THE SOUTH PRESA POCKET PARK/PUBLIC ART PROJECT

By Penny Boyer

$5,000 Challenge Grant Awarded

The Lavaca Neighborhood Association--in collaboration with a number of other organizations--is about to undertake the locally-long-talked-about challenge of reinvigorating the pocket parks along South Presa. We are also in the midst of an adventurous graffiti-abatement project, the products of which are very visible already along South Presa. All of this activity is part of the new South Presa Pocket Park/Public Art Project which recently received support during Round One of the City of San Antonio Planning Department's Neighborhood Improvement Challenge Program. Other support for the $50,000+ project has come from Southtown through grants from the Texas Commission on the Arts, the San Antonio Area Foundation, Southwestern Bell and Project Better Future; private funds from the Mission Trail Rotary Club; and considerable anticipated in-kind contributions.

Four years ago, the Mission Trail Rotary Club initiated a community-wide call for artists to reawaken "Marlow Park" in front of Casa Lavaca at Sadie and Eager. A design by artist/urban planner Jack Guerra was selected by a group of residents and public art professionals. The plan is loosely themed on children's nursery rhymes, inspired by La Vaca who jumped over the moon. It is hoped the park will become a place where children will feel especially safe and happy to pass through on their way to school from the Lavaca neighborhood.

Plans for the larger park at Labor, Florida and Presa include the construction of a bandstand/pavillion/gazebo that will hopefully inspire neighborhood gatherings, picnics, concerts, etc. The Lavaca Neighborhood Association will be inviting everyone to participate in a "barn-raising" event to build this structure later in the year. We look forward to your participation in whatever capacity: whether it's weilding a hammer or baking snacks for the work days.

Finally, there are special plans being made for the tiny park at Callaghan and Presa--but those must remain a secret still. But don't worry: we promise those beautiful cacti and succulents that have been nurtured by the owners of the Presa Street Apartments and the City's Department of Parks and Rec won't be jeopardized.

The "public art" portion of the Presa Street project at this point includes the completion this summer of three significant murals as graffiti-abatement projects: the "Mission Trails" mural on Handy Andy by Robert Tatum and Page Middle School students in collaboration with San Antonio Life Directions; the mural depicting Chicana heroines from San Antonio on the Kwik Wash by Terry Yba?±ez; and "Rosita Hernandez: La Rosa de San Antonio" mural on Eagle's Nest Cafe, also by Terry Yba?±ez, worked on with youth identified by Project Better Future.

The South Presa commercial corridor is not only slated to become the designated bicycle route of the Mission Trail Project, but it is also the focus of Southtown's recent designation by the City of San Antonio as a Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization program zone. As such, we are beginning to see several new businesses open along South Presa, particularly in the building that is anchored by Taco Haven.

The Lavaca Neighborhood Association would like to extend a warm welcome to these new enterprises and hope that everyone will explore and participate in the many changes that are afoot along South Presa. One place to start is coming to the first Pocket Park Work Day which will be held on Saturday, September 18th from 9AM-1PM. Garden beds will be plotted in two of the parks and mulch laid--so if you have shovels, gloves or rakes: Bring 'em!



By Penny Boyer