This pic is definitely cool!
I happened to be at the Smart Corner building, the location of the City College trolley station, when a historic car belonging to the Silver Line came through! It was servicing the downtown loop.
This shiny, beautifully restored Presidents Conference Committee (PCC) trolley car was built just after the end of World War II. A whole fleet of electric trolleys like this one traversed San Diego until 1949.
Here are more pics of the same trolley taken on different days:
Check out this cool photo! I captured some more dazzling street art in downtown San Diego, just west of the trolley tracks on Park Boulevard. I like the glassy shine of the eyes and the abundance of color. These fantastic characters seem to have emerged from a little girl’s dream. The right portion was painted by muralist Gloria Muriel, the Bunny Kitty character on the left is by Dave Persue.
An opening in a fence near Balboa Park’s theatre complex leads back south into the San Diego Museum of Art’s grassy Sculpture Garden. Step through with me!
After slowly crossing the outdoor space, gazing at interesting, often organic abstract artwork, we pause in the shade of the Sculpture Court and turn back for a photo. Here it is!
In the background, you can see the Museum of Man’s colorful dome and the California Tower. Behind us is an open air cafe.
UPDATE! Here are more photos that I took during various future visits!
Here come two bonus pics taken in early 2015! A cool new eatery, Panama 66, has been operating now for many months in the Sculpture Court…
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This small monument to William Shakespeare is located just across from the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, not far from the Old Globe Theatre. The San Diego Museum of Art’s Sculpture Garden can be glimpsed in the background, beyond a fence.
The words beneath the Bard’s sculpted head and pen compose the memorable conclusion to his Sonnet 18:
“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”
These nearby tables in Balboa Parks’s theatre complex are a fine place to find life in the written word.
Now back to our walk in Balboa Park!
You’re looking at the Old Globe Theatre. It’s modeled after the original Globe Theatre in London, where Shakespeare enjoyed watching many plays that he’d penned. This beloved building is a popular San Diego landmark.
The Tudor-style building was originally constructed in 1935, and was first used for the California Pacific International Exposition to stage Shakespearean plays. In 1978 it was burned down by an arsonist. A nearby festival stage was quickly erected so that performances could go on, then the Old Globe was rebuilt with the generous help of many San Diegans.
Since 1949, The Old Globe has hosted an annual summer Shakespeare Festival. During the summer and winter, the theatre puts on about 15 different shows including modern plays, comedies, musicals and classics.
Many productions that originated here have gone on to Broadway. These shows have won nine Tony Awards and almost 60 nominations!
Our leisurely walk through Balboa Park has been interrupted by a great pic I got this morning!
Outstanding kicker Nick Novak and other Chargers players were out on busy street corners to help with Kids Newsday, which raises money for Rady Children’s Hospital! They were handing out newspapers filled with cool articles written by kids while collecting donations from passing motorists.
In this photo, Nick is being interviewed by a Union Tribune journalist in Mission Valley. You can see other participants holding yellow signs across the intersection.
Here comes the famous Old Globe Theatre into view! It’s the round Tudor-style building there on the left. More about it in my next blog post…
Turning for a moment to the left, we see the east side of the Museum of Man’s colorful dome and the picturesque California Tower.
A pleasant nook below with benches. That’s the Craig Noel Garden, named after the Old Globe Theatre’s founding director. This is a great place to take a rest, or read a book!
Join me as we walk east through Balboa Park. Having passed the Museum of Man, we now turn north to peer through an archway that leads to three of San Diego’s most prominent theatres. They are the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, the outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, and the world-famous, much celebrated Old Globe Theatre. The latter is modeled after the original Globe Theatre in London, where William Shakespeare saw many of his own plays performed. Just a sliver is visible in this photo, on the left.
In the next blog post we will proceed through the archway…
What’s that? Huh?
Check out these two banners! They’re hanging in the courtyard in front of the Museum of Man, at the west end of El Prado in Balboa Park.
The first advertises an exhibition about the history of beer. Beerology seems to include the study of imbibing pharaohs and thirsty headhunters. Drink up!
The second depicts a chair covered with sharp spikes. Presumably one of those can be found on display in the museum, along with other delightful instruments of torture. A quite memorable cultural experience!
Every weekend, folks dressed in white are out on the bowling green near the west end of Balboa Park. The San Diego Lawn Bowling Club must have a pretty good membership, because I’ve seen scores of players all out enjoying the sport at the same time.
I usually linger for a couple minutes to watch a game unfold. Excellent accuracy is required to win.
Cool San Diego Sights! 