Chicano Park in Barrio Logan: the 1970 takeover, the murals, and how to visit

Chicano Park exists because a neighborhood refused to give up one more piece of itself. By the late 1960s Barrio Logan had been cut apart by Interstate 5 and then by the Coronado Bay Bridge, whose ramps came down in the middle of the community. On April 22, 1970, residents found crews grading the land under the bridge for a California Highway Patrol substation, and they stopped it.

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Leaflet | © OpenStreetMap contributors

The park

1. 1Chicano Park kiosko — The central kiosk, under the bridge ramps; murals cover the pillars around it
2. 2Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center — Thu–Sun 10–4; $8, free for 18 and under

Getting there

1. 3Barrio Logan trolley station — Blue Line; about a 6-minute walk

Eat nearby

1. 4Fish Guts — Blackened swordfish tacos
2. 5Northgate Market (Mercado del Barrio) — Mexican supermarket anchoring the Mercado, at César Chávez Pkwy and Main St

Pins are approximate, estimated from street addresses. Several long-running Logan Avenue businesses closed in 2024–2025, so check hours before you go.

See these on the full San Diego map

The 12-day occupation

Between 250 and 500 people turned out that first day, according to the National Park Service's landmark nomination, and they held the land for 12 days. The 7.4-acre site became a park. Then the artists came: the bridge's huge concrete pillars and abutments became canvases for murals of Mexican and Indigenous history, the takeover itself, labor and immigration, and portraits of the movement's heroes.

The Park Service counts 49 murals and one sculpture, all made between 1970 and 1989, as the contributing historic works. More have been painted and restored since, so the total on the pillars today is higher. Nobody publishes an official current count.

How to visit

• —Getting there: the Blue Line trolley stops at Barrio Logan station on Harbor Drive at César E. Chávez Parkway, about a 6-minute walk. Otherwise it's free street parking, which fills up on weekends and event days.
• —Cost: the park is free. The Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center, which opened in fall 2022 at 1960 National Ave, charges $8 ($4 students, $3 Barrio Logan residents, free for 18 and under) and is open Thursday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
• —Tours: the museum arranges park tours (visit@chicanoparkmuseum.org), and so does the Chicano Park Steering Committee through its tour coordinator (cpsc.mesa70@gmail.com).
• —Etiquette: this is a working neighborhood park and a sacred site to many people here. Photograph the murals freely, but don't climb the pillars or touch the paint, and ask before photographing people.

Make an afternoon of it

Logan Avenue, right beside the park, is Barrio Logan's main street of galleries and restaurants, and it has turned over fast. Salud! closed in June 2024, Border X Brewing left at the end of 2024, and Las Cuatro Milpas closed its original location in December 2025 after 92 years. Fish Guts at 2222 Logan Ave, known for blackened swordfish tacos, is open, with two sister spots from the same owner arriving this fall. More on the neighborhood: Barrio Logan.