In Chan Kaajal Park is a public park in the Mission District of San Francisco, USA, located north of 17th Street between Folsom and Shotwell Street.
In Chan Kaajal Park | |
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![]() View of In Chan Kaajal Park, facing northwest. | |
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Type | Urban park |
Location | San Francisco, California |
Coordinates | 37°45′50″N 122°24′57″W / 37.7639°N 122.4158°W |
Established | June 2017 |
Operated by | San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department |
It was inaugurated in June 2017 as the city's first new park in over 10 years.[1] El Tecolote described the opening as "a hard-won victory for the Latino and Indigenous communities of the Mission, who have lobbied for years for its creation".[2] The park's name, chosen by a community vote, means "My Little Town" in the Yucatec Maya language, and is also sometimes rendered together with its Spanish translation as "In Chan Kaajal (Mi Pueblito)".[3] It reflects San Francisco's significant Mayan American minority, consisting of immigrants who since the 1990s arrived from Mexico's Yucatán region and settled mainly in the northern Mission and the Tenderloin.[3]
Facilities include a playground, a gym for adults, a drought-resistant community garden, greenhouses, and a small stage for public performances on the central plaza.[4][5] An interactive water installation commemorates Mission Creek, which used to run through the site.[6] Artist Carmen Lomas Garza created renderings of a California condor and a great blue heron adorning the fence, commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission.[3]
The park was constructed on a former parking lot, with a budget of $5.2 million.[7] The planning process had begun in 2008 and saw city agencies partnering with a local grassroots organization named PODER (People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Justice) and various neighborhood associations.[3] On the remaining area adjacent to the park, a 127-unit affordable housing project broke ground in 2019.[8][3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Chavez, Lydia (2017-06-23). "San Francisco opens first new park in a decade". Mission Local. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ Perez Winder, Melissa (2017-06-30). "Long awaited community park now open to public". El Tecolote. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ a b c d e "SF Rec and Park Opens New Park On Site of Former A Parking Lot". San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department. 2017-06-23. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ Sawyer, Nuala (2017-06-28). "(Un)paving a Parking Lot". SF Weekly. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ Park, Jessica (2017-06-26). "City's First New Park In 10 Years Unveiled In The Mission". Hoodline. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ Keeling, Brock (2017-06-26). "New park with wet plaza opens in the Mission". Curbed SF. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ "Parking Lot In Mission District Transformed Into Park". Bay City News. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- ^ "SF Mission's fourth 100-percent affordable housing project breaks ground". Mission Local. 2019-01-31. Retrieved 2019-02-09.