As I walked down El Cajon Boulevard east of College Avenue, I noticed a thrift store had an open door. I walked through, hoping to find some cool DVD’s.
What I found was the awesome Aztec Thrift Store, or ATS, operated by someone who has the biggest smile. That someone is Erick West.
I learned the primary goal of Erick is to make life for San Diego State University students much more affordable. And to provide a safe, friendly, welcoming place for anyone who might step through the door.
Erick is all about community. He has family connections with SDSU and understands the necessity to stretch a dollar. If you’re a student in need of clothing, or other useful goods, the Aztec Thrift Store has unbelievable deals.
I was most impressed by Erick’s positive vision and his ambition to create greater good. His smile grew larger the more we talked.
And there were shelves full of DVD’s!
Aztec Thrift Store is at 6216 El Cajon Boulevard. They accept donations. Here’s their Facebook page with more info.
Go check it out!
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A couple of incredible projects are now underway that will improve and beautify the Palisades area of Balboa Park.
One project I wrote about yesterday. Two life-size grizzly bear sculptures and two flagpoles will be added to the roof of the San Diego Automotive Museum. You can read that blog post here.
The second project concerns the historical building directly across Pan American Plaza: today’s Municipal Gymnasium. This building was originally built for the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park and was called the Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries.
Back in 1935, a large themed mural greeted visitors above the entrance to the Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries. It was a bas-relief designed by Arturo Eneim, carved out of layers of wallboard. It’s long gone.
But that mural is coming back! And it will be made of cold cast bronze!
In late 2021 I visited the San Diego studio of Bellagio Precast where the 12′ x 20′ cold cast bronze fiber glass reinforced concrete mural is being created. You can see interesting photos from that visit, plus renderings and more description, by clicking here. And here.
I visited the same studio again a couple days ago and observed how the enormous mural is coming together, piece by piece!
Architectural plans for the Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries mural are spread near a small model at Bellagio Precast in San Diego.A small model of the cast bronze mural, which includes industrial imagery, an electrical generator, and three human figures.Here’s the mold used for the small model’s creation. You can see how the images are reversed.The design for the electrical generator element that will be included in the large, finished mural.And here is the generator! Just one element of many that will be pieced together to create a mold for the massive cast bronze mural.More elements to be incorporated into the Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries mural include huge gears!
Pysanky are traditional Ukrainian decorated eggs. They are made for the celebration of Easter.
Today pysanky were being crafted in Balboa Park courtesy of the House of Ukraine!
Visitors to the Hall of Nations at the International Cottages could see how beautiful an intricate pysanka egg can be. The colorful designs are created through the use of carefully applied beeswax and the wax-resist process.
Kids could color some designs on paper, too.
There were other traditional Ukrainian crafts on display at several tables, including often armless Motanka dolls. Motanka dolls are like talismans, said to grant wishes, such as guarding the family or a happy, prosperous marriage.
At one table, I learned how an organization called Healing Scalpel is helping to provide medical supplies and services to people devastated by the war in Ukraine.
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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 Twitter!
Hundreds of runners and walkers headed along San Diego’s Embarcadero this morning during the Padres Pedal the Cause fundraiser. They were participating in the 5K Walk/Run!
Lots of thumbs up and smiles spontaneously appeared as a stream of humanity flowed down the boardwalk.
Funds were being raised for Curebound, an organization that helps to further cancer research. Local institutions they help include the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, Salk Institute, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, Rady Children’s Hospital, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, and Scripps Research.
Two huge golden grizzly bears have come to life in San Diego, and are ready to stand on a Balboa Park rooftop!
Yesterday the two amazing sculptures were previewed. I took photographs!
The life-size bronze bears–weighing about 400 pounds–will soon be placed atop the roof of the 1935 California State Building, which today is home of the San Diego Automotive Museum. The sculptures will stand on the front corners of the building, as bears once did almost a century ago, back when the building debuted for the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition.
Artists Mike and Kevin Matson of Bellagio Precast have been busy working on these new bear sculptures at their San Diego studio. Perhaps you remember my blog post from late 2021 with photos of one partially cold cast bronze bear.
The two huge bears are now one hundred percent finished and ready for transportation to Balboa Park! Once the roof of the San Diego Automotive Museum is structurally prepared for the heavy sculptures, they will be lifted by crane up to their respective corners. All of this should occur in April. Watch for it!
As I mentioned, the original 1935 bears were only temporary (likely made of plaster-like material) and disappeared long ago. A few old photographs show them atop the California State Building. Here’s one:
In the above enlarged photograph, you might also glimpse a flagpole over the building’s front entrance. Two flagpoles are also returning to the historic California State Building! Brackets for them have already been created:
The new bears and flagpoles are part of an ongoing effort by the Balboa Park Committee of 100 to restore the Palisades area of Balboa Park to something more like its original 1935 appearance. The organization has been working to preserve Balboa Park’s historic architecture, gardens and public spaces since 1967.
The Committee of 100’s initial undertaking in the Palisades was the reproduction of historical murals above the entrance to this same building. Perhaps you’ve seen those beautiful tile murals. If you haven’t, click here.
The California State Building’s new life-size bears have been years in the making. At yesterday’s event we were shown small working models that preceded the finished sculptures. Kevin Matson held them up for examination:
So how exactly were life-size cold cast bronze bears made?
Each of the finished bear sculptures has a Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete skin that is about 3/8″ to 1/2” thick. Two sculpture halves are joined together with a stainless steel frame inside. Each bear’s volume is then filled with a high density urethane foam.
How awesome are these golden grizzlies? Take a look!
The Balboa Park Committee of 100 is engaged in another fantastic project! They are recreating a large historical mural that will be placed above the entrance of the Municipal Gymnasium building. It, too, will be breathtaking!
I’ll be blogging about that shortly!
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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 Twitter!
An exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum explains how San Diego County is the richest region in California for precious gems.
Gemstones that can be found in the mountains of San Diego County include tourmaline, garnet, topaz, beryl and spodumene. We are world-renowned for our tourmaline!
The exhibit demonstrates how these precious gems form inside pegmatites–a rock formation that can occur as magma cools. Large gem bearing pegmatites are found in San Diego’s North County, near Palomar Mountain.
Tourmaline has been mined in San Diego County since the 1890s. The Himalaya Mine alone has extracted about 250,000 pounds of mineral specimens.
I remember as a boy heading with my family up to the Stewart Lithia mine in Pala. For a fee, we spent an hour on hands and knees sifting through the mine tailings, searching for gems. We were delighted to find a handful of small pink, green and watermelon tourmalines! We also found a fair amount of lepidolite (a source of lithium). It was a lot of fun!
I see the Himalaya Mine has a Facebook page. Check it out 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 Twitter!
Those who visit Dog Beach (also known as North Beach) in Del Mar might wonder about some wooden stairs. They climb up the sandstone bluffs to the north. I ascended them the other day and discovered a hidden paradise!
A sign near the foot of the steps indicates the area above is the James G. Scripps Bluff Preserve. Those who explore the preserve are asked to stay on the paths and carry out trash.
During my adventure, I noticed some of the bottom steps are broken, so one must take care not to stumble.
Here’s a series of photographs that I took as I ascended into the preserve. One can gaze south down upon Dog Beach and east to the Del Mar Racetrack and beyond.
Once I reached the top of the main path, an amazing field of early March flowers and wide views of the Pacific Ocean awaited me.
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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 Twitter!
When I took a walk through La Mesa a couple weeks ago, I noticed a historical plaque on the above building.
With walls that are partly made of stone, this little old building is located directly adjacent to the larger, more modern Adult Enrichment Center, which is operated by the City of La Mesa.
BUILT BY UNITED STATES WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION 1937
According to an online timeline, two New Deal WPA projects in La Mesa include this 1937 Senior Clubhouse.
I spoke to a city employee inside the Adult Enrichment Center, and she indicated there are plans to move this building, stones and all, to MacArthur Park.
The old clubhouse is beautiful in a rustic way. To me, it appears like a visitor center or ranger station you’d find nestled in the forest of a National Park.
I assume that small stone structure across a walkway was built back in 1937, too.
Anyone who knows more, or has memories to share, please leave a comment!
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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 Twitter!
You know St. Patrick’s Day is coming up in San Diego, because the House of Ireland had their big lawn program this afternoon in Balboa Park!
What did I see?
Smiles throughout the big crowd! Lots of green! Irish coffee! Irish stew! Traditional baked goods! A rousing opening parade involving all of the event participants! The Cameron Highlanders with bagpipes and drums! Sprightly tunes! Energetic step dancing! Reels and jigs! The audience clapping along to the music!
If you missed it, I suggest you catch the House of Ireland lawn program next year!
I learned that San Diego Comhaltas is looking for new members. This group loves to perform Irish music and dance! Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of traditional Irish culture!
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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 Twitter!
The very first house built in Solana Beach was located on today’s Highway 101. That’s what a sign that I saw during a recent walk attests.
Perhaps driving along you’ve seen the above Plaza 101 sign, about a block south of Lomas Santa Fe Drive. It features the following plaque:
When I do some quick research, however, I find the first house in the area might have actually sat on Pepper Tree Lane, now called Del Mar Downs Road. Built in 1887, the Stevens House was moved to La Colonia Park and now houses the museum of the Solana Beach Civic and Historical Society. (It’s a museum that I have not yet visited.)
I believe the plaque refers to the Estes Home at 155 S. Highway 101. The Solana Beach Civic And Historical Society website explains: When Colonel Ed Fletcher bought Solana Beach in 1922, there were only two houses, George Jones’s house on Barbara Street (later occupied by Herschell Larrick Sr. and his family) and this Highway 101 house of Jones’s sister, Lucy Estes and her husband, N. H. Estes, and their son, Herb. The Estes family was originally from San Francisco. They built this first home in Solana Beach on the narrow dirt road highway 101 and put in a well.
During walks on and around old Highway 101, Solana Beach’s first commercial center, I’ve discovered a number of historical buildings. You can see those photographs here and here and 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 Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 