By G.:
I am certainly happy to live in one of the culturally shared geographies of the Mission. Having moved from Valencia to a house just off Garfield Square, the gentrification and de facto boundaries that surround Valencia are all the more apparent. Garfield Square is heavily used by Latino soccer players, white soccer players, and most importantly it is a staging ground for the dozens of homeless people that recycle the neighborhood’s bottles and cans. They cook here, sleep here, and sort their recyclables here. Underpriviliged youth attend after school programs in the Rec Center and as most people know, it is the final destination of the Dia de Los Muertos Parade. MOST importantly, which I bet very few people know, is that the funds to build the park were donated by none other than the Fisher Family, the owners of The GAP (gasp!). For those that think corporate America is the bane to the Mission’s existence, open your eyes.
Link.
I think the poster meant that the Fishers donated the money for the new astroturf field. The park itself is older than even Don.
Lovely Garfield Square is also the shithole where my fucking car got broken into on two consecutive Saturdays while I swam laps at the pool. Fuck that place.
The astroturf was such a boon to Garfield. It used to be ground zero for that hubba rock in the 80s and 90s (back when then decrepit Bernal Dwellings rose up off of Army Street). Even then Garfield was a community resource, but it never got the kind of use it has with the new fields. I smile every time I see them full–that’s the way to reinvigorate a neighborhood.
As for who paid for it, good on Gap for doing that, but I’d still rather have the money come from public funds. It’s sad that in such a rich city we’d have to turn to corporate donors to do small-time park fix-ups.
Hello all,
I’m actually organizing a park group at Garfield to help build on the improvements that have happened there. If you’re interested in participating, hit me up at msilva@sfnpc.org.
Thanks!
Matt
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