Save Monster Park
Friends of la Laguna is a community group that has launched a grassroots movement to protect the cultural and historical treasure of the Laguna de San Gabriel. This is a children's play area at Vincent Lugo Park that was designed and sculpted by a Chicano artist in the 1960s. The city of San Gabriel has announced plans to demolish these play-sculptures as part of a park renovation. We are collecting signatures to ask the city to reconsider its position.
At Vincent Lugo Park in the city of San Gabriel there is a hidden treasure: a sandy urban lagoon filled with fantastic sea monsters. For more than three generations, children have played on these sculptures that are the unique vision of a Mexicano/Chicano artist, Benjamin Dominguez.
In the Autumn 2006 edition of its newsletter, The Grapevine, the city announced plans to demolish this park. As residents of San Gabriel we were concerned and dismayed that such a treasure could be lost. We believe that the city has not yet adequately evaluated the cultural and historic value of the park for the community. We believe that the city should solicit more community input. We believe that the sculptures of “Monster” or “Dinosaur” park (as it is affectionately known) should be preserved.
