Southside Park in Sacramento in Sacramento County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Rededication of El Centro Mexicano Plaque

September 16, 2011

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, December 11, 2015

1. Rededication of El Centro Mexicano Plaque Marker

Inscription.
First panel:
The Comité Centro Mexicano commemorates the same respect and sense of equality dictated by this historical plaque. With great honor we re-dedicate it in honor of all humanity on this date.

From 1948 to 1975, El Centro Mexicano, adjacent to Southside Park at 2216 6th Street, was the primary community center for Sacramento's population of Mexican descent.

El Comité Centro Mexicano conmemora el mismo respeto y sentido de igualidad dictados en esta placa histórica. Con gran honor rededicamos a toda la humanidad en esta fecha.

Robert Fong, Sacramento City Council · Lisa C. Prince, Citizen · Sergio E. Betancourt, Citizen · Paul Trudeau, Citizen · Nemesio Tony Ortiz, Citizen

Second Panel (Original Plaque):

Centro Mexicano de Sacramento
Dedicado a la cultura y bienestar social de la colonia mexicana del valle de Sacramento (Proyecto Original del Comité Pro-Hogar Mexicano, 1938)

Arquitecto. L.F. Starks. · Contratista, F.W Clark. Se comenzó la obra el 5 de Mayo de 1948. Se inauguró el 14 de Agosto del mismo año, siendo

Consul De Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Adolfo G. Dominguez
A cuyo esfuerzo personal se debe este edificio
———
Formaban la mesa

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

directiva:
Manuel Rey, Presidente · Luis Navarro, Vicepresidente · Agustin Ornelas, Secretario · Alberto Gonzalez, Tesorero
vocales
Jesus Bribiescas · Antonio Gaitan · Valentin Martinez
Placa donada por Southern Pacific Co.

English translation of the dedication on the second plaque:

Dedicated to the cultural and social welfare of the Mexican community of the Sacramento Valley.

Erected 2011.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Fraternal or Sororal Organizations • Hispanic Americans. A significant historical year for this entry is 1948.

Location. 38° 34.158′ N, 121° 30.157′ W. Marker is in Sacramento, California, in Sacramento County. It is in Southside Park. Marker can be reached from U Street west of 8th Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sacramento CA 95814, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (a few steps from this marker); History of Southside Park (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Historic Businesses 10th to 11th Streets, North (approx. 0.4 miles away); City's First Southern Flood Levee (approx. 0.4 miles away); Theodore Judah (approx. 0.4 miles away); California’s First Passenger Railroad

Rededication of El Centro Mexicano Plaque Marker - Wide View image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, December 11, 2015

2. Rededication of El Centro Mexicano Plaque Marker - Wide View

(approx. 0.4 miles away); Sacramento City Cemetery (approx. 0.4 miles away); Hardin Bigelow (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sacramento.

Regarding Rededication of El Centro Mexicano Plaque. According to Steven Avella, in Sacramento and the Catholic Church: Shaping a Capital City (University of Nevada Press, 2008, p. 220) - "In 1942 the government of Mexico opened a consulate in Sacramento. One consul, Adolfo Rodriguez, played an important role in helping Mexican Sacramentans bond by helping them claim urban space for their cultural activities. Community celebrations were held in rented facilities such as the Native Sons Hall, the Hotel Espanol or the auditorium of Lincoln School. In 1938 city latinos formed the Centro Mexicano to collect donations for a new hall. Early plans for the proposed center included a bilingual school, library, social club. and cultural center. A round of dances, fiestas, bazaars, and other fund-raising schemes raised about four thousand dollars by 1941. Lots were purchased in the Southside Park area at Sixth and W, but wartime building restrictions halted construction temporarily. When Mexican consul Adolfo G. Dominguez

2216 6th Street, formerly the El Centro Mexicano, now the Tenrikyo Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, December 11, 2015

3. 2216 6th Street, formerly the El Centro Mexicano, now the Tenrikyo Church

arrived in 1948. he revived the cultural center project. The emissary urged local leaders to abandon traditional fundraisers and freewill offerings, urging them instead to underwrite the project through the sale of stock in a private corporation, "El Centro Mexicano de Sacramento." The board, headed by Southern Pacific worker Manuel Rey, was composed entirely of working people. Shares were sold far and wide, including a number to braceros. Architect Leonard Stark designed an eighty-by-forty-foot structure, decorated with murals painted by local artist Dolores O'Neill, highlighting the mythical Aztec past of the Mexican people. Ground was broken for the new center during the Cinco de Mayo celebrations of 1948 at a ceremony presided over by Dominguez and Sacramento mayor Belle Cooledge. Construction was completed by August. An elaborate dedication ceremony welcomed a representative of Mexican president Miguel Alemán on August 14, 1948. Speakers lauded the building as the "only one of its kind in the country".

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 20, 2015, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 421 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 20, 2015, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.