Sherman Heights Community Center began as neighbors organizing for their neighborhood — and grew into a home for education, culture, health, and celebration that serves about 20,000 residents a year.
A coalition of residents known as the Sherman Action Committee incorporated to become the Sherman Heights Community Center. Their top priority: a facility that would bring health, social, recreational, and child-care services together under one roof for inner-city residents.
Community members began meeting and receiving services in the "casita amarilla," a beautiful Victorian home in Sherman Heights. The little yellow house became the center's first gathering place — proof that community happens wherever neighbors make room for each other.
The Community Center expanded into a brand-new two-story facility designed by architect Robert Quigley side by side with community members — schoolchildren and elders alike sketching their visions and shaping the building that still serves the neighborhood today.
Our mission remains "Fostering community through education, cultural enrichment, health promotion and personal development." With this in mind, we offer programs, services, and events that enhance the well-being of individuals and families across Sherman Heights, Grant Hill, Logan Heights, Barrio Logan, and the South Bay.
The Sherman Heights Community Center is a two-story, 12,500-square-foot facility designed by renowned architect Robert Quigley in collaboration with community members.
The building pays homage to the historic neighborhood of Sherman Heights and to early 20th-century architect Irving Gill, a pioneer of modern architecture who reportedly lived in a house of his own design on 25th Street. It also features public works of art by international artists Raul Guerrero and Jean Cornwell — and by community members themselves.
Centrally located east of downtown San Diego between Golden Hill and Barrio Logan, the center offers stunning views of Sherman Heights and the Coronado Bridge, with plenty of street parking and easy access to the 5, 805, 94, and 15 freeways.
Forty years in, this story is still being written by the neighbors who show up. Visit a program, rent the space for your own celebration, or support the work.
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