A Target store stares greedily across its football field of a parking lot at The Big Kitchen, which leans, politically speaking, slightly to the left of Karl Marx. The buildings' adjacent spots, at the elbowed intersections of Fern and Grape Streets, represent the tension of this neighborhood's history. Artists, musicians, and those on the fringes … Continue reading South Park SD: Beautiful San Diego! →

An Alano Club stands defiantly catty-corner to a liquor store. That's not a joke waiting for a punchline. It's a fact of life at 30th and Grape Streets in South Park SD. Recovery and drugs of addiction are as art and real estate in this village. A Moose Lodge burned down in the center of … Continue reading South Park SD: Burmese Monk Mural →

Lots of ways to greet people at your door. "Hello. May I help you?" "Get your @%!#s in here!""Salutations. Please depart the premises.""And how long might you be staying?" All winners depending entirely on who just knocked. There is another, more joyous, deliberately care-full (and I mean that word just the way it was intended, … Continue reading South Park SD: Welcome! →

Who says art and business can't be bffs? Walk eastward across South Park SD on Beech Street from 28th Street, at stately Balboa Park, towards tree-lined Fern Street. At the intersection with busy 30th Street, you will be suddenly greeted by the Goddess of Wisdom and Strength. The Romans called her "Minerva." She's encircled clockwise … Continue reading South Park SD: Minerva’s Community →