We read to know we are not alone. Wise words inscribed in the San Diego Central Library’s large, friendly Reading Room.
Many wise words are digested by hungry minds at the San Diego Public Library. At the Central Library in downtown San Diego, wise sayings and phrases are inscribed upon the building itself. One must simply open eyes to find inspiration.
The three most important documents a free society gives are a birth certificate, a passport, and a library card.If there’s a book you really want to read but hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. A San Diego Trolley heads down tracks past some wisdom written on the east side of the downtown public library.Yo que me figuraba el paraiso bajo la especie de una biblioteca. From Poem of the Gifts, by Jorge Luis Borges . . . I who had always thought of Paradise in form and image as a library . . .It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.I go into my library and all history unrolls before me.Words inscribed on steps leading to the San Diego Central Library. A portion of Maya Angelou’s On the Pulse of Morning, a poem read during the 1993 Presidential Inauguration.
Women, children, men, take it into the palms of your hands, mold it into the shape of your most private need. Sculpt it into the image of your most public self. Lift up your hearts. Each new hour holds new chances for new beginning.
A trolley heads down Park Boulevard past a series of wise sayings and phrases concerning books, libraries and the written word.
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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!
Colorful faces and complex depth are elements of a public mural located in Golden Hill.
I haven’t taken a walk through Golden Hill for several months. But this morning I discovered some photos of a cool Golden Hill mural languishing in my computer. I forgot!
This public art at the corner of 25th Street and B Street celebrates the diversity and the vibrancy one encounters in San Diego’s small Golden Hill community. It’s an enlarged version of a 8.25 by 19 inch mixed media collage, created by artist Giancarlo Pia in 2013. I love how three dimensional and richly colorful this mural is!
Giancarlo Pia. Golden Hill, 2013. Mixed Media Collage. This mural is dedicated to the residents of Golden Hill and reflects the vibrancy and diversity of the community.Many lively images can be seen in this artwork. The rich culture and history of Golden Hill is celebrated.A very cool mural at a street corner in Golden Hill.
UPDATE!
Here’s a much better complete photo of the mural that I took on a later walk…
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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!
Tourists on San Diego’s Embarcadero have fun with gigantic bubbles.
Just a few photos of people at work and play in San Diego. These were taken over this last year. How time flies.
A businessman walks to work one morning in downtown San Diego.Two fishermen enjoy their day on Shelter Island.Working and chatting at Horton Plaza Park.Two sweethearts enjoy slacklining at Embarcadero Marina Park South.Unloading boxes of produce at the Flagship dock near Broadway Pier.People enjoy a day of boating on blue San Diego Bay.Families investigate statue-like street musician in Balboa Park.Construction workers put the finishing touches on a new downtown building.Walking on some rocks on a fine sunny San Diego day.
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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!
Old tin shop sign still visible on the historic 1882 Independent Order of Odd Fellows Building in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. A remnant of a past era.
While walking around downtown San Diego, I’m always pleased to make unexpected discoveries. Once in a while I’ll spot faded signs and advertisements that were painted years ago on historic old buildings. Unfortunately, many of those old signs are vanishing and will eventually be lost to time. Some of those walls will be painted, or new buildings will sprout up . . . That’s progress, I suppose.
I did some searching on the internet looking for information about the more mysterious signs, but with very little success. I increased the contrast of many photos to try to make out the faded words. If you know anything, leave a comment!
Most of these photos were taken in the morning, the last three or four days…
A faded sign is painted high on the 1888 Nesmith-Greely Building on Fifth Avenue. It is just visible from the street.One can barely make out the words HOTEL . . . ROOMS 50c to $1.00Old brick building at Seventh Avenue and G Street has words so obliterated I can’t decipher anything.The William Penn Hotel building at Fourth Avenue and F Street opened in 1913 as the elegant Oxford Hotel.Painted words from San Diego’s past. The Windsor Hotel on Fourth Avenue was built in 1887. The first floor was once a pool hall; in the 1960s it contained cardrooms and nightclubs with go-go dancers.The 1910 Western Metal Supply Company Building is now an iconic part of Petco Park in San Diego, home of the baseball Padres.The faded word LYON on a building at the corner of K Street and Fourth Avenue.From a distance, a square space on the side of the Simmons Hotel on Sixth Avenue appears to be blank reddish bricks.But a closer look reveals old words from many years ago. Perhaps you can figure out what they say.Faded words can also be spotted high on the Plaza Hotel building on Fourth Avenue.I can barely discern a few letters.The building on the right is The McGurck Block, built in 1887. A drug store was located in it from 1903 to 1984. Actor Gregory Peck’s father worked there as the night druggist.High up, painted on the old brick building’s side is a fading advertisement. A glimpse of San Diego’s past.
Here’s another pic I snapped on Fifth Avenue just south of Broadway:
Faded sign on side of a building on the 900 block of Fifth Avenue.
I’ve blogged in the past about a variety of cool old painted signs and images in downtown San Diego. Here they are:
Here’s a pic I took several years later, as I sat waiting for a bus at the City College trolley station, looking west…
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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!
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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 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.
Sunshine and the sounds of summer linger on a building in downtown San Diego.
Yes, San Diego has sunny, temperate weather for most of the year–many say our city has the best weather in the whole wide world. But, you know, these mornings in December can seem a bit chilly. At least to me. So I was thankful to spot some warm art this morning at the corner of Fourth Avenue and C Street.
Memories of summer linger on . . .
Musical notes and birds fly among palm trees. As winter nears, an image on a utility box warms the heart of the city.
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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!
Surfer walks past a community mural in Ocean Beach. The mural project was begun by OB artist Rich James in 1999. During special events, residents each paint a square in the mosaic artwork.
Just some more cool photos of colorful signs and street art taken while walking around Ocean Beach. I’ve arranged them in no particular order. Enjoy!
Cool street art mural on the side of a building near the foot of the OB pier. Artist Celeste Byers collaborated with Aaron Glasson.A small totem pole and some geraniums.Surfing street art on OB utility box shows a view down the barrel of perfect wave.Motorcycle graphic on repair shop wall.A mermaid holds a shell full of ocean gifts. A mural in an Ocean Beach alley above a dumpster.Images of breaking surf high on a building wall.Candy and goodies depicted on a colorfully painted Beach Sweets sign.This octopus on Newport Avenue seems to enjoy beer and pizza. One can grab a lot with eight tentacles!A pelican, pizza and ale.Ocean Beach Surf School truck parked by sand features cool surfer art.A splash of urban art on the side of the Hodad’s building.Another of the many community murals in Ocean Beach. This one depicts underwater sea life.What appears to be a tropical island scene on a utility box in OB.Art along a sidewalk shows lush vegetation and the OB pier.Three parrots take flight.Surfboards lie in wait beyond open door of the groovy USA Hostels Ocean Beach.Street lamp on Newport Avenue features palm trees.Car with surfboard drives down Newport Avenue past hair salon and tattoo parlor street art signs.Don’t believe the hype! You are already beautiful. Music, expression, love.Volkswagen bug appears to have emerged from the 60s, with peace signs and psychedelic designs.Ocean Beach community mural features bicycles.The OB Christmas tree near the beach is a focal point of this cool community mural!
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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 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.
The Chinese frigate Yancheng, docked in San Diego at the Cruise Ship Terminal. It is part of a four day visit by ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
This morning I got a few photos of a Chinese Navy warship that will be visiting San Diego for four days. The ship I saw docked at the Cruise Ship Terminal is the frigate Yancheng, which is part of the People’s Liberation Army Navy Surface Force. Two additional Chinese Navy ships arrived during the day. I saw them in the darkness after work during an evening walk along the Embarcadero. Those two other ships are the frigate Daqing and the oiler Tai Hu.
The intent of the visit is to foster trust and mutual understanding between two military powers–the United States and China. In addition to cultural exchanges, visiting Chinese and local American sailors will enjoy playing games of table tennis and basketball together. In a small, sometimes turbulent world, perhaps it is good to make friendships.
United States military personnel walk along the B Street Pier during a visit of the Chinese Navy to San Diego.Another photo of the Chinese frigate Yancheng, docked in San Diego Bay on December 6, 2016.
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The once-mysterious origin of a U. S. Navy bronze plaque on display in San Diego has come to light. Learn more about this fascinating bit of San Diego and Navy history by checking out my blog post Creating a plaque: Navy history in San Diego revealed!
Bronze sculpture of young girl dipping finger into shallow basin of water. The Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial is located at the La Jolla Recreation Center.
During my recent walk around La Jolla, I paused for a bit to admire a beautiful bronze sculpture at the La Jolla Recreation Center. The life-size likeness of a girl dipping a finger into a basin of water is officially called the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial. Created by artist Mary Buckman and dedicated in 1997, the gentle artwork remembers a very important figure in San Diego history: Ellen Browning Scripps.
If you live in San Diego, you surely recognize the name Ellen Browning Scripps. She and her brother created a vast business empire as newspaper publishers. During her life she gave most of her wealth away to good causes. She spent much of her life in La Jolla. Indeed, she lived right across Prospect Street from the present-day sculpture; her old residence is now home to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla.
This sculpture by Mary Buckman is dedicated to the memory of Ellen Browning Scripps. June 28, 1997. A beloved sculpture by James Tank Porter occupied this site from 1926 until its disappearance in 1996.People enjoy a nearby bench at the La Jolla Recreation Center on a sunny December day.Inscription on the bench is from Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses. I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.A beautiful work of art remembers San Diego journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps.
Here are several photos I took at a later time…
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I wrote a short story about a girl gazing into a fountain. Would you like to read it? To feel a mixture of joy and sadness, click here.
Early this morning I took a walk along gentle San Diego Bay. A few birds circled nearby. Light on the water danced, intensified, became blue like the sky…
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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!
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