https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp A collection of neighborhood photos and experiences through the lens of Abby Marsh en-us 2021-10-03 23:10:32 UTC 2025-04-14 16:04:38 UTC hello@padlet.com amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788095810 My first stop at City Heights was at a local coffee shop. I had gotten this recommendation from a friend who had recently walked around the neighborhood and loved it. It was called Cafeina, and it was along a random strip in more of a neighborhood part of the city, right off the downtown area. On the outside, it looked run down, but on the inside, it was so nicely kept and I was greeted by beautiful textures of wall art running along the sides of the shop. My first impression was that there seemed to be a heavy Latino influence. This was because the art consisted of calacas, a figure of skull or skeleton in human form, commonly used in decoration for the Mexican celebration Day of the Dead.  In the short time I was there, I noticed that all the people that came into the coffee shop were all wearing masks and they were people of color, which I found to be quite interesting. The menu had basic coffee items, but also had quite a few of their specialty drinks titled in Spanish, with English subtitles. There were two male and one woman barista behind the counter, all of which looked of Latino complexion. I was impressed with the well priced coffee and the quality of the drink itself. They had an ice cream bar with an array of different flavors, in addition to homemade pastries as well. The guy behind the counter was super friendly and kind; it his own business in which he runs and works there as well. This business seemed to be very involved in the community in observing the fliers that were sitting on the counter. The flier was for an event occurring for the whole community, which says a lot about the participation of this business in rallying behind the communal aspect of the neighborhood. I loved going into this coffee shop and it gave me a sense of the community and the type of people in City Heights that go out for coffee, a segway into the overarching theme of communal living that I noticed throughout my observations of City Heights. ]]> 2021-10-03 23:24:48 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788095810 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788098619 A stereotype that I have associated with cities is that there tends to be a plethora of graffiti that covers the walls of the neighborhood. Before this class, I held a derogatory view of  graffiti, seeing it through the lens of an act of vandalism. However, after hearing what Dr. Michael Mata had to say about graffiti and the artistic purpose it can hold; it changed my viewpoint on how this art form can be perceived. As I walked through City Heights, all the bright, vivid artwork caught my attention and I saw a lot of hidden artistic meanings and expression of culture rather than an act of vandalism. There was a lot of representation of various cultures that came through the artistic choices. For example, in one mural I saw there were a row of flags all in line next to each other: the Filipino flag, the Japanese flag, the Italian flag, the Mexican flag, etc. There were a lot more flags on the wall that I didn’t document. To me, this not only was a recognition of the diverse community that makes up the population of City Heights, but also a statement of unity that welcomes all various ethnicities. This is such a beautiful message to portray to the community, further emphasizing this lifestyle of living in harmony with the neighborhood. Another aspect that stood out to me was that the art was often reflective of the content sold inside the store, used as a display of advertising. For example, on a wall outside of a store, there was a beautiful mural of parrots and fish. Then, when I went inside the store, it contained an exotic pet store that consisted of tropical birds and fish. There was also some pieces of startling art, with a child posing in a laid position saying “Here they kill me”, which was shocking for me to see. I am not sure what kind of issue that was bringing awareness to, but it made me stop and think about what’s going on behind the scenes, under the radar in injustices.

]]> 2021-10-03 23:27:38 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788098619 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788099512 Before I went to explore, this was one of the places that came up on Google as a popular sight to see in the neighborhood of City Heights  I think the fact that a bar came up as a place to go is an interesting observation in itself, a reflection of what is a part of the city life and culture. When I saw the bar on the corner of the street, I was immediately drawn to the abstraction of the architecture and the odd choice of coloring. It sits towards the end of the City Heights strip, on the corner of University Avenue, with no other buildings in proximity to it; it just stands mostly on its own. I didn’t get the chance to go inside because it was closed at the time that I went, but the architecture was unlike any of the other buildings in the downtown area that I had seen. I was curious as to how long this building had been around because it looked pretty run down on the outside. I did some outside research about this building and they happened to have a website with a breakdown of the history behind this bar (see the link attached in this section). It was first built in 1932 in an octagonal shape as a drive-in soda fountain, glassed in with a second floor observation deck. The most distinctive aspect of this building was the skinny extension of the building that stuck up in the very center. It resembled the Empire State Building and according to this website, it is a monumental hollow pylon, a wooden dental extension. The style in which the building resembles is called Zig Zag Moderne, sometimes also referred to as Art Deco with a heavy Gothic influence. I could see this in the way that the building was so unique and was unlike anything I had seen in City Heights. It stuck out like a sore thumb among the classic architecture along the rest of the street. ]]> 2021-10-03 23:28:36 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788099512 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788100012 2021-10-03 23:29:07 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788100012 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788105006 2021-10-03 23:34:29 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788105006 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788107498 Planning this project around City Heights, I had in mind that I would go to a few specific places around the neighborhood that held significance, certain landmarks or important places in the community. However, I realized that this would not be an accurate depiction of what the neighborhood consisted of. What goes on in the mundane and the simple act of walking around is when you can gain a more holistic view of how to gage interactions with the neighborhood. Walking along the street, I felt a rush of various emotions and responses to what the community consisted of in regard to the array of buildings of differing styles. There was almost a sense of an amusement park type feel, where I noticed there were abstract designs in the architecture of the strip of buildings. The Tower Bar had a cartoon-like style to it, there was one building that had a row of Egyptian pharaoh heads attached to it, buildings that were in the shape of a Chinese temple, etc. Everyone that we ran into on the street was a person of color, and there was hardly any homeless which honestly surprised me. The fact that this surprised me got me thinking about the privileged neighborhood I have grown up in, where the community I lived with was predominantly white. It irritated me how in my mind I associated race with the homeless community. This made me evaluate the perceptions I held, not just about this specific neighborhood, but how I view people of color and the homeless population. Another observation I had was that everyone we walked by was friendly towards us, in a non-threatening manner. As a woman, I try to make sure I am more aware of my surroundings when walking the street, but I felt remarkably safe walking around with my other friend, who is also a girl. ]]> 2021-10-03 23:36:59 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788107498 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788108250 2021-10-03 23:37:28 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788108250 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788110713 2021-10-03 23:40:03 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788110713 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788112183 In addition to walking the downtown strip of City Heights, I was also able to walk around the neighborhoods surrounding the city. The first observation I had was how there were a plethora of homes that sat right on the backyard of the city, right on the edge of the downtown area. It was crazy to me how closely intertwined these houses were to the city life. The majority of the homes I walked by had large metal fences with locks in the front of the yard, blocking the entrance to the home. This is not common at all in my neighborhood at home and so I thought it was a unique characteristic to this community. I loved walking by the various homes and hearing the different languages as I walked by, getting a taste of the cultural community that goes on behind the scenes in the midst of everyday life. I also noticed the different religious decorations certain houses had out in front of their houses, some with crosses and Jesus statues, others with Buddah statues. This gave me a sense of not only is this a culturally diverse community, but also diverse in regards to the types of religions that are practiced here. Not only were the homes diverse in the sense of culture, but also of style. I feel like, not in the case with my older neighborhood, but oftentimes in the newer, wealthier neighborhoods that make up my hometown, a majority of the houses look the exact same. In the case of City Heights, every home was architecturally different which I enjoyed seeing. As you can see in this picture, this home was more Spanish, adobe style whereas others were contrasting in style. There were also quite a few dogs laying outside the homes, as seen in this photo here. The dogs we came across were not the most friendly, and a lot of these houses had ‘Beware of Dog’ signs, which can feel off-putting to me a lot of times. ]]> 2021-10-03 23:40:46 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788112183 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788112542 2021-10-03 23:41:09 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1788112542 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790613934 As an education major, I have a huge heart for elementary schools and I love seeing the various types of schools throughout different communities. As we were driving out of City Heights, we came across Rosa Parks Elementary School. First of all, the name struck me right away, obviously because of how significant Rosa Parks has been in the fight for injustices in our country. How powerful to have a school named after her! It says a lot about what the school stands for: inclusion, diversity, and the fight for justice. I absolutely love that. The elementary school was surprisingly nice on the outside, it reminded me of the elementary school I grew up at, actually. I say surprisingly just because I felt as if the other buildings in City Heights didn’t match up to the architectural state of the school. The other thing that struck me about this school was the beautiful, vivid sculpture that I am pretty sure represented Rosa Parks herself. Covered in a dress of bright colors, she was such a representation of how people should be looked at, with so much to offer and looking past the color of skin. They still did a great job of representing what culture she brings to the table. She was surrounded by blocks of cement covered by personalized tiles which I will go into more detail later. This whole set of sculptures was such a representation of diversity and the beauty of inclusivity. ]]> 2021-10-04 18:39:21 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790613934 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790615545 2021-10-04 18:40:04 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790615545 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790617366 What struck me about the elementary school was the personalized tiles that lay on the rock structures in front of the sculpture of Rosa Parks. There were different “rocks” with various types of tiles: one labeled “The Children”, one called “The Community” and one called “The School”. All of the titles had something to do with that category and getting to read them really touched me because a lot of them were quotes that children actually wrote, labeled anonymously, but with the grade that they were in. Some of the ones that stood out to me were the ones with Spanish and English side by side, representing the Hispanic population at this school. The other one that broke my heart and opened up my eyes was one that said, “I wonder if I am going to heaven or I am going to pass the grade…” (a 3rd grader). As a future teacher someday, it got me pondering how early on these kids wrestle with deep questions about life. It made my heart sad that they are already wondering about death at such a young, naive age. It was eye opening and also a reality check that despite the fact if I teach in a Christian school or not, teaching is also a field of ministry in which I want kids to know they are valued, loved and can have hope in their future. ]]> 2021-10-04 18:40:51 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790617366 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790619495 2021-10-04 18:41:49 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790619495 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790621125 2021-10-04 18:42:37 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790621125 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790622776 2021-10-04 18:43:16 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790622776 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790625167 2021-10-04 18:44:16 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790625167 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790625955 Something that I kept thinking about as I was walking around City Heights was wondering how the city came to be and what it was like at its origins. It’s such a beautiful melting pot of various cultures, a reflection of what America longs to be a picture of but has a hard time doing that. One of the sculptures at the elementary school had tiles that depicted a basic timeline of the history of City Heights. In 1885, it was recognized with the name of City Heights, according to this timeline, because at some point of the land you are able to see the San Diego Harbor, Coronado, and Mexico. In 1912, this neighborhood was established with around 4,000 residents. This is crazy for me to put into perspective because my high school was around 4,000 people. To think that City Heights was about that many people is craziness to me. In 2021, there are now approximately 74, 850 residents (niche.com). When it was first established, it was known as the “Golden Rule City” and therefore the trustees prohibited alcohol sales, gambling, halls for dancing, and you couldn’t drive a car for more than 15 miles an hour. There was a big shift in this lifestyle as the 60’s came around and the crime, specifically drug related, escalated. Just from my own opinion, I think that oftentimes when people are restricted in such bound measures, there tends to be rebellion in that sense. Included in this history was also the percentages of the racial demographics, with whites being less than the majority most of the time. ]]> 2021-10-04 18:44:39 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790625955 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790627033 2021-10-04 18:45:08 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1790627033 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1811871552 2021-10-12 19:47:47 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1811871552 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1812848179 A common theme as I walked around City Heights was the idea of community, inclusion and allowing everyone to have access to a wide variety of resources and can be represented in the stores and cultures which make up the city. Just from the people who walked by me and how much I was taken aback from their friendliness was striking to me. In my neighborhood at home, people are friendly when taking a walk around the neighborhood, but downtown people are oftentimes a lot more hostile towards others. I got a different feel in City Heights with the communal aspect that came off of a lot of the various encounters I had. I think something that ties into this is the mutual respect for other cultures that comes with living in such an inclusionary, diverse community. As I was walking around the neighborhood, I came across a mini-community library, which I think is such a reflection of the heart of the city. I have multiple mini libraries in my neighborhood at home and so it was a sweet connection I made with having good memories tied to the ones I have grown up with. I think allowing the community to borrow books is such a gesture to allow everyone the access and ability to enjoy the act of reading. ]]> 2021-10-13 04:22:51 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1812848179 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1812849960 2021-10-13 04:23:39 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1812849960 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1812850753 I mentioned this earlier, but I noticed how there was quite an array of religions displayed in City Heights. I think it’s so interesting how the Mid-City Church of the Nazarene is so central to the city, it’s one of the first buildings you encounter when you come off the freeway and I think that says a lot about how they value religion. I didn’t see too many other churches when I was walking around, but one that I did see was a Christian Orthodox Church which I have never seen before, even in my hometown. I have heard about this denomination, but have never seen a church that has hosted that kind of service. This church was in such a random spot, almost at the end of a neighborhood, adjacent to the freeway and a little neighborhood park. The church was tiny and it felt out of place. It had a very traditional feel and I loved the sign out front that said, “Welcome. Bienvenidos Todos”. This ties into the cultural theme of community and welcoming that I saw strung throughout all the places I went to throughout City Heights. What a beautiful picture of how we should love each other no matter what the color of our skin, status, or gender. ]]> 2021-10-13 04:24:07 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1812850753 amarsh0020 https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1820235212 2021-10-15 18:29:36 UTC https://padlet.com/amarsh0020/9bbstvfeq83zw6gp/wish/1820235212