Very scary monsters were welcomed to Balboa Park today. The terrifying creatures were kindly helped onto the stage of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.
Vampire, spiders, skeleton, spooky ghost–all will be entertaining a big crowd this evening.
The fearless humans who take the stage with these monsters will provide a Phantom of the Opera concert at 6:30 pm! (If you read this in time–today is Saturday, October 25th–perhaps you’ll have time to make the concert.)
Just some fun photos that I took during my afternoon walk through Balboa Park.
Enjoy!
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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 X.
I paid a visit yesterday and look what I found. Stunning pieces in a variety of media created by actual surfers!
I saw bold colors inspired by curling water, warm sand and brilliant sunsets. Powerful images that convey the essence of surfing–a feeling of wild freedom, spirituality or rebellion. Images that can be splashy or surreal, often like psychedelic or pop art.
Turn a corner in the gallery and you’re dazzled once again! Check out the surfboards that have become mind-blowing works of art!
This has got to be one of my favorite exhibitions ever at the Oceanside Museum of Art. The cool thing is, once you finish here you can walk several city blocks over to the California Surf Museum and see even more surf art in an extraordinary dual exhibition!
The surf art exhibition at both museums will continue through February 1, 2026.
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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.
Amazing wildlife murals are now being painted at the Oceanside Transit Center! Passengers walking under the tracks to catch a train are in for a big, wonderful surprise!
These photos were taken from the steps descending to either side of the train tracks, and inside the tunnel that connects platforms.
I see the artists are JustJon Art (@just_jon1), Ground Floor Murals (@groundfloormurals), Victor Rodriguez (@tone_dog), Maxx Moses (@maxxmoses777), and Signe Montefalcon Ditona (@signeditona).
Unfortunately, none of the artists were working on the mural when I happened by.
It appears as if this fantastic project is approaching completion. One guy who works at the Oceanside Transit Center told me the artists have been at it for a couple months.
Feast your eyes on this!
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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.
I found two new murals in El Cajon’s very cool Arts Alley!
The Arts Alley is located in downtown El Cajon north of Main Street, between Magnolia Avenue and Sulzfeld Way. I visited the colorful alley in 2020 and 2022. See those photographs here and here.
Look what I discovered during yesterday’s walk!
ART HEALS
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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.
Whenever I walk through downtown El Cajon, I make sure to pass by the Unarius Academy of Science. I peer through the front windows, wondering what weird new thing I might see.
Yesterday, I did find something new.
Yes, there were still displays concerning lost Atlantis, the future arrival of the Space Brothers, a Map of the Interplanetary Confederation, and students engaging in psychodrama as they reenact past-life experiences. But, lo and behold, there’s now a display that celebrates Nikola Tesla!
It’s titled The Unobstructed Universe of Nikola Tesla.
Taking photos through the windows of the building is very difficult due to strong reflections from the street. But here we go.
One sign calls Nikola Tesla a cosmic visionary and a dweller on two planets, and “If you wish to find the secrets of the universe, think of energy, frequency and vibration.”
This display seems apropos, as their website states how Unarius offers “…a course in self-mastery, based on the interdimensional understanding of energy–the joining of science and spirit.“
I don’t get the dweller on two planets, however. Tesla actually journeyed to Mars?
One of the Unarius webpages explains how Tesla thought we could communicate with beings from other planets. In 1899, he believed he had received a message likely from Mars.
Yesterday I also noticed the parking lot near the Unarius Academy of Science has a new mural. Here it is:
Have you seen their cool flying saucer car? I spotted it once during a walk through Coronado.
Just for fun, here it is again!
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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.
This big mural in El Cajon might be a bit faded, but it’s still awesome. Today’s Children Rise is the message spray painted on the east-facing exterior of Collision Masters Auto Body Shop!
The distinctive artwork was completed years ago by graffiti artists DyseOne, Hasler, Brave and Shark. I’m not sure exactly when.
I got a glimpse of the mural today for the first time. I was walking down West Main Street. A friendly guy at the body shop guided me through the busy facility so I could get unobstructed photographs. Thanks!
By the way, I found other cool murals during my walk in El Cajon, so stay tuned for more!
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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.
Yesterday I walked through Shhh Pavilion: The Hopekeeper.
What’s that?
Shhh Pavilion: The Hopekeeper is the unusual name of a very cool sculpture that rises in recently opened Progress Park. Progress Park is located in downtown San Diego near the waterfront, at the corner of Broadway and Harbor Drive.
The beautiful new park is part of the Research and Development District (RaDD) complex. The sculpture is part of the RaDD Artwalk. It was commissioned by IQHQ, through the City of San Diego Art in Private Development program.
The creator of this very unique public art is gt2P (Great things to People), a Santiago de Chile based collaborative studio collective.
This unusual sculpture is a geometric structure that utilizes something called Voronoi tessellation. The mathematical concept is nicely described on this webpage.
Until recently, the new park was surrounded by a construction fence. But yesterday I noticed the fence was down. So I had to walk under and through the sculpture with my camera!
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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.
Tourists, shoppers and those wandering through Seaport Village need to keep their head on a swivel! The tentacles of a monster octopus might suddenly grab you!
Why is this gigantic octopus assailing unsuspecting people?
Perhaps because it anticipates Halloween!
Inflatable octopi were recently placed all around Seaport Village. The tentacled terror is a central element of the upcoming Halloween celebration Bayside Boo: Spirited Night by the Bay.
The event website explains: Presented by Seaport Fudge Factory, Bayside Boo will feature spooky beats, sweet treats, and plenty of festive fun. Dance under the moonlight, enjoy the vibes by the bay, and let the ghoul times roll.
Would you like to experience Bayside Boo? Come by Seaport Village on Friday, October 31, 2025, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm, and watch out for slimy tentacles!
Oh, dear! The overgrown octopus has emerged from San Diego Bay!
Is that flimsy fence enough to hold the rampaging sea monster?
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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.
A series of new murals was recently installed in San Diego’s downtown Civic Center Plaza! A security guy told me they were put up several days ago.
The cheerful, colorful murals contain images of landmarks in different parts of San Diego. I recognized Balboa Park, Gaslamp Quarter, East Village, Downtown, Marina, Barrio Logan, and San Diego Bay.
The artistic design and illustration is the work of Maximo Escobedo and Alma Vasquez Escobedo, of Maximo Creative Communications. The new artwork refers to Civic Center Plaza as “Plaza Central.”
Bright bubbly images have also been scattered upon the plaza’s walking surface. The once dullish-grayish space now appears more alive. You can see what I mean in the next photograph…
How many San Diego landmarks can you recognize?
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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.
A great exhibition of art in downtown San Diego is scheduled to close this weekend. A UNIVERSAL MEXICAN: The Surreal World of José Sacal, on view at UCSD Park & Market, continues through October 25, 2025.
I’m glad I experienced José Sacal‘s bronze sculptures today, before they vanish. You can see from my photos how the artist has interpreted famous people and images from photographs and paintings.
As this UCSD Park & Market webpage explains, the exhibit invites audiences to experience emotionally charged, politically resonant sculptures that reimagine cultural and historical figures—from Einstein and Gandhi to Frida Kahlo and Don Quixote—through Sacal’s distinctive abstract lens. Known for his expressive bronze and ceramic works, Sacal challenged traditional forms to explore themes of identity, justice, and the human condition.
If you want to view these sculptures in person, do it soon. Head upstairs to the second floor of UCSD Park & Market.
The sculptures are arranged along the windows of the art gallery. Reflection and shadow from incoming sunlight gives these unique pieces additional character.
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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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 