Helen MacGregor Plaza (originally Helen MacGregor Mall, which was named in honor of Helen R. MacGregor) is a public park located at the triangular area composed of West Street, 52nd Street and Martin Luther King Jr Way, Oakland, California. Helen MacGregor Mall was dedicated in 1973. 1

The small plaza is located in the Santa Fe neighborhood, across Martin Luther King Jr Way (east) from the Bushrod neighborhood and south one block away from the Longfellow neighborhood. In June of 2014 was formally co-adopted by the Santa Fe Community Association & Neighbors (Santa Fe CAN) and the Longfellow Community Association (LCA), both volunteer-powered community improvement organizations through the City of Oakland's Adopt a Spot program. Beginning on June 1, 2014, Santa Fe CAN and LCA began working together to host clean-up events every other month, where volunteers will pick up litter, weed the small gardens and perform graffiti abatement.

In late 2014, the Helen MacGregor Task Force was created to substantially renovate the Plaza. Stakeholders include the Santa Fe Community Association & Neighbors, the Longfellow Community Association, a representative from the Bushrod neighborhood, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, and Rebuilding Together Oakland.

On October 28, 2013 it was reported to the city via SeeClickFix that "The homeless encampment at Helen McGregor Park is generating trash, noise, and health hazards. The local community is no longer using the resource, and the amount of blight is increasing." Oakland Public Works acknowledged receiving the complaint.

Excerpt from Oakland Tribune (fair use)

Links and References

  1. Historical Dates for Oakland Parks and Recreation