Starlight Bowl sign and the season that never came.
On the south side of Balboa Park, at the edge of a canyon next to the San Diego Air and Space Museum, you’ll find this rusting sign. It remains hopeful above the shuttered ticket windows of the Starlight Bowl, once home to the San Diego Civic Light Opera. The sign announces a 65th season that never came.
A couple years ago the San Diego Civic Light Opera went bankrupt. Which is a shame. For a long happy time during the warm summer months the outdoor theatre featured musicals and other popular productions. I remember watching the Pirates of Penzance and the Taming of the Shrew here when I was very young. The coolest thing I remember was how the actors would all freeze and shows would be suspended for several seconds when noisy, low-flying airplanes approaching Lindbergh field passed directly overhead.
Display glass near entrance which used to show upcoming productions is vacant.The outdoor Starlight Bowl has an audience of weeds.
I walked around to one side for a view of the beloved Starlight Bowl and held my camera above a chain link fence for the above photo. The outdoor stage now has an audience of weeds.
Side view of the Starlight Bowl, which has been sadly abandoned for years now.
Just some photos taken in Balboa Park of people enjoying life.
Glassblower at work in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village.Folks walk past fountain near Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.Girl tries to grab brass ring on Balboa Park carousel.Man plays guitar in Spanish Village gazebo.People ride the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad.Street performer plays an Australian didgeridoo.Two artists on El Prado paint colorful canvases.Two young men enjoy slacklining in Balboa Park.Boy plays with ball while man reads Balboa Park plaque.Man sails small boat near Balboa Park fountain.Handmade boat near Balboa Park fountain.
North part of the Horton Plaza Park construction site behind fence.
A large area between Broadway and the Horton Plaza shopping mall is fenced off for construction. One end of the downtown mall has already been demolished and leveled to the bare ground. The long-neglected Horton Plaza Park is being enlarged!
On the fence surrounding the construction site are a number of interesting old photographs showing the park’s history.
When real estate developer Alonzo Horton built the Horton House hotel (now the U.S. Grant Hotel) in his “New Town” in 1870, he included a small plaza on the hotel grounds. In 1895 he sold the half block plaza to the growing city of San Diego, stating his objective was “to provide a central, commodious and attractive place for public meetings, public announcements, public recreation and for any other proper public purposes, a place where all public questions might be discussed with comfort, where public open-air concerts might be given, where the people might rest, and where children might play in safety.” In 1909 the first fountain in the United States to feature electric lights was installed in the park.
Over the years, the small park has seen a whole lot of history, as the following photographs at today’s construction site demonstrate. Horton Plaza Park was designated a historical landmark by the City of San Diego in 1971.
Horton Plaza Park during 1935 California Pacific International Exposition.Horton Plaza Park crowded for V-J Day celebration.
The streets were crowded with a spontaneous celebration when World War II finally ended.
Thousands attend rally for John F. Kennedy in Horton Plaza Park.
On November 2, 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy spoke at Horton Plaza Park, seeking votes in the upcoming presidential election. A huge crowd turned out.
Sign shows how the new Horton Plaza Park will look at completion.
The beautifully renovated park will include lots of space for public events, including outdoor concerts!
A huge area has been cleared to make way for the new park.
Here’s a pic I took on January 31, 2015…
Construction of the new Horton Plaza Park is well underway in early 2015.
The diners at this downtown San Diego brewery and restaurant must suffer a good deal of bladder discomfort. Because according to this sign in their window, no urinating is allowed! Don’t guzzle too much of that tasty handcrafted brew!
Beer fermentation tanks in a downtown San Diego window.
Homeless and graffiti beneath Highway 163 in Mission Valley.
These two pics aren’t very cool. But they are important. They show another world that many often don’t see.
I took these photos where Highway 163 crosses over Camino de la Reina in Mission Valley. I climbed up a hill of dirt under the overpass and emerged between the opposing lanes of traffic.
Numerous homeless people live along the San Diego River in Mission Valley. Some of them hunker down in shelter provided by this makeshift concrete roof.
Another world in the shadows beneath lanes of busy traffic.
UPDATE!
I got the following three pics late in the summer. I didn’t see anyone, but obviously numerous people pass through.
Looking under Highway 163 where the homeless often pass or gather.This is where Highway 163 crosses over the San Diego River.Weeds and graffiti beneath the concrete.
While walking through Mission Valley in the early morning, I did a double take when I saw this unusual sight! I assume the motel is undergoing a name change. Or perhaps the driver hauling the Super 8 sign stayed a night at Quality Inn!
Painted tree trunks and picnic benches at Chicano Park.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I took a whole lot of photos during my walk through Chicano Park. Here are some images from the east side of the public park, right next to Interstate 5. A few picnic benches and unusual features can be found in this area.
Some of these photographs might cause a strong reaction. As I’ve mentioned before, this blog aims to be nonpolitical. I just aim my old camera at interesting things around San Diego…and you decide what to make of it all!
Primitive frame made of bent branches.Flower sculpture and cacti beside freeway.Colored stones ring a painted cactus in Chicano Park.Sculpture stands among the surrounding murals.Small mural near pedestrian walkway that crosses freeway.An eyeful of bright colors everywhere you turn!A monument to the sacrifices of Hispanic veterans.
This polished memorial stands apart from the murals, by a small patch of green grass.
A nearby mural depicts a moment in history.Controversial mural on the east side of Chicano Park.Looking west at freeway ramp rising toward Coronado Bridge.Chicano Park sign and Mexican flags beside Interstate 5.
Artists paint image of Mexico on pillar in Chicano Park.
Chicano Park is located in Barrio Logan, a mostly Mexican American and immigrant community just south of downtown San Diego. The eight acre park features almost a hundred murals painted on concrete pillars that support the intersection of the Coronado Bay Bridge and Interstate 5. This colorful park, quickly glimpsed by motorists speeding down the freeway, contains the largest collection of outdoor murals in the United States. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its unique history with the Chicano civil rights movement.
I recently took a leisurely walk through the park and captured hundreds of photographs. I’ve got so many pics, I’ve grouped them depending upon their location in the park. This blog post includes photos of murals I enjoyed while walking under the freeway ramps that connect the Coronado Bay Bridge to southbound I-5.
You’ll see a strange mixture of images in these murals: ancient Aztecs, indigenous peoples, workers, revolutionaries, school children, pop culture icons, scientists, politicians…and almost anything else you might imagine. The diverse and often weird combinations seem to include one overarching theme: Mexican American empowerment.
The first photograph shows what I saw as I entered the park, walking up National Avenue from the south. These artists were painting a pillar with an image of Mexico.
Colorful folk depicted in art on a freeway pillar.View of painted murals under ramps to southbound I-5.Chicano Power represented in art.Figures in diverse costumes beneath a concrete jungle.Elongated Aztec figure adds character to Chicano Park.Hispanic culture comes alive on one side of a freeway pillar.Latina with flag and raised fist in field of flowers.Vivid colors on concrete pillars supporting a San Diego freeway.Weird faces and arms high above in the shadows.Primitive and abstract forms are plentiful in Chicano Park.Folk throughout history like leaves on a tree of life.One of dozens of painted murals in San Diego’s Chicano Park.La Tierra Mia is Spanish for My Land.More art that shows people close to the land.Wild-haired figure holds up freeway with huge hands!A painted mosaic of symbols in Chicano Park.Chicano art includes children and revolutionary with gun.Painted pillar supports ramp from Coronado Bridge to I-5 freeway.The largest collection of outdoor murals in the country.Latino pride, identity and empowerment made public in art.Mixture of images includes people demanding justice.Native people frolic on a peaceful blue river.
I’ve got a ton more pics, so stayed tuned in the days ahead!
This cool new pedestrian bridge spans Harbor Drive between the San Diego Convention Center and Petco Park.
The unique suspension bridge took longer to build than anticipated. According to media reports I saw, the firm that designed it originally miscalculated how much weight it could hold!
Here are a few more pics!
Moon rising over the cool Harbor Drive bridge.Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge, Omni Hotel and Petco Park.Pedestrian crosses Harbor Drive on a fantastic bridge.People cross the beautiful bridge in downtown San Diego.
I recently walked around Barrio Logan to take photos of street art, including the famous murals in Chicano Park. During my fun adventure I passed this building.
I looked at Google Maps and believe this is or was the location of Kippy’s, a fashion design business that has a store in Coronado.
Corner of cool Barrio Logan Kippy’s building.Faces depicted on Kippy’s building in Barrio Logan.Cool Kippy’s mural in Barrio Logan depicts Mariachis.
Cool San Diego Sights! 