I spotted these attention-grabbing recruitment ads pasted to a wall while walking in downtown San Diego. It appears that Uncle Sam Wants Your Grandpa!
I then read the fine print. Actually, the USS Midway Museum is looking for volunteers. And I don’t think you even need to be a grandpa, or a veteran!
Want to make the past come alive on a historic aircraft carrier? Want to be part of a team that includes tutors, docents, storytellers and ambassadors?
Funny that I spotted these during San Diego Fleet Week.
Five eye-catching works of public art recently debuted in Del Mar! They are part of a City of Del Mar Temporary Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit.
These new pieces join a couple of other interesting sculptures along Camino Del Mar that I photographed previously here and here.
During a leisurely “art walk” through Del Mar Village yesterday I captured the following images…
Moonshadow, by artists Jeffery Laudenslager and Deanne Sabeck. Stainless steel, titanium and dichroic glass mosaic. At Camino Del Mar and 9th Street.Terpsichore, by artist David Beck Brown. Monochrome steel, paint. At Camino Del Mar and 12th Street.Bird’s Eye View of Torrey Pines Beach, by artists Robert Petrello and Drew Graham. Fused glass, copper and raw metal with rubbed bronze finish. At Camino Del Mar and 14th Street.Hanging Out #3, by artist Maidy Morhous. Bronze on stainless steel pedestal. At 15th Street and Stratford Court.Pasaje a lo Infinito, by artist Hugo Heredia. Fused glass, fabricated stainless steel and fabricated steel. Just west of Camino Del Mar on 15th Street.
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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 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships was held yesterday and today at the Del Mar Racetrack. So I decided to enjoy a walk through Del Mar Village on this beautiful, sunny Saturday!
What did I see?
I spotted three colorfully painted horse sculptures that were created in 2017 when the Breeders’ Cup was last held in Del Mar! That past public art project was called Art of the Horse.
The three horses now on display stand near the intersection of Camino Del Mar and 15th Street.
Two of the three life-size horses I hadn’t seen previously. To view past photographs of several more painted horses, you can click here and here and here!
(Thank you to two friendly members of the Rotary Club of Del Mar for their kindness in helping me solve a mystery. They were stationed by the sidewalk at Del Mar Plaza, offering information to out-of-towners visiting Del Mar during the Breeders’ Cup.)
Sea Horse. Created by artist Wyland.Hang On To Your Hats! Created by artist Daphne Gaylord.Triton’s Steed. Created by artist Chase Martin.
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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!
Readers who are new to Cool San Diego Sights probably don’t know that, when I’m not walking around the city taking photographs, I love to write fiction.
Well, I’ve completed another very short story. This one is about a school teacher and a very peculiar lesson taught to her students.
The lesson isn’t merely strange–it might be one of the most important lessons any person, young or old, could learn.
I often walk past the old Hearne Surgical Hospital Building in downtown San Diego. It stands near the corner of Fourth Avenue and Ash Street.
A plaque by the door indicates the building is Historical Site No. 115, and that it was designed by the Quayle Brothers and built in 1906.
But until a few minutes ago that’s all I knew.
With the help of Google, I found some fascinating history concerning the building!
Part of a book titled Hearne History describes Dr. Joseph Carter Hearne’s medical practice in San Diego. The following information is transcribed here.
…The doctor located in San Diego, Cal., Dec., 1891, where he soon took his place at the head of the medical fraternity. Indeed it is not too much to say that he is well recognized as one of the leading, if not the leading, surgeon of Southern California. Soon after his arrival at San Diego he was appointed local surgeon to the Southern California railway…
…On March 8, 1906, the doctor completed and opened for the use of his own patients a Private Surgical Hospital, which in appointment and equipment is acknowledged to be equaled by none. Surgeons connected with the foreign battle ships visiting the harbor of San Diego are loud in its praise and say that there is no hospital abroad, public or private, that equals it. It has accommodations for twenty-five patients and is fully equipped.…
So, apparently, the building you see in my photographs was, in its day, one of the most impressive hospitals to be found anywhere!
It is now an apartment building.
The Quayle Brothers architects, who designed the Hearne Surgical Hospital Building, were responsible for other important structures in San Diego, including the 1928 North Park Theatre and the 1939 San Diego Police Department Headquarters. They are probably best remembered as the designers of San Diego’s original City Stadium, which was built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Standing beside San Diego High School, it was later renamed Balboa Stadium.
If you’d like to see photos of the very handsome Alfred Haines House in Golden Hill, which the Quayle Brothers also designed, check out a past blog post 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!
Back in November 2016, San Diego experienced grief, renewed hope, and colorful festivals celebrating another holiday season. It’s time for Cool San Diego Sights to remember a few things that were happening five years ago!
Coming up are links to past blog posts full of memory. You’ll see images of a historic groundbreaking in Balboa Park, a last goodbye to Anthony’s on the waterfront, and even 2016 Christmas on the Prado, which was held in late November. You’ll enjoy a hike at Mission Trails and tour San Diego’s oldest building, too!
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
This morning I walked down to the San Diego County Administration Building to view their Day of the Dead altar. Like the one last year, this new altar on some outdoor steps remembers those who’ve died from COVID-19.
When I arrived a gentleman was setting up additional luminarias and flowers.
Baltazar Hernandez, who is also Vice President of the City Heights Día de los Muertos, was busy making the altar more beautiful and meaningful.
He informed me there would be a special ceremony in the evening, so I returned to the County Administration Building after work.
The ceremony began with a blessing of the altar by Baltazar, who wore Danza Azteca garb. A few short speeches followed.
The most powerful words were spoken by someone who had tragically lost a loved one. She told everyone: “That empty place that you have in your heart–fill it with love.”
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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!
Today many are celebrating Día de los Muertos–Mexico’s traditional Day of the Dead. It is a time when departed loved ones are remembered and honored.
Early this evening I took a short walk around Old Town San Diego to see what I might see.
Many are still cautious because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so there wasn’t the usual crowd and activities. But I did find music and colorful Catrinas at Fiesta de Reyes, and sugar skull face painting at a few spots in the State Park and along San Diego Avenue. I also came across a couple of Día de los Muertos altars.
These are my photos…
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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!
Two remarkable and historically important sculptures were moved recently from Presidio Hill to the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park.
When I visited the History Center today I was surprised to see the two large Arthur Putnam works, because I’d observed them several times in the past during walks through Presidio Park.
An explanation on the gallery wall explains that The Indian (1904) and The Padre (1908) were moved to protect them from the outdoor elements and vandalism. I learned they will be gallery centerpieces as this section of the San Diego History Center receives additional material. Critical context will be provided for these bronze statues.
If you’d like to see photos of the two sculptures when they stood on Presidio Hill, check out past blog posts here and here.
The first link will take you on a walk from Old Town up to the Serra Museum–a walk I made years ago when Cool San Diego Sights was just getting started.
The second link concerns an Arthur Putnam exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art. You’ll learn that he was internationally renowned, particularly for his sculptures depicting animals. And he also had an interesting San Diego connection!
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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!
It’s Halloween! Look at all these great Halloween costumes! I saw them today during a short walk near downtown San Diego.
Yes, almost all of these photographs were taken in Balboa Park. I spent several hours there, just meandering about, enjoying an orchid show, meeting friends, stepping into a museum, listening to street musicians and an amazing organ concert. In other words, simply enjoying the sights and sounds of San Diego’s most wonderful park.
The last photo with the two guys in costume was taken as I walked through Bankers Hill. If you recognize the street, you win a pretend candy corn. (Sorry, I already ate all the good stuff.)
Trick or treat!
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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! 