Category: Uncategorized

Tour of new UC San Diego Park & Market!

A sneak peek was enjoyed yesterday inside the new UC San Diego Park & Market building, in downtown’s East Village neighborhood!

The special public tour was part of the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s big annual Open House event.

UC San Diego Park & Market is designed to be a collaborative hub where students, researchers, community organizations and business partners will interact in the heart of the city. It will also feature space for private conferences and events, and high quality entertainment venues for the public.

Once completed, the building will be home to a digital movie theater, a top notch black box theater, a small art gallery, a bistro, and a huge two-sided video wall that can be enjoyed inside on the ground floor and from the Market Street sidewalk!

This unique, truly visionary multi-use facility will have its grand opening in a couple months during Cinco de Mayo. It sounds like the celebration will be epic!

During yesterday’s tour led by Mary Walshok, UC San Diego Associate Vice Chancellor, several floors of the innovative building were explored. We learned about its conception and development. One of its most important qualities is its location next to a UC San Diego Blue Line trolley station, connecting this extension of UCSD to the main La Jolla campus, providing students easy accessibility.

As you can see from my upcoming photographs, Park & Market will certainly become a stimulating cultural destination for people living downtown and around San Diego. Numerous future events and festivals are being planned. I can’t wait!

Please read my photo captions to learn a little more about this amazing project!

The next photo shows the public plaza north of the building, adjacent to the new The Merian apartment tower. It’s where our tour group gathered.

Two fantastic murals by regional artists can be found in the inviting space. I posted photos of both murals back in January here.

Standing on the second floor terrace north of the building, with downtown views in several directions. (I didn’t photograph it, but one can see Balboa Park’s California Tower in the distance from here, too!)
About to enter the second floor of the glassy building.
Outside art is by Tammy Matthews, artist from New South Wales, Australia. Taranora, 2020. Original painting adapted to steel screen.
The second floor was busy! A private conference had been booked, even before the building’s official opening! We next headed left to the digital movie theater.
Inside the cozy theater, which will be operated by acclaimed Digital Gym Cinema.
A small gallery on the second floor, near the top of a grand staircase leading to the ground floor. The debut exhibition concerns UC San Diego’s Stuart Collection. (I’ve blogged about many of these outdoor UCSD public artworks in the past.)
Nearby windows look down on downtown San Diego’s busy Market Street.
Mary Walshok addresses the group as we stand near the top of the fantastic staircase.
Looking down!
Now we’re downstairs on the ground floor, after taking the elevators. This big black door is the entrance to the black box theater, where there will be concerts and diverse performances. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go inside.
Emerging near the bottom of the spiraling staircase!
A bistro will be located here. People can come off the street, dine, sip and hang out. The bistro operator, we were told, has one of the largest vinyl record collections in San Diego!
Making our way across the large space near the Market Street entrance. That big black thing is a two-sided computerized video screen! Events can be streamed live from the UCSD amphitheater and other venues. Proposed users include Comic-Con and the San Diego Symphony! Folks walking down the sidewalk can stop to watch outside, too!
Pretty cool, huh?
Chairs and tables can be set up here. UC San Diego Park & Market will utilize technology to connect people in new and stimulating ways.
Finally, we headed to the fourth floor, the research center, where students engaged in projects, and people from academia, non-profits and private business will rub elbows, interact and collaborate. There are many small offices for faculty and community organizations. We didn’t visit the third floor, where classrooms are located.
A view up Park Boulevard from one extraordinary new building!

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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!

The cool Chameleon Jump Suit at UCSD library!

Check out what I discovered today while wandering inside UC San Diego’s Geisel Library!

The very cool Chameleon Jump Suit!

The life-size figure in scaly green body armor was modeled after the time-traveling character in a popular 1998 computer game. “The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time” was entertaining software created by Presto Studios, a company founded by UCSD alumni. You can read more about it here!

Even though I never played that particular computer game, I know a number of my readers love Comic-Con and popular culture, so I thought I’d share these photographs for everyone’s enjoyment!

I’m taking Comic-Con week off from work again this year, so stay tuned for lots of cool photos during 2022 San Diego Comic-Con coming up in July!

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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!

Dr. Seuss’s fun Boids and Beasties exhibit!

There’s a fun exhibit just inside the entrance of the Geisel Library at UC San Diego. It’s titled Dr. Seuss’s Boids & Beasties!

I stumbled upon these displays of original Dr. Seuss drawings, sketches and writings during my visit to UCSD in La Jolla today. The artwork and documents come from the university’s large Seuss collection. La Jolla is where Theodor Seuss Geisel, the legendary children’s book author, lived for much of his life.

I asked about the exhibition at the library’s nearby front desk, and was told it’s semi-permanent. So next time you’re on or near the campus, you might want to check out these fantastical Boids and Beasties!

Just a sample…

Dr. Seuss is known and beloved worldwide. The exhibit includes some of Theodor Seuss Geisel’s early work as an advertising and commercial artist.
Dragon sketch, circa 1915, one of the earlies known Geisel drawings.
Geisel artwork used for advertising Flit bug spray.
Letter by Dr. Seuss describes how listening to a ship’s engine inspired the rhymes in his first published children’s book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
Pencil sketch for You’re Only Old Once!
Rough sketch for two pages of The Sneetches.

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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!

Walking around UCSD’s amazing Geisel Library.

Today I walked around the amazing Geisel Library Building at UC San Diego. The architectural marvel is part of this weekend’s big San Diego Architectural Foundation’s annual Open House event.

The Geisel Library had no special tour this year, so I merely walked around it, aiming my camera up at the iconic modernist concrete and glass structure.

The appearance of this building is so futuristic and fantastic that it has appeared often in television and film. Anyone who thinks of UCSD likely pictures the Geisel Library.

When I attended UCSD many years ago, it was called simply the Central Library. You can read about its history here.

Of course, Theodor Seuss Geisel was the real name of children’s book author Dr. Seuss, who lived much of his life close by in La Jolla. The library has a huge collection of Dr. Seuss artwork and historical documents, and an exhibit is currently on display just inside the front entrance containing some of those pieces. I’ll be blogging about that very cool exhibit shortly!

If you’ve ever walked around the Geisel Library, you’ve likely encountered a sculpture of Dr. Seuss with the Cat in the Hat, and the very unusual hillside Snake Path. If you haven’t seen these, check out past blog posts here and 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!

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!

Unexpected magic inside Space 4 Art!

Unexpected magic can be discovered inside an old East Village warehouse.

The apparently unremarkable brick building is the surprising home of Space 4 Art’s artist studios!

I’ve walked near the old warehouse several times in the past, taking photos of murals on the building’s exterior, but I had no idea that rampant creativity could be found behind those walls!

Thanks to Space 4 Art’s “Open Studio” event this evening, which was combined with the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s annual Open House San Diego, I and other curious folk could look into the studios and meet friendly artists.

I learned that Space 4 Art provides affordable creative space for local artists, and acts as a neighborhood cultural center, engaging in educational outreach, particularly for youth from underserved communities.

The dream is big. They want to build a large-scale multidisciplinary Arts Center in San Diego. Want to help out? Read more about the Space 4 Art mission here! Read about their history here!

Now, do you want to see what lies behind those murals painted on the old warehouse at 340 16th Street? (A few of which can be seen on a black brick wall here.)

Take a look!

Inside the cool old warehouse. Magic awaits around every corner.
Richard is a friendly artist who creates beautiful custom ceramic pieces. Learn more about his amazing artwork here!
A peek inside another one of the studios.
One hallway wall is covered with these surprising antique clocks. In many cases, small scenes such as the one above can be found inside the clockwork.
This awesome cathedral-like creation made of crutches stands at one end of a studio work area. I learned the sculpture is for sale. Any hospitals out there need some unique artwork?
Everywhere you turn at Space 4 Art, magic produced by local artists appears.
Feeling creative?

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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!

New street art discoveries in San Ysidro!

It seems that every time I visit San Ysidro, I discover new street art!

These photos were taken during my recent walk down San Ysidro Boulevard.

The king of street art in this neighborhood appears to be Gerardo Meza. He has painted many electrical boxes. I’ve already documented many. I love his bizarre characters, symbolism, and unique cartoonish style!

I also found…

Border art includes words: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person…
@enriquechiuarte
Todas las vidas importan. @betty_bangs

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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!

Fun photographs for St. Patrick’s Day!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Please enjoy this selection of fun photographs taken in San Diego over the course of many years. All pertain to St. Patrick’s Day, Ireland or Irish pride. There’s a bit of green in all of them!

If you’d like to see photos from this year’s big St. Patrick’s Day parade in San Diego, check out my blog post from last weekend 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!

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!

Inspirational street art at Allied Gardens school!

Look at all the inspirational street art painted in Allied Gardens, just outside Stephen C. Foster Elementary School!

The artwork on several electrical boxes was painted by Mindful Murals, whose positive messages inspire and motivate students at a variety of schools around San Diego.

Colorfully written outside Foster Elementary are the words Creativity Is Contagious…Pass It On. To encourage learning, there are also images of a pencil, a palette, a book and a computer, a question mark inside a light bulb, and the mathematical symbol for pi.

As I walked through Allied Gardens this past weekend, I was excited and pleased to happen upon this great Mindful Murals art!

Three years ago I was given a cool tour of their motivational art at Edison Elementary School in City Heights. See those photos 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!

Walking down from Cortez Hill on a shining morning.

The light early this morning was magical.

A few minutes after sunrise, I walked from the top of Cortez Hill south into the heart of downtown San Diego.

Many of these photographs were taken as I turned my camera west. Look at all the golden reflections!

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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!

Hidden historical markers around San Diego.

Walk around the city and you’ll discover surprising things. Once in a while, if you’re lucky, you might stumble upon an historical marker in a hidden or unexpected place!

Over the years I’ve happened upon a number of these historical plaques and markers. I’ve seen them by shopping centers, by apartment buildings, on hilltops, beside trails, and tucked away in odd places off the beaten track.

I thought that perhaps you’d enjoy reading a few of them.

Here are a few of the more interesting markers I’ve found….

To read a plaque in Linda Vista about one of the first planned shopping centers in the United States, click here.

To read a plaque in National City about a “miraculous” well dug for Mount Paradise Sanitarium, click here.

To read numerous historical plaques on the top of Presidio Hill, where Fort Stockton once was, click here.

To read an historical marker in the middle of UC San Diego in La Jolla, click here.

To read a plaque marking the location of Kate Sessions’ nursery in Pacific Beach, click here.

To read a plaque near old Mission San Diego de Alcalá, marking the location of Padre Luis Jayme’s death during a Native American uprising, click here.

To see a fascinating marker recalling the historic La Playa Trail which passed through present-day Point Loma, near Midway and Rosecrans, click here.

To read several historical markers that are easily overlooked near an entrance to Presidio Park, click here.

To read a plaque in Coronado that concerns the birthplace of naval aviation, click here.

To read a marker that recalls a long vanished Chinese shipbuilding site in Point Loma, click here.

To read a marker in Chula Vista that commemorates Japanese immigrant farmers in the South Bay, click here.

To read plaques and inscriptions near the Old Mission Dam in Mission Trails Regional Park, click here.

Finally, to read a marker at the edge of a golf course near Old Town, detailing the history of San Diego’s oldest surviving structure, click here.

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