Students converted a vacant lot near their high school into pocket park and community gathering place that has become a center of activity and cultural pride for their largely Puerto Rican neighborhood.

How and why did this program get started?

The development of a park dedicated to Puerto Rican culture had a controversial beginning in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood. Originally, members of the community wanted to erect a statue to Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, the leader of the Puerto Rican independence movement, in Humboldt Park, a major gathering place. The statue they had in mind was fabricated in Puerto Rico out of clay. The city of Chicago told the group that the statue could not be maintained, and only a bronze memorial would be considered. When neighborhood leaders raised funds to cast the statue in bronze, the city rejected it again, on the grounds that Dr. Albizu Campos was too controversial of a figure to be honored by the city in such a way.

Undeterred, the neighborhood groups, led by the Division Street Business Development Corporation and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, decided to convert a vacant lot on Division Street, the neighborhood's main drag, into a memorial site for the statue. (The park site was donated by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, which also houses the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Alternative High School.) Throughout the summer of 1998, students and community members designed and built the park and its casita (small house), placing the statue of Dr. Campos at its center. The park officially opened on September 4, 1998 in time for Festival Boricua, with a ceremony featuring Lolita LeBron, an activist who served 29 years in prison for protesting in favor of Puerto Rican independence.

Who is involved?

Most of the youth involved were students at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Alternative High School. They got involved with transforming the vacant lot through Archi-treasures, a nonprofit organization "founded in 1996 with the mission of raising community involvement in the urban landscape." Archi-treasures teams up architects and artists with young people, community groups, and neighborhood organizations in order to find creative solutions to public-space issues.

What goes on as part of this program?

The park and its casita are the center of this vibrant, active neighborhood. According to Enrique Salgado, director of the Division Street Business Association, as many as 10,000 people have packed the park for protests. It is host to regular events and programs, including: open mike sessions and poetry readings, free concerts with local music groups, speakers and Puerto Rican history classes, lectures, puppet shows, photography and art exhibits (in the casita).

How has the program changed the community - and the participating teens?

Though there is no adequate way to measure the change that occurs through a true community gathering place, the teenagers and the community at large have seen huge social benefits from the park. The park's use and vitality is the main measure of success for the project, as well as the pride the community takes in their accomplishment. "Every time I pass by here, I see the hard work we did," says Idelisa Lugo, one of the students who worked at the Green Gallery.

The fact that the neighborhood takes pride in this place is evident in that it rarely if ever needs to be policed or have graffiti removed, which can be problems in other parts of the neighborhood.

Challenges

Opposition to the project, due to its supposed "controversial" nature, and the organization of the Puerto Rican community, were the main problems with creating the Garden Gallery. They were overcome by hard work; it also helped that local politicians and the area's local representative were willing to represent the community's needs. Eventually the mayor grew to understand the Garden Gallery - not just its significance, but also its value.

Contact information

Joyce Fernandes
Archi-treasures
2850 North Pulaski Road
Chicago, IL 60641
773 736 1040
http://www.architreasures.org

Division Street Business Development Association
Enrique Salgado, Jr. Executive Director
2647 West Diviion Street
Chicago, IL 60622
773/782-0454
esalgadojr@mailcity.com