Barrio Logan, San Diego, CA

Chicano Park's murals, painted across the concrete pillars that hold up the Coronado Bridge, are the first thing most people picture when they think of Barrio Logan, the bayside San Diego neighborhood just south of East Village. The park became a historic landmark in 2016, and in 2017 California added the neighborhood to its list of state cultural districts. The setting is unusual. Homes have stood here since around 1900, but Interstate 5 cut through in 1963 and the bridge followed in 1969, and shipyards and Navy facilities, including the NASSCO yard, now cover much of the waterfront. More than half of the land falls under the Port or the Navy, so the houses that remain share the street grid with auto shops, warehouses and industrial yards. Outdoor space comes in two forms. Chicano Park itself spreads out beneath the bridge ramps, and down at the foot of Cesar E. Chavez Parkway a small bayfront park run by the Port has a viewing pier, a playground and a soccer field with long views of the bridge. Logan Avenue makes a good stroll between the two, with galleries and studios that open up for the Barrio Art Crawl. Las Cuatro Milpas on Logan Avenue has been making tortillas since 1933, and its counter, cash only, is known for chorizo with eggs at breakfast. Por Vida, farther along the same avenue, has built a reputation on its Mexican mocha. Some nights the taproom at Border X Brewing turns into a loteria game, and the hot food counter inside Northgate Market on Main Street turns out tamales filled with beef, corn or cheese. Northgate doubles as the supermarket for Barrio Logan, so weekly groceries stay close to home. The Blue Line stops at Barrio Logan station near Chicano Park, which puts downtown and the border both within a trolley ride, and the I-5 on-ramps are close at hand. The industry that surrounds Barrio Logan brings truck traffic, shipyard noise and a skyline of cranes, and a new community plan is meant to sort out where homes end and industry begins. In return, residents live beneath a bridge whose pillars their own neighbors claimed for a park, and the murals overhead are the record of it.