Nearly 75 volunteers and artists gathered in an Imperial Avenue parking lot this week to start painting murals beneath two of San Diego’s grittiest freeway underpasses, ones long marked by graffiti, trash and, at one site, tents where people had been sleeping. The project, four years in the making, aims to turn the concrete pillars under Interstate 5 and State Route 15 into a visual timeline of Logan Heights history, from its Kumeyaay origins to an imagined future.
The mural push began with a community kick-off event on Saturday at the Imperial Avenue Family Health Center, opening with a traditional Kumeyaay blessing, according to an event announcement published by KPBS. As The San Diego Union-Tribune reported, volunteers and artists began painting murals below Interstate 5 and State Route 15 that same day, working from an Imperial Avenue parking lot before art gets applied to the underpasses themselves. More than a dozen local artists took part in designing the project, and organizers say the approval process included interviews with area residents about what they actually wanted to see on the walls.
From Graffiti-Covered Pillars to a Neighborhood Timeline
The Interstate 5 underpass had become a site where people were sleeping in tents amid accumulated trash, while the State Route 15 underpass was marked by graffiti and substantial litter, per the same Union-Tribune account. Artists plan to paint directly onto the pillars at the State Route 15 site, while murals at the Interstate 5 underpass will be created using polytab, a flexible mural material that organizers will attach with specialized adhesives and protective finishes, allowing the permanent installation to incorporate all of the volunteers’ work.
The Logan Heights Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit that funds and promotes improvements in the area, is leading the effort. Its chief executive, Monte Jones, framed the day as a turning point for a neighborhood accustomed to delayed promises.
Storytelling Through Color, From Kumeyaay Roots to a Spaceship
Kim Phillips-Pea, known for her work with the Southeast Art Team, said the artists worked extensively to reflect Logan Heights’ history and future. The imagery begins with the Indigenous Kumeyaay people, moves through the history of Black businesses on Imperial Avenue, and celebrates the area’s Latino culture before ending with an aspirational spaceship meant to represent the future. Painters used a palette of yellow, green, brown and red across the panels…