“El Corazon Park should be More than Hotels, Condominiums,
and Sports facilities
...it should shine with the Sole of our City”
THE VISION ~ THE PARK ~ THE CENTER
Twenty five years ago Oceanside was a beach town of pizza parlors, laundries for uniforms, and girlie shows. It had no attributes of the fine arts or cultural arts. There was a large open green parcel in the center of town and the Brooks theater was in disrepair. Then something wondrous happened. The Arts came to Oceanside. In the beginning, the alley across from City Hall was an alley filled with the unwanted and unwashed elements of nightly assignations of those who haunted the alleys of the forbidden. This is where it all began. Artists Alley came into being in the building affectionately known as the Art Building. It has from 1992 housed many artists who have come and gone, and now has survived with a Flower Shop, a Fashion Jewelry shop, an Escape Room and other establishments which are retail in scope. From the nucleus of Artists from Artists Alley combined with the Oceanside Cultural Foundation, the Oceanside Museum of Art was born. Thus, changing the face and future of our City. We now have a cultural soul.
Today, we are at transformational point in the visioning for the Arts in Oceanside. We look to a new and wondrous place which is now in the beginning stages of development. A new point of potential cultural opportunity which could be in El Corazon situated in the Heart of our City of Oceanside. Located between in the North, Mesa Drive, Rancho de Oro, to the South with Oceanside Blvd., to the West by El Camino Real, this 465 acre of land is in the beginning stage of development by Sudberry Properties. The Senior Community Center and the new Aquatic Swim Center are fully developed and the sports community and Senior Citizen Center are open to all.
There are currently 18 soccer fields which are used on an ongoing basis by the The SoCal Sports Complex opened in 2014 on 54 acres at the city’s 465-acre on El Corazon property. The current plan calls for the development of residential, retail, and a hotel perhaps two. There seems to be flexibility for purpose in the undeveloped parcels.
This location is served with the good fortune of rail transit east, and north and south. It is five minutes from Interstate 5. There are two new hotels by Marriott directly across the Street on Rancho de Oro.
This land which is called a park has the potential to have elements not just for sport, but for the arts as well. There are abundant sites for large sculptures*, outdoor forums for drama, and for a magnificent venue of a Performing Arts Center. Drawing inspiration from the many facets of Balboa Park in San Diego, and the Orange County Performing Arts Center, El Corazon has the potential to be our Place in the Sun for North County Arts and beyond.
The Soul has many requirements for the Health of an Individual two of which are Sport, and the Aesthetic...The dynamic qualities of the arts influence our everyday lives perhaps more than sport as it permeates all aspects of our connected and intersected lives via the phone, computers, or television. The Arts impact all us whether visual, musical, or dialogue. Live performance is for our Youth the best of all entertainment offerings. Musical, whether it be classical, popular, rock, or jazz is the heartbeat of us all. And who can deny the emotional appeal of the spoken work of Shakespeare, or or the poet Maya Angelou, or the Broadway production of Cats. El Corazon has the capability to give to our City all of the above, and more. It can be a Southern California Center which would have Local, National,and International audiences for the Prformaning Arts..
It has been said, that the Arts should remain downtown in the center of our business community. The Art Museum is there as well as Artist Alley and the two small live performing theaters. There are however, very few artists or galleries in this district due to the expensive rental situation. The Eastern part of Oceanside where the majority of our citizens live is now becoming a desirable location for the arts. The Muramid Mural Museum is now to be located by the Mission, Ace, the Arts Community, Education non profit is located next door to the Mission branch Library. Many artists live and work in Eastern Oceanside for the larger homes are adaptable to include a studio. The Star Theater and the Brooks Theater are located in the downtown district, and are well attended. They are small venues which are conducive to local productions and they fulfill this function very well.
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| This is Possible |
Nowhere in the downtown area is there room for a Center which provide the needed space for a Symphony Orchestra to perform. The large stage needed for ballet, or Broadway productions which cannot be accommodated with the small venues we currently have. Let's take a cue from the many great cities which have multiple art districts, many different venues with individual vibes that would speak to all of our many diverse communities. East Oceanside is rich with our City's history as the Mission and Heritage Park are located there. With the growth of the new art, cultural and educational venues coming to the fore, let's celebrate our good fortune with the knowledge that growth is a good thing, and we are fortunate indeed to have this incredible space known as El Corazon... Our Heart.
