Paradise Creek Educational Gathering Place

Kimball Park Entrance on 16th & B Avenue | June 2016

The Paradise Creek Educational Gathering Place represents a gateway into Kimball Park. The project is designed to celebrate Paradise Creek,which runs approximately 1,000 linear feet along the southern edge of Kimball Park. Paradise Creek runs alongside the southern edge of Kimball Park and feeds into the Pacific Ocean 1.5 miles further south. Paradise Creek is being restored to its natural form by having the concrete channel removed and re-planting the creek with all native plants. The vision for the site is inspired by the merging of tidal waters and creek flow, and bird migration patterns through Kimball Park.

Lead artists, Pomegranate fellows and high school interns worked together to create the details for the gathering place. Values, elements and activities were pulled from the more than 50 ideas given by the community at the input meeting. Planners and engineers from National City helped identify any foreseeable challenges in permits or construction of the proposed gathering place design. The completed design proposal was very well received by the community members, triggering an excitement to make the design come to life.

After the concept development, fabrication was commenced and materials were tested. Urbanite was used to be a playful and educational element. Vertical art elements added whimsy and playfulness to the gathering place. The community identified the bird migratory pattern that crosses Paradise Creek, so many art elements in the design pay homage to the birds, with the overall intent of highlighting the biodiversity that occurs in the small, fertile areas present in the day-lighted portion of the creek.

A four day community build saw the project concept come to fruition. The site was cleaned, benches made of natural materials were constructed, bird totems were installed to represent bird migration, and a lending library built by Pomegranate Fellows to house educational materials.