Chicano Park in Barrio Logan is set to get more than $1 million in new lighting, playground equipment and other upgrades, the city of San Diego announced today.
The improvements at the park under the eastern end of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge will be paid for by a grant from the state Department of Housing and Community Development.
"Chicano Park is one of this city's most popular parks and this grant will help us maintain it for future generations,'' Mayor Jerry Sanders said.
The money will pay for enlarging the park's plaza, building a skateboard area, repairing one of the park's fountains and enhancing drought-tolerant landscaping, according to the city.
The three-acre park came about after a months-long protest in 1970 by Chicano activists, who felt they were deceived when plans for the recreational area were set aside to make way for a California Highway Patrol station. The CHP plan was eventually shelved in favor of the park.
An annual celebration is held each April to honor the beginning of the protests.
