Photo from 4th Avenue beside the Chula Vista Public Library Civic Center Branch.
Yesterday I walked around the Chula Vista Library’s big Civic Center Branch. I took a look at a beautiful sculpture outside, saw an El Camino Real bell and bronze bust in nearby Friendship Park, then entered the building’s front entrance to check out more art and local history. I particularly enjoyed looking about the library’s unique Chula Vista Heritage Museum.
Come along with me and please read these photo captions…
Pleasant Tree, 2003, by artist Jorge Blanco. An abstract sculpture stands near the Chula Vista Library.Art should always be available to us, to surround us and uplift us.Pleasant Tree from another angle, with eucalyptus and palm trees behind.North of the library, at the west edge of Friendship Park stands an El Camino Real bell, donated by the City of Chula Vista, County of San Diego, and California Federation of Women’s Clubs.Green grass and shady trees fill the Will T. Hyde Friendship Park, north of the Chula Vista Library.A bronze bust near the center of Chula Vista Friendship Park.The bronze likeness of Will T. Hyde, who helped create Friendship Park. By sculptors T.J. Dixon and James Nelson.Plaque shows that Will T. Hyde was Mayor of Chula Vista from 1977 to 1981.Will T. Hyde seems to gaze across the beautiful park.The front of the Chula Vista Public Library, seen from the parking lot entrance.A large wall inside the front entrance of the Chula Vista Library contains many historical photos of the community.A photo mosaic on the library’s entrance wall shows Chula Vista Heritage.In one corner of the quiet library the public can freely visit the Chula Vista Heritage Museum.A photographic timeline wall around the perimeter of the museum’s space shows notable events from Chula Vista history.Chula Vista history in the 2000s includes Park View Little League becoming World Champions in 2009.Historical artifacts fill display cases. This plastic replica was cast from a Chula Vista walrus – Valenictus chulavistensis. The fossil was found in 1989 at Otay Ranch Village.The San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge includes 1068 acres of diked salt evaporation ponds. Migratory birds are carefully protected.Historical 1919 letter from Hercules Powder Company, which produced potash and acetone from harvested ocean kelp at Gunpowder Point. They helped to supply the British with munitions during World War I.Photos of an osprey and feeding white pelicans in the museum’s current exhibition: Natural History and the Indigenous People of the South Bay.Large sculpted medallion in a wall near the entrance to the Chula Vista Public Library. Scenes depicted include the original Rohr Aircraft Company, and the San Diego Country Club, home of golf legend Billy Casper.
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To an ancient person, light is a life-sustaining gift from a distant bright god. To a modern person, light is electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the eye’s retina. To an artist, light might be some of both . . . and much more.
When I write, I’m never certain what precise thing light represents. In many stories it seems to symbolize a life-sustaining hope, or a radiation of the spirit detected by the heart. It might signal a burning love, living with eyes wide open, or intangible rays from beyond that define life’s shape. A glimpse of ultimate truth. A bright gift that is magical, momentary, precious.
I don’t know. What is light to you?
Following are seven short works of fiction where light is an integral part of the story:
The Chula Vista Heritage Museum has an exhibit that features Kumeyaay history in the South Bay. Bringing the past to life.
Until this afternoon I’d never stepped inside the Civic Center Branch of the Chula Vista Public Library. The other day I learned this library is home to the Chula Vista Heritage Museum, so I wanted to take a look!
The small but very fine museum, which is located in a corner of the library, now features an exhibit titled Natural History and the Indigenous People of the South Bay. There are all sorts of fascinating displays concerning fossils and wildlife and natural resources that are an essential part of Chula Vista’s story. But the section that fascinated me most provides information about the Native American Kumeyaay people and their very long history in the South Bay.
If you are interested in this region and its rich history, head down to the Civic Center Branch of the Chula Vista Public Library when it’s open, and take a stroll through the Chula Vista Heritage Museum!
In addition to displays about birds, fish, wildlife and plants, the exhibit explores the history of indigenous people in the South Bay region.Our Kumeyaay ancestors understood that without water there is no life. The term Mai Ha refers to the Creator–the life sustaining water cycle from the heavens to the Earth.The Kumeyaay near the coast traded acorns, deer meat, baskets, seafood and shells for obsidian, red ochre, pottery, agave and other items from clans in the eastern mountains and deserts.Kumeyaay artifacts include beautiful willow baskets. Bedrock mortars and metates were used to grind acorns to flour.The Kumeyaay made sandals, nets and rope from the fibers of Coastal Agave and Yuccas.Maps show extent of the Kumeyaay/Diegueño Nation in 1775, 1822 and 1850, as Spain, Mexico and the United States took control of more land.The Kumeyaay of the Sycuan band have ancestral village sites along the Sweetwater River. The village of Chiap or Chayp was located by mudflats at the southern end of South Bay.Historical photo of a Kumeyaay village in the South Bay region. San Diego Bay and the Silver Strand are visible in the background.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
During my walk around the Chula Vista Library early this afternoon I stumbled upon The Turning Wheel Project. A very colorful bus was parked behind the library, and a group of youth was learning about the culture and history of Chicano Park, Logan Heights and other nearby communities!
The Turning Wheel Project, I learned, is a partnership between the Chicano Park Steering Committee, the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center, and the University of San Diego. The bus serves as a mobile classroom where students can learn about the unique culture and history of their own community. Curious minds learn about the power of art, science and engineering, and contemplate the past, present and future.
I stepped into the bus and saw many interesting photographs depicting activism and the historic struggle to create Chicano Park. Representations of Chicano Park’s world-famous murals were also on display. As I poked my nose about, professors from USD were speaking to some students.
If you’d like to learn more about The Turning Wheel Project: El Pueblo En Movimiento – A Community In Movement, check out their website here!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
This morning neighbors who live in San Diego’s downtown Cortez Hill community came together to beautify the Tweet Street linear park!
Lots of smiling folks were toiling along Tenth Avenue digging holes, planting new greenery, raking up leaves and spreading mulch . . . and having fun, too!
This special event was organized by the Friends of Tweet Street Park and Downtown San Diego Partnership’s Clean and Safe program. I was amazed at how quickly a lot of work got done when many volunteers pitch in together!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Have you created a zine? Do you like to read them?
Head up to the 8th floor of the San Diego Central Library and you’ll find a collection of hundreds of handmade, self-published zines!
Some of the zines are very simple–just folded copy paper and staples. Others are so slick you might mistake them for a popular comic book or retail magazine. All are super creative. Every page communicates the author’s unique voice and vision.
If you’ve created a cool zine, you can submit your finished masterpiece to the library. They’ll consider adding it to their collection.
I looked through the bins and found all sorts of amusing, brain-bending, eye-catching covers. You can’t check zines out of the library, but you can check out these few photos!
San Diego Central Library’s zine collection is on the 8th floor. Browse hundreds of handcrafted, self-published, small circulation titles.Said While Talking, by MarinaomiAlas This Rebel Heart, by Cathy HannahRazorcakeCheer the Eff UpCleopatra in Spaaaace!Detention. Sigh…epoch oblivionMagagagagazineStep Down Your Throat ComicsGag Me With A . . .Perpetually Twelve, Number 8. The Monster Issue.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
I haven’t authored any zines, but I have written a few online short stories. If you like to read, you might enjoy my website Short Stories by Richard.
I noticed a few days ago that some electrical boxes in East Village, near the intersection of F Street and Tenth Avenue, are sporting three cool new faces!
About a year and a half ago I posted photos of street art painted on those same boxes. You might recall the silly image of Jar Jar Binks. You can see that here.
These three colorful new faces are all painted by San Diego artist Lynne Bolton.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
A community “spruce up” of Tweet Street Park on Cortez Hill is scheduled for next Saturday morning, June 1, 2019.
Anybody and everybody is invited to come help beautify the linear park. I spotted a notice concerning the event and thought I’d share it!
The Friends of Tweet Street Park and Downtown San Diego Partnership’s Clean and Safe program are coming together to help improve Tweet Street. The event is from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. The notice indicates that the location is the corner of Tenth Avenue and Cedar Street. Tools and new plantings will be provided. All that is needed is your help!
Do you know others who like to volunteer? Spread the word!
This morning I went to a Memorial Day ceremony at the San Diego Vietnam Peace Memorial, next to Balboa Park’s Veterans Museum. Representatives from San Diego’s Vietnamese community attended. They presented a wreath in remembrance. A beautiful new POW/MIA monument was revealed. (See my previous blog post.)
I and others then boarded an Old Town Trolley Tours bus. We were driven by our amazing Vietnam veteran driver Sam to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. There we attended the 119th Memorial Service and Day of Remembrance.
We heard deeply felt tributes to those who have served and sacrificed. Many wreaths were presented. Hearts poured out.
Thousand of tiny flags fluttered in the sea breeze.
Come along with me…
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 