giggie larue
guns to benches
"Another long-awaited collaboration, the park's memorial bench ..... was conceived as a memorial to the teenagers Sylvia Menendez and Carlos Hernandez who were killed in the park on June 24, 1996.
The bench was built from cedar and melted guns by Peaceful Streets' John Ricker who turns the metal from melted guns into artwork.
It rests on a dove-shaped, painted tile walk-way designed and produced by Susan Cervantes and her staff at Precita Eyes Mural Arts. Composed of 900 tiles relating to the couple's lives, the tiles were hand painted by people of every age from every part of the community. Neighbors see their commitment to park improvement as a help in preserving the community's quality of life ..... "
precita park, bernal heights, san francisco
i walked to and through this park every day during my most recent 3 month stay in SF, greeting young & old folk and everyone's dogs alike. not knowing anything about this memorial, i learned from the people i spoke to, prior to doing the above net search.
btw, the killings were *not* gang-related but more chilling in that the shooter was an older man who had been molesting the girl for years. (although the park did have a prior history of drug and gang violence.)
out of this tragedy, a community declared that enough was enough and the park has gradually turned into a beautiful and safe haven for the neighborhoods of bernal heights and the mission.
guns to benches
"Another long-awaited collaboration, the park's memorial bench ..... was conceived as a memorial to the teenagers Sylvia Menendez and Carlos Hernandez who were killed in the park on June 24, 1996.
The bench was built from cedar and melted guns by Peaceful Streets' John Ricker who turns the metal from melted guns into artwork.
It rests on a dove-shaped, painted tile walk-way designed and produced by Susan Cervantes and her staff at Precita Eyes Mural Arts. Composed of 900 tiles relating to the couple's lives, the tiles were hand painted by people of every age from every part of the community. Neighbors see their commitment to park improvement as a help in preserving the community's quality of life ..... "
precita park, bernal heights, san francisco
i walked to and through this park every day during my most recent 3 month stay in SF, greeting young & old folk and everyone's dogs alike. not knowing anything about this memorial, i learned from the people i spoke to, prior to doing the above net search.
btw, the killings were *not* gang-related but more chilling in that the shooter was an older man who had been molesting the girl for years. (although the park did have a prior history of drug and gang violence.)
out of this tragedy, a community declared that enough was enough and the park has gradually turned into a beautiful and safe haven for the neighborhoods of bernal heights and the mission.