Street signs now on 24th Street marking it a “Latino Cultural District’

Visitors to 24^th Street in the Mission may notice a new addition to the business-lined corridor: street signs aimed at raising awareness of the neighborhood’s cultural history.

On Tuesday, city crews hung signs reading ‘Calle 24 Latino Cultural District” along the stretch of 24^th between Mission and Potrero streets, the latest in ongoing efforts by an area merchants and neighborhood group. Calle 24, which pushed for a resolution that declared the area a cultural district in 2014, also plans to place larger signs to mark the district’s borders and hang newly restored banners along 24^th.

Erick Arguello, president of Calle 24, said the new street signs will be helpful for marketing purposes and “letting people know they are in a special use district similar to Japantown, North Beach and Chinatown.

“[It’s] part of the larger picture of what we are establishing for the cultural district,” he added. ”The reason the Latino Cultural District was done was in response to displacement in the area.”

In addition to new street signs, Calle 24 has plans to erect larger signs denoting the cultural district along its borders, on Mission, 22^nd,  Potrero  and Cesar Chavez streets. Arts organization Precita Eyes is also restoring the Flags of the Americas, banners created by Mission artists to recognize the neighborhood’s Latino heritage that have hung along 24^th Street for decades.

Arguello said banners will be rehung in more prominent spots, unobscured by trees, and the larger signs will be placed in the coming weeks.

[Photo via Calle 24’s Facebook page]