OCEANSIDE — The Oceanside City Council has directed city staff to explore options for officially designating the Eastside community as a culturally and historically significant district, acknowledging its unique heritage and contributions to the city’s identity.
The council voted unanimously to proceed with a plan to establish the more than 100-year-old neighborhood as the Historical Eastside Cultural District. This designation aims to preserve the neighborhood’s cultural identity, which has long been a hub for Latinos and other communities of color in Oceanside.
The proposal, brought forward by Mayor Esther Sanchez and Councilmember Eric Joyce, includes several initiatives designed to honor the district’s history. These initiatives would give the community control over new public art in Joe Balderrama Park and surrounding areas, establish a funding stream for historical landmark plaques and welcome signs, support the maintenance of cultural artwork and preserve historic residential buildings.
Additionally, the designation is intended to support existing Latino-owned businesses and promote opportunities for more culturally enriching enterprises in the area.
Joyce emphasized that the move was “long overdue” for such a significant part of Oceanside’s history, noting that the Eastside neighborhood deserves this recognition by the city.
The Eastside community, established in the 1910s and 1920s by Mexican immigrant families, has long been a significant part of Oceanside’s cultural fabric. According to the Oceanside Historical Society, many of these families settled in Eastside’s various subdivisions, such as Mingus, Overman and Spencer, while working as farm laborers in the nearby San Luis Rey Valley and Rancho Santa Margarita, which is now Camp Pendleton.
The neighborhood earned its name from its position just east of downtown Oceanside, with a large canyon — now home to Interstate 5 —physically separating Eastside from the rest of the city. Over the years, the community faced marginalization, as reflected in its lack of infrastructure, such as unpaved streets and missing sewer systems, until the late 1940s.
Initially referred to by some as “Mexican Town,” the Eastside neighborhood evolved over the decades, becoming home to African American, Samoan, Filipino and military families by the 1950s.
The nickname “Posole” remains popular among residents and is believed to stem from a local woman renowned for selling her posole, symbolizing the hardworking spirit of the Eastside community.
Sanchez, whose family moved to Eastside as farm laborers from Texas, still resides in the neighborhood and has long been an advocate for preserving its history.
“My ancestors helped build the Eastside,” Sanchez said. “It’s time for it to become a historical district, especially after what we’ve seen with the recent mural project that brought families together.”
Recent efforts to beautify the neighborhood, including several murals in Joe Balderrama Park funded by Measure X, reflect the community’s cultural pride. These public art projects involved residents’ input and have become a point of pride for the neighborhood.
Despite his support for the designation, Councilmember Rick Robinson expressed concern about diverting resources from other ongoing city projects, such as updates to the general plan, cannabis regulations, and zoning matters. He emphasized the need to balance priorities across multiple important initiatives.
City Manager Jonathan Borrego indicated that staff would likely bring the proposal back to the council for further consideration around June of next year, marking the next step in formally recognizing the Eastside community’s rich cultural and historical significance.
