Yesterday afternoon, a walking celebration of the new Bay to Park Paseo took place in downtown San Diego!
The inaugural walk moved north from the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel up Park Boulevard to Presidents Way in Balboa Park. A good crowd gathered, then followed a three-piece band and our guide, Pete Garcia of the non-profit URBAN INTERVENTIONS. Pete, holding his red umbrella, provided insights into each art installation and was joined by many of the participating designers and artists.
The Bay to Park Paseo is a walking experience that features over a dozen different temporary art installations. The Paseo leads walkers over the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge, then past Petco Park, the Central Library, UC San Diego Park & Market, NewSchool of Architecture & Design, IDEA1, City College, and San Diego High School.
The idea for a pedestrian friendly corridor connecting San Diego Bay to Balboa Park actually originated in 1908. It was envisioned by John Nolen, the first American to identify exclusively as a town and city planner. San Diego’s new Bay to Park Paseo serves as a temporary prototype of what the future might hold for this corridor.
As you’ll see in the upcoming photos, some of these temporary art installations aren’t finished yet. Some also appear very different from their original conception, due to budgetary constraints.
Take a look at these colorful installations, then imagine how awesome a future Paseo with permanent public art would appear!
People gather for the inaugural walk in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. The Bay to Park Paseo has been created in conjunction with San Diego/Tijuana’s selection as World Design Capital 2024.We wait for the band, which was a bit late.The first art installation is a stained glass panel in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.Welcome to the start of Bay to Park Paseo! The project has a butterfly as its symbol.The beautiful stained glass panel was designed by local artist and muralist Shirish Villaseñor, who happens to also work at the Hilton! She has been working on restoring the famous murals in Chicano Park.This butterfly loosely resembles the huge Hermes Copper Butterfly that will be installed on the nearby Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge.Pete Garcia welcomes the excited walkers.Here we go!I learned some of the band members participated in artist James Hubbell’s Friendship Walk on Shelter Island, which you might recall seeing on Cool San Diego Sights.You can see part of pre-existing Wind Palms public art in the background. The San Diego Convention Center appears on the right.Starting across the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge.A designer from Safdie Rabines Architects (who designed this bridge and many other structures in San Diego) describes how a huge Hermes Copper Butterfly will decorate the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge. The landmark public art will remain on the bridge for five years. Small dangling tiles will compose the butterfly, which should move with the wind.Once the butterfly appears, you can bet I’ll take photos!Resuming our walk over the bridge.Walking past Petco Park.Overcast this Spring day, but no rain during the walk.That big square “hole” across the street at Park 12 will contain colorful string-like artwork by acclaimed artist Inés Esnal. You can see the unrelated Growing Home public art seashell on the left.Now we’re approaching the Connector Block 1 installation.Colorful pallets and desert cacti and succulents!Stay and Play is the title of this fun, colorful sidewalk installation.Stay and Play and SMILE!Walking north to San Diego’s iconic Central Library.We gather in front of the Central Library where the Before There Were Borders installation provides a unique augmented reality experience on passersby’s phones.I already blogged about Before There Were Borders. Check that out here.North we go again!We’ve arrived at Connector Blocks 2 and 3. This fun installation, called Walk and Learn, allows people to view historical photographs from downtown San Diego.Spin the dial on a huge “viewmaster” to discover the liveliness of our city’s streets and sidewalks from the past.I see East Village’s very cool Crushing It street mural in the background!Moving along up the new Bay to Park Paseo.Passing the Park & Market trolley station, which already contains artistic elements like curvy benches.Members of the UC San Diego Design Lab pose for a quick photo!What Does Home Mean to You? is the thought-provoking installation at the UC San Diego Park and Market building. I posted a blog concerning it here. One of the three “silhouettes” has appeared. Pushing a button activates an audio recording. A homeless person tells of the hardships she has encountered.UCSD students who contributed to the installation’s design are acknowledged.Here comes the Memories at Midpoint installation. I saw them putting up the artwork and posted photos here.Our walking group has arrived in front of the NewSchool of Architecture & Design.We learn about this fun, surprising installation.What’s inside these colorful mailboxes?Some surprising discoveries!This is fun! What’s next?Along the trolley tracks we go…This cool artwork is next!This installation is called The Desert Super Bloom. It’s in front of IDEA1. There will be three such colorful clusters–two are completed.I love it!Kids painted those tall poles. I see, in the photo’s background, The Strength of Women mural by Rafael Lopez.Walking up toward the City College trolley station.Local artist Armando De La Torre poses for a photo in front of his Along the Blue Line installation before the crowd of walkers arrives! He wants his art to connect with ordinary people.Read more about this installation on a construction fence here. We also learned about artwork in the windows of the nearby Smart Corner building. That installation, called Reading Between the Lines, is best seen at night.Here we are moving right along past the City College trolley station and the Smart Corner building that rises above it.We’ve arrived at the corner of San Diego City College. The originally intended bench installation has to be changed. Now banners proclaim I Have a Dream. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous words are perfect at a diverse college where there are many dreams.A dream in beautiful San Diego.I’ve blogged a couple times about the sinuous, wavelike JOURNEYworm in front of San Diego High School. Delicate black mosquito netting was replaced by stronger plastic safety fencing because of destructive winter storms. The bright orange definitely attracts the attention of students and others passing by!The inaugural walk up the Bay to Park Paseo is approaching the finish line. There is one more art installation to check out.Multiple panels along the sides of the Park Boulevard bridge over Interstate 5 aren’t ready yet. But we saw the representation of one mural. It’s a palm tree! The images will be reflective of San Diego’s beautiful Balboa Park.1.7 miles of walking nearly completed!You can see downtown’s Cortez Hill neighborhood in the distance. That’s where I live!The Bay to Park Paseo walkers pose for a concluding photograph in Balboa Park! Why don’t YOU take a walk up the art-filled Paseo? It’s fun!
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