1. Pete's Personal Picks from the Past
- Adams Elementary Joint-Use Park, includes “All People Touch The Earth”-
310' long entryway/seating wall incorporating quotes from around the world interpreted by
over 900 school children, parents, staff and community members, created in wet concrete
with tiles and everyday objects. Orchid Award for Public Art, Honorable Mention, with The
Pekarak Group Landscape Architects, the Normal Heights Community Development
Corporation and many others.
It all started when the the Director of Facilities and Planning for the San Diego Unified School
District pounded his fist on the table proclaiming, “There shall be no park-like conditions on
school grounds!!!” The School District wanted flat ground covered with decomposed granite
(“Parents will complain about grass stains on the knees”) surrounded by10' chain link fencing.
Turned into the first joint-use/community park agreement and permanent public artwork in
Mid-City San Diego. Located at Mansfield & School Streets in Normal Heights. Site of the
Park Stage at the Annual Adams Avenue Street Fair (see below).
-City Heights Alleys Reclaimed by Kids Art (ARK Art), Orchid Award for Environmental
Solutions, with the City Heights Community Development Corporation.
-Trolley Barn Park, Orchid Award for Landscape Architecture/Environmental Solutions, with
KTU+A Landscape Architects, Park Boulevard and Adams Avenue, University Heights.
-San Diego Press Club Award, Editorial - “Art for Our Sake”, about the value and
significance of public art in neighborhoods. Adams Avenue Post community newspaper (Co-
Founder, Editorial Board Member, Graphic Designer).
-Pomegranate Center Fellow, creating community-built places at Butterfly Park in National
City and Manzanita Gathering Place in City Heights, with A Reason To Survive (ARTS) and
the San Diego Foundation.
-Adams Avenue Street Fair, Co-Founder and Event Organizer for the first decade or so.
What started out as a block party celebrating the renovation of the long neglected Normal
Heights sign, has become Southern California's largest two-day free music festival, currently
in its third decade, with the Adams Avenue Business Association and the Normal Heights
Community Association.
-Three words: “The Dancing Carrots”, City Heights Community Art Garden, helping to green
the way through the City of San Diego's process for community gardens. Funded by a
Caltrans Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program, with the City Heights
Community Development Corporation.