even introduced to audiences at more traditionalart galleries. Books on murals were published, conferences held on thesubject, and artists from other countries began to sing the praises of Aztlanmuralists. In 1983, the quarterly magazine Community Muralists beganpublishing.14 By this time, new social and artistic themes served to augmentthe traditional symbols of the farmworkers’ black eagle flag, the Virgin ofGuadalupe, the maguey agave (symbol of renewal), and pre-Columbianimages of Quetzalcoatl and pyramids.15

Cockcroft believed that muralism gained a new vitality in the 1980s due toopposition to the rise of political conservatism in the United States and themilitary involvement of the United States in Central America, namely Panama,Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala, and the “war on drugs” program inSouth America.16 A growing Chicano population and emerging political powerin the southwest helped to define social issues such as bilingualism in educa-tion, immigration, and trade. Through its own visual appeal, innate power, andinnovative character, Chicano art at this time displayed an ability to cross overinto the mainstream of society in spite of its often intense political content. TheChicano Civil Rights Movement attacked the stereotypes that maintained thatbarrio art was “folk” art and that true artistic recognition had to come throughassimilation into the mainstream culture.

According to Marcos Sanchez-Tranquilino:

Chicano art is currently entering its “appreciation” period as it gainsincreased acceptance in the larger art market. It is highly valued for the artmarket as a new source of color, form, imagery, and text. However, theunderstanding of it can only be achieved through analysis of its historicalroots and development. Paradoxically, its certified roots (through social arthistories) in social resistance will increase its value in the market place.Chicanos, both artists and non-artists, in addition to everyone else in thiscountry, are having to reformulate the contexts of their identities as thedemands of living in an increasingly publicly acknowledged multi-culturalsociety begins to seriously impinge upon hard-earned recent socialpositionings.17

Chicano Park Murals

On March 23, 1973, mural making in Chicano Park began in earnest. Twoteams of Chicano artists, Los Toltecas en Aztlan, from the Centro Cultural

14. Cockcroft and Barnet-Sanchez, Signs from the Heart, 13.15. Shifra Goldman, “How, Why, Where, and When It All Happened: Chicano Murals in

California,” in Cockcroft and Barnet-Sanchez, Signs from the Heart, 33–34. Cockcroft andBarnet-Sanchez, Signs from the Heart, 14. Brookman, 1986, 40. Cesar Martinez, “UnpublishedStatement,” in Griswold del Castillo et al., Chicano Art, 22.

16. Cockcroft and Barnet-Sanchez, Signs from the Heart, 16, 100.17. Jacinto Quirate, Mexican American Artists (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1973), 68.




de la Raza (Balboa Park) and El Congreso de Artistas Chicanos en Aztlan,began to apply paint to the concrete abutments of the bridge’s off-rampsflanking the east and west sides of Logan Avenue. On May 13, 1973, the SanDiego Tribune took notice of the Chicano Park art project:

Their names are Mexican, so is their art. They paint on concrete. Workbegan on the bridge columns a month ago and many may not be completedfor years. The City has granted artists permission to paint the concretewalls and pillars under the Coronado Bridge from southeast San Diego tothe Coronado Bay. The walls are washed, then treated with an acid andprimer. When dry, charcoal sketches are made and then filled with acrylicpaints. . . . They said their work reflects, “our thinking, our background, thebarrio, the struggle, la Raza (the Mexican people).”18

The murals in Chicano Park were executed over an extended period of timeand in three main phases. The first phase of mural making, 1973–1974,involved two Chicano art collectives (noted above), Los Toltecas en Aztlanand El Congreso de Artistas Chicanos en Aztlan, and the work emphasizedpre-Columbian motifs and the “dominance of Chicano nationalism andspontaneity in the imagery portrayed.”19 For example, the first phase muralsinclude Quetzalcoatl (1973), Historical Mural (1973), and Children’s Mural(1973). Cockcroft notes that essentially this first phase represented the“possessing [of] the park, marking it with the placa or logo, of the commu-nity.”20

The second phase in 1974–1975 included invited artists from communitiesthroughout California, most notably Los Angeles and Sacramento. An infusion ofnew ideas resulted from this period. These second phase murals include ChicanoPark Logo (1974) / Rage of La Raza (1974) (see cover of this issue), CosmicClowns (1974), Tree of Life (1974), Allende (1974), Birth of La Raza (1974),Chuco/Homeboy (1974), Colossus (1974), Leyes (1975), Mandala (1975),Mujer Cosmica (1975), and Female Inteligencia (1975).

The third mural phase, 1977–1981, celebrated a resurgence in com-munity pride by, for example, questioning the inordinate number ofjunkyards in the barrio and their visual and audio impacts on the qualityof life. Marked by a twenty-day Mural Marathon organized by VictorOchoa in 1978, this third phase utilized the skills of some non-Chicanosand placed emphasis on educational and historical themes. RonBuckley, of the San Diego Historical Site Board, described this phase ofthe park murals as “art forms that represent the past history and cultureof the Mexican-American community of the Barrio....”21 Examples ofthe third phase murals include: Varrio Si, Yonkes No! (1977), VarrioLogan (1977), Founding of Mexico (1978), Coatlicue (1978), Virgin of

18. Lee Grant, “Chicano Artists Go to the Walls,” San Diego Union, 13 May 1973.19. S. Torres, interview with authors, 29 February 1996.20. Eva Sperling Cockcroft, “The Story of Chicano Park,” Aztlan 15 (Spring 1984), 79–103.21. Buckley, “City of San Diego,” 1.




Guadalupe (1978), Los Grandes y Frida (1978), Rocks to Huelga(1978), Che (1978), Chicano Pinto Union (1978), Sueño Serpiente(1978) , and Aztec Archer (1981).22

Unlike the creation of the majority of the murals in the 1970s, the fewdone in the 1980s and early 1990s were accomplished under a set criteria ofneed, ability, subject matter, and the availability of funding. Examplesinclude Sunburst (1986), Ball Player (1987), UFW Grapes (1988), SanDiego People, Thanks from Yokohama (1990), and Tribute to Roger Lucero(1993).

By early 1984, a group of artists led by Salvador Torres and Mario Toreroand members of the Chicano Park Arts Committee began the work oftouching up the murals. Due to the fact that mural life is about ten years,maintenance is important. In 1991, the California Department of Transpor-tation trained numerous artists in repair techniques.23

It was the vision of individual artists and others that initiated the paintingof murals on the huge, sterile columns that dominated the park site (see

Tree of Life (mural, 1974/1992). Original artists: Felipe Adame, Guillermo Aranda, andArturo Roman. Located on bridge Bent T46 in Chicano Park. (Photograph by Martin D.Rosen, November 1999)

22. Ferree, “Murals of Chicano Park,” 40. Leonel Sanchez, “Murals Reflect Barrio’s StepInto Activism,” San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 April 1995. S. Torres, interview with author, 29February 1996.

23. Ann Jarmusch, “Restoration Begins on Chicano Park Murals,” San Diego Tribune, 29August 1991. Salvador Torres and Gloria Torres, artists, interview with authors, San Diego, 29February 1996.




Appendix A). They envisioned “a seemingly endless canvas, stretching tothe waters of the bay four blocks away,” an opportunity to transform and“personalize” the dreary concrete landscape. The artists would crystallizeDavid Siqueiros’ description of murals, that they must be “monumental

Mujer Cosmica (mural, 1975). Original artists: Esteban Villa and Ricardo Favela. Locatedon Bridge Bent S45 in Chicano Park. (Photograph by Martin D. Rosen, November 1999)




and realistic,” and the Chicano Park murals would be “bigger than lifeitself.”24

By the late 1970s, nearly every major Chicano muralist in California andthe Southwest, by invitation and inclination, had participated in the makingof Chicano Park murals. For example, Rupert Garcia, internationallyknown painter from Stockton and San Francisco, designed the tributemural to Diego Rivera, Clemente Orozco, David Siqueiros, and FridaKahlo. The Royal Chicano Air Force from Sacramento, led by JoséMontoya Esteban Villa and Juanishi Orosco, placed its grand contributionson the park’s columns, as did muralist Charles “Cat” Felix, Jr., the drivingforce behind the acclaimed Estrada Courts murals in Boyle Heights, LosAngeles in 1973.

The development of Chicano Park and its murals remains an ongoingprocess (“a work in progress,” in the words of Salvador Torres).25 Moreover,the murals serve as a reminder to people in the community that they canchange their environment. Victor Ochoa emphasized that the “communityneeds the murals to speak up on certain issues.”26 Larry Baza, executivedirector of Centro Cultural de La Raza in Balboa Park, suggested that“murals are illustrated sentiments” designed to overcome the limitations of

Sueño Serpiente (mural, 1978/1989/1991). Original artists: Soccoro Gamboa, Felipe Adame,and Roger Lucero. Located on Bent R43 in Chicano Park. (Photograph by Martin D. Rosen,November 1999)

24. David Alfaro Siqueiros, “Art and Revolution” (London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1975), 18.25. S. Torres, interview with authors, 29 February 1996.26. Jarmusch, “Restoration Begins.”


http://www.jstor.org/action/showImage?doi=10.1525/tph.2001.23.4.91&iName=master.img-013.jpg&w=302&h=206

http://www.jstor.org/action/showImage?doi=10.1525/tph.2001.23.4.91&iName=master.img-013.jpg&w=302&h=206



Tribute to Roger Lucero (mural, 1993). Original artist: Mario Torero. Located on BridgeBent F42 in Chicano Park. (Photograph by Martin D. Rosen, November 1999)

physical conditions and non-literacy.27 Since 1973, the murals have becomethe icons they depict. Their maintenance involves the city, the people of thebarrio, and especially the artists, who are continuing their work on the pillarsof the bridge.

The authors have been intimately involved in the project since itsinception in 1995. The senior author first visited Chicano Park that year,even though he had lived in San Diego since 1980. All it took was one visitto the park to convince him that the murals were a significant resourceworthy of nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Hisenthusiasm was equally shared by the junior author, who at the request ofCaltrans District 11, undertook the task of developing the argumentsnecessary for the park and its murals to be found significant, even thoughthey were less than fifty years old. Once the research was committed topaper and presented to the California State Historic Preservation Officer,no one ever asserted that the murals and the park were not eligible for theNational Register. Quite to the contrary, at every step in the process,enthusiasm for the resources was unbounded. Caltrans engineers very earlyrealized that the traditional seismic retrofit approach, wrapping the col-umns in concrete, would not work for Chicano Park. The murals could notbe harmed. That was Caltrans’ rallying cry, from all divisions, right up to the

27. Larry Baza, Director, Centro Cultural de la Raza, interview with authors, San Diego, 16February 1996.




District 11 Director, Gary Gallegos, who stated that “the murals must beprotected at all costs.”

Caltrans went to extraordinary efforts to see to it that the murals would beprotected. The project contract contained stipulations that the contractorhad to hire art conservators to assist in the development of mural protectionguidelines. Caltrans then hired its own art conservator and photographer toreview the contractor’s plans and to photo-document the murals prior toconstruction. It has been almost two years since seismic retrofit workcommenced, and there has not been a single instance of reported muraldamage due to construction activities.

Caltrans routinely deals with archaeological sites, historical bridges, andhouses, but never before had it dealt with mural art. Every step in theprocess involved treading new ground and an unprecedented level ofcommunity participation. Caltrans, to be sure, was trying to make up forpast sins, for those days when nothing stood in the way of building newfreeways. Barrio Logan was just one of hundreds of communities nation-wide that felt the brunt of the nation’s efforts to establish its interstatehighway system.

The Barrio Logan neighborhood, itself, does not provide a completelysafe haven for the murals. Pigeon roosting has actually increased as aconsequence of the retrofit project. Their guano is now causing damage toboth murals and new hardscaping placed around bridge columns. It must bedealt with. Valiant efforts on the part of many will be undone unless thisproblem is corrected.

Graffiti has increased, even as the park has been enhanced. There seemsto be a greater disconnection among the barrio’s youth and these magnifi-cent murals. Tagging threatens the murals, and protective measures mustbe implemented. New park lighting fixtures are broken, almost as soon asthey are put up. The homeless, moved from neighboring downtown envi-ronments as a result of redevelopment have taken up residence in the park.Garbage from adjacent businesses encroaches as both Caltrans (responsiblefor the freeway rights-of-way) and the City of San Diego (responsible for thepark grounds) struggle to maintain the park’s appearance and amenities.

Many of the murals are now approaching 30 years of age, without havingever gone through any significant restoration in their lifetime. Many of themwere not originally applied with longevity and their future historical impor-tance in mind. They desperately need work. To this end, Caltrans is seekingfederal, state, and city grant funding for their restoration. The Chicano ParkSteering Committee is taking an active role in helping to prioritize themurals most urgently in need of work. Together, it is hoped that many of theproblems that face the park and its murals can be solved so that thesevaluable cultural resources survive into the future.

Everyone involved in the seismic retrofit project has considered themurals to be important works of art. The park has been viewed as an outdoor




museum, and the bridge columns as the canvases upon which that art hasbeen rendered. While standing in Chicano Park surrounded by thesemonumental works of art, one feels that one is looking at San Diego’s versionof the Sistine Chapel. Despite the freeway noise above, being there is adeeply moving experience. Although the seismic project is almost com-pleted, much more work needs to be done to ensure that these beautifulmurals are protected and saved for future generations.

Appendix AMurals in Chicano Park

Bent Original Title, Date of Completion/No. Artist(s) Renovation(s)

T47 Mario Torero, Mano Lima, Colossus, 1974/1989Laurie Manzano

T47 Manuel Parsons Logan CrossT47 Manuel Parsons Four DecadesT47 (this mural is not located on bent T47, (painted whale) but immediately to the northeast of it)T46/L Gato Felix Los Niños del Mundo, 1975T46 Grupo de Santana Birth of La Raza, 1974/1992T46 Felipe Adame Rocks to Huelga, 1978/1992T46 Felipe Adame Chuco/Homeboy, 1974/1992T46 Felipe Adame, Guillermo Aranda, Tree of Life, 1974/1992

Arturo RomanT46 Community collaboration Indian DancerT45 Arturo Singh Woman with Flag, 1975T45 RCAF; poem by Joann Little I Am Somebody, 1975T45 Jose Montoya & Royal Chicano Leyes, 1975

Air Force (RCAF): Ricardo Favela,Esteban Villa, Juanishi Orosco,Louie “The Foot” Gonzalez

T45 Celia Rodriguez, Irma Lerma Female Inteligencia, 1975Barbosa, Antonia Mendoza,Rosalina Balaciosos, BarbaraDesmangles & volunteers; musicby Javier Pacheco

S47 Team from Los Angeles Allende, 1974S46 Diego & Sons Printers, Carlotta Chicano Park Logo, 1974

HernandezMario Torero Rage of La Raza, 1974

S46 CACA (Congreso de Artistos Cosmic Clowns, 1974/1992Chicanos en Aztlan: Mario Torero,Pablo de la Rosa, Tomas Castañeda,Felipe Barboza)




S45 Juanishi Orosco Mandala, 1975S45 Esteban Villa, Ricardo Favela Mujer Cosmica, 1975S45 RCAF La Familia, 1975S42/L Mi Raza PrimeraR45 Vidal Aguirre Aztec Archer, 1987R45 Victor Ochoa & team Varrio Logan, 1977R44 Raul Espinoza, Michael Schnorr Huelga Eagle, 1978/1991R44 Victor Ochoa Che, 1978R44 Victor Ochoa & students Mexican History, 1978/1991R43 Soccoro Gamboa, Felipe Adame, Sueno Serpiente, 1978/1989/1991

Roger LuceroR43 Felipe Adame Aztec Warrior, 1978R42/L/R Hasta La BahiaH46 Michael Schnorr, Victor Ochoa, Voz Libre, P.H. Gonzalez, 1984

Guillermo Rosete, Yasue Doudera,Carlos Esparza

H45 Michael Schnorr Undocumented Worker, 1980G49 Vidal Aguirre, Alvaro Millan UFW Grapes, 1988G48 Vidal Aguirre Ball Player, 1987G47 Low Rider CouncilG46 Michael Schnorr, Susan Yamagata Death of the Farm Worker, 1979G46 Raul Jose Jacquez, Alvaro Millan, Varrio Sí, Yonkes No!, 1977/1989

Victor Ochoa, Armando RodriguezG45 Susan Yamagata, Michael Schnorr Coatlicue, 1978G45 Mario Torero Virgen de Guadalupe, 1978G44 Tony de Vargas Chicano Pinto Union, 1978G44 Rupert Garcia, Victor Ochoa Los Grandes y Frida, 1978G43 Felipe Adame La Adelita, 1978G43 Tomas Castañeda, Roger Lucero Chicano Park Takeover, 1978/1991G29 Laura RodriguezF44 Octavio Gonzalez O.G. Mural, 1978F44 Yolanda Lopez & Mujeres Chicanas/Escuelas, 1978

Muralistas de San Diego: Julietta A.Garcia-Torres, Cecilia De La Torre,Rosa De La Torre, Eva C. Craig

F43 Dolores Serrano-Velez Nacamiento del Parque ChicanoF42 Mario Torero Tribute to Roger Lucero, 1993F42 La Tierra MiaF41 Victor Ochoa Revolucíon MexicanaT Abut. TEA, Guilberto “Magu” Lujan & Historical Mural, 1973/1988

M.E.Ch.A. group from U.C. IrvineT Abut. Victor Ochoa & Lowell Elementary Children’s Mural, 1973/1986

School childrenT Abut. Tony De Vargas Chicano Park Takeover, 1986






S Abut. Toltecas En Aztlan (TEA) & CACA: Quetzalcóatl, 1973/1987Guillermo Aranda, Arturo Roman,Salvador Barrajas, Sammy Llamas,Bebe Llamas, Ernesto Paul, GuillermoRosete, Victor Ochoa, Jose Cervantes,Mario Torero, Salvador Torres

S Abut. Tomas Castañeda, Salvador Torres Corazon de Aztlan, 1975/1988-89S Abut. Salvador Torres, Gloria Torres, San Diego People, Thanks from

Ruben Seva, Roberto Salas Yokohama, 1990S Abut. Tony De Vargas Sunburst, 1986F Abut. (bird and sun)Kiosko Tony De Vargas, Vidal Aguirre, Founding of Mexico, 1978

Felipe Adame



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