The Convoy sign along Convoy Street on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune) City efforts to grow San Diego’s most recognizable Asian business district into a fully-fledged cultural hub and neighborhood are taking shape — but not without growing pains.
What began in the 1980s as a handful of mom-and-pop shops and restaurants along Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa has now established itself as the commercial and cultural heart of the city’s Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
Now, four years after the city first made that designation official , the city has made it more so with the lighting of a long-awaited 30-foot gateway sign whose patterns and designs honor Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.
“The Convoy District was built by immigrants, refugees, families and entrepreneurs who believe in San Diego, and their achievements have created a community so special that it warrants the installation of this official landmark,” said Councilmember Kent Lee, who represents the area. The newly completed bike lanes on Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024 in San Diego, California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) The sign culminates decades of determination by immigrant communities, helping to truly put Convoy on the map, explained Jason Paguio, president and CEO of the Asian Business Association.
“We wanted the sign to be something that wasn’t just representative of the community, but … comprised of the small businesses that it represents,” Paguio said. “It was one […]
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