"Neighborhood Project": Silver City, Grand Finale

Listen:  During the two months of the Neighborhood Project, each neighborhood took a turn as my favorite -- as we rummaged around for the ideal story, its pieces would snap together immediately, a complete, colorful narrative, nearly readymade. On other occasions, the stories were maddeningly elusive. Oftentimes, the story we wanted to tell seemed so simple, but we had to pour in a remarkable amount of effort to make it come to life. I have to admit, it took me awhile to wrap my head around Silver City. It was an area of town with which I wasn't familiar and it didn't seem to want to reveal itself to me all at once. In the end, through the remarkably candid honesty of the people I met and the time I spent in the neighborhood, Silver City became much clearer to me. A neighborhood with a strong working class tradition, newly diverse, adjusting successfully to the challenges that come with change. (Oh. And don't forget they have a top notch blues joint, Colombian bakery, engine, blade, and prop shop, Vietnamese, and so much more.) Some of the highlights from the five parts series in Silver City:

Follow the links below to hear the full Silver City stories. Part One - Charlotte John Gomez and Mark Dietz give us a whirlwind driving tour of the neighborhood's geography, culture, and history. Part Two - We hit the streets to meet the neighbors of Silver City. Part Three - The School Sisters of St. Francis' long and productive history of service in the neighborhood, condensed. Part Four - Charles Vang and and Maria Miramontes tell us about their very different but very worthwhile investments in Silver City. Part Five - We get the amusing and amazing back story of Shea Park, a community garden and the pride of the neighborhood. Produced by: Adam Carr

Note: The great photograph above is another from mlgkhc on Flickr.