Author: Richard Schulte

Downtown San Diego has been my home for many years. My online activities reflect my love for writing, blogging, walking and photography.

Big, fun, expanding mural in Chula Vista!

A very big, very fun outdoor mural is gradually being painted on the east side of La Bella Cafe & Games in Chula Vista!

Check it out!

I believe several artists are involved in this project.

On the smaller perpendicular wall, more fun imagery was painted a while back by artist Shirish Villaseñor. For a better look at that section of the artwork, click here and view the first two photographs.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Finished mural from Chula Vista Lemon Festival!

I took this photo yesterday during a walk through downtown Chula Vista. The lemon tree mural on Third Avenue has been completed!

I saw the artists working on the mural during the Lemon Festival last month and shared photographs of them smiling. See those photos and learn more about the awesome artists here!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Mexican Independence Day celebrated in Little Italy!

This evening, Mexican Independence Day is being celebrated in Little Italy. Cultural performances, including lots of colorful folklorico dancing, can be enjoyed in front of San Diego’s Mexican Consulate. A good crowd had gathered for the event shortly after it began, as you can see in my photographs!

If you read this in time, the Mexican Independence Day celebration will continue on the 1500 block of India Street until 9 pm tonight!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

27th Annual Exhibition of 7 Printmakers opens!

The 27th Annual Exhibition of 7 Printmakers has opened in San Diego. The public is invited to enjoy the work of seven master printmakers inside Gallery 21 at Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center. The free exhibition will be short-lived, however. Make sure to see it by September 25, 2023.

The art on display is extraordinary. You’ll observe pieces created using several different processes of printmaking. There’s the woodcut, wood-engraving, collograph, etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint, lithograph and serigraph.

All of these many, often complicated printing techniques boggled my mind, even as friendly artist Angelika Villagrana provided a detailed explanation of various processes.

The seven artists with fine work on display are: Raymond Brownfield, Jacqueline Dotson, Igor Koutsenko, Kathleen McCord, Sfona Pelah, Julianne Ricksecker and Angelika Villagrana. They’ve been exhibiting together for many years now!

If you’re looking to purchase some very fine art, swing on by. There’s much that you can choose from.

An opening reception will be held in Gallery 21 this coming Sunday, September 17, from 4 – 7 pm.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

A cracker factory, bakery, and den of immorality!

This old two-story brick building in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter has a fascinating history.

The property has been home to a factory that made crackers for ships, several other bakeries including the Royal Pie Bakery, and in the early 20th century, an upstairs hotel that was described as a den of rampant immorality!

Standing at 554 Fourth Avenue, the building was most recently home to Dublin Square Irish Pub.

The property’s history is so complex and interesting that one should read this detailed article by the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation.

An aging plaque on front of the building reads:

Royal Pie Bakery 1884

Originally known as the San Diego Steam Cracker Factory, this brick structure has remained a bakery since its construction in 1884. During the first part of the 20th century, when the Gaslamp was deteriorating into a red-light district, the upper floor housed the notorious Empire Hotel, and later the Anchor Hotel. In 1920, Alois Kuhnel and F. A. Smith purchased the bakery. They were partners until 1939. The building was sold to Alois Kuhnel in 1950.

The Royal Pie Bakery finally closed in 1998.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Racing Thoughts painted in a North Park alley!

This cool mural was painted several months ago in a North Park alley during the North Park Music Fest. The large mural, titled Racing Thoughts, was created by Carly Ealey and Christoper Konecki. Their awesome street art is all over San Diego.

Racing Thoughts can be viewed from the sidewalk on the north side of University Avenue, just west of 30th Street. It’s directly opposite that fierce panda mural which I observed in the same alley a couple weeks ago.

Capturing a single image of the long mural was impractical, given the narrow alley, so you’ll have to visualize the mural’s entirety from multiple photographs:

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

The new Creekside Park in Mission Valley.

A beautiful new park has opened in Mission Valley. The linear Creekside Park, located inside Civita, is centered around an elevated walkway that stretches between Civita Park and Friars Road.

I walked the length of the park this afternoon, my camera at the ready. It’s a green, tranquil place that is inviting to those who love the sunny outdoors.

The north end of Creekside Park at Civita Boulevard.

Sign shows the San Diego River watershed. Runoff from the large Civita community passes from Civita Creek through Creekside Park, part of an extensive natural filtration system.

Heading south with a kids play structure ahead.

Colorful mosaics with a river theme can be enjoyed around and near this large planter. Created by La Jolla artist Jane Wheeler.

IMAGINE

PAUSE

Continuing south, approaching Westside Drive.

About to pass shady picnic benches and a fenced dog run.

Friars Road in the distance.

Looking to the west as I descend toward Friars Road.

Another park map at the south end of Creekside Park. The park’s walkway connects with a sidewalk on the north side of Friars Road.

Looking north at Creekside Park from Friars Road.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Learn to cha-cha-cha on a San Diego street!

You can learn how to dance the cha-cha-cha on a San Diego street corner.

It’s true!

At the corner of Civita Boulevard and Via Alta in Mission Valley, a step-by-step cha-cha-cha guide is embedded in the sidewalk!

(I gave the dance steps a try and almost tripped over my own two feet. Passing motorists probably had a good laugh.)

I happened to spy this fun public art as I walked through the Civita urban village this afternoon. I was heading toward Civita’s newly opened Creekside Park. Photos are coming up of the beautiful new park!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Positively Animated art rocks Escondido!

Do you love art that is bold, energetic and unabashedly fun? If so, there’s an art exhibition in Escondido that you should check out. It’s titled Nan Coffey: Positively Animated!

Step into the museum at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido through November 5, 2023 and you’ll discover a gallery splashed with swirling words and images. Guitars, clothing, furniture, canvases and walls are positively covered with pop culture references. You’ll find homages to Rock and Roll and Southern California subcultures in particular.

The San Diego based artist Nan Coffey has a unique style which she calls Art All Over. As you can see from my photos, lively art covers every surface of those objects she decorates. Her work promotes connectivity, inclusivity, and love while drawing inspiration from her childhood obsessions with music, cinema, television, and pop culture. Let your eyes wander up, down, right and left and her animated art seems to have no boundary and no end.

It’s hard to adequately describe her work without actually seeing it. Here’s a small taste…

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Veterans receive help at North County Stand Down.

Do you know any military veterans who could use some help? Perhaps they are struggling financially. Perhaps they need a little boost. Perhaps they are homeless.

There’s a four day event next month in Vista, in San Diego’s North County, that wants to help. The North County Veterans Stand Down welcomes all veterans and their families to free meals, accommodations, hot showers and haircuts. Veterans are given new or gently used clothing and shoes, prescription glasses, dental services, medical services, legal services, and simple rest, support and friendship.

Do you know someone who might benefit? Even you, perhaps?

I learned about the North County Veterans Stand Down during my visit to the Escondido Grape Day Festival last Saturday. Good people who know how life can be difficult want to help. I thought I’d pass this information along.

To go to the North County Veterans Stand Down website to learn more and perhaps register, click here!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!