On Wednesday morning, Cathedral City elected leaders debuted “Ocotillo Square” street sign toppers designed to give the neighborhood a new sense of identity and pride.
“This kind of camaraderie can’t be bought, but it can be elevated. Give someone a sense of place, belonging, partnership and amazing things can happen,” Councilmember Nancy Ross said in a news release from the city.
Joining Ross at the ceremony were Mayor Rita Lamb as well as the sign-topper's artist, Barbara Swain, and community members who all gathered Wednesday, Jan. 18, at the northwest corner of Ocotillo Park on Moreno Road.
According to a news release by Cathedral City Communication & Events Manager Ryan Hunt, the ceremony was a celebration of the neighborhood’s new designation—its first formal name, although in the past, it had been known as “The Mile,” “The Square Mile” or “The South City.”
It was the residents themselves that elevated "Ocotillo Square" to the designation that would stick, Hunt said. Ross and volunteers walked through the neighborhood asking residents for their views on a name, and feedback also came from two community meetings held at Ocotillo Park, according to Hunt.
Even the sign toppers themselves had the backing of residents. In October, students from the Cathedral City High School Choir were hired by Ross to walk the neighborhood in teams, along with a chaperone, to ask if the community would support sign toppers. The results showed 191 households out of the 197 visited stood in favor of the sign toppers.
The neighborhood’s boundaries stretch from Dinah Shore in the south to Ramon Road in the north and run from Date Palm Drive in the east to Cathedral Canyon in the west.