Embarcadero Marina Park North was overrun today with hundreds of cool cars and custom hot rods, and I’ve got some pics to prove it! The event was called Mustangs by the Bay, put on by the The Mustang Club of San Diego. Lots of people were just chillin’ for the weekend, checking out all the different cars. It was the perfect spot to enjoy barbeque served by Boy Scouts, classic oldies music, and awesome views of downtown, Seaport Village and beautiful San Diego Bay.
That big aircraft carrier with the number 76 is the Ronald Reagan, docked at North Island.
I checked out that gray ship docked at the pier just north of Seaport Village. It appears to have been a Navy ship, but its number has been removed; I don’t have a clue what it’s used for.
Here are some photographs of the historic Keating Building, which over a century ago was the most prominent high-rise building in downtown San Diego!
The five-story Romanesque Revival style office building, located in the Gaslamp, was built in 1890. Back in those days, its wire cage elevator and steam heating were amazing new modern conveniences. The elevator was the very first in San Diego, and remains the longest running elevator downtown!
This visually pleasing landmark was designed by the Reid Brothers, the architects responsible for the incredible Hotel Del Coronado.
For several decades the Keating Building has been home to Croce’s Restaurant and Jazz Bar, established by singer Jim Croce’s surviving wife, Ingrid. At year’s end, Croce’s will be moving to a new, more intimate location on Banker’s Hill.
Keating Building seen from across Fifth Avenue, after Croce’s moved to a new location.
A plaque on the historic building provides a little more description…
This office building in the 1890’s contained the San Diego Savings Bank, the Public Library and the Humane Society!Keating Building is an important landmark in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
UPDATE!
I revisited the Keating Building during the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s OPEN HOUSE 2017. Here are some photos I took just outside and inside the building’s front entrance.
432 F Street is the address of the Gaslamp Quarter’s beautiful Keating Building, today the location of a 35-room luxury hotel.Elevator in the small lobby to what is now a boutique hotel.The original wooden banister leads up from the entrance of the Keating Building.Historical photos on wall beside the lobby’s stairs.A segment of a timeline that shows San Diego history around the time of the Keating Building’s construction.Entrance to The Keating hotel, seen from F 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!
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Front desk and spacious entrance of new downtown San Diego Central Library.
Here are some interior pics of San Diego’s brand new downtown public library! It’s been open for only one week!
The first photo is what you’ll likely see upon entering the new building. It’s the front desk and lobby area, containing escalators, a view of three floors, helpful librarians and lots of library patrons!
The beautiful library shop is just steps from the main entrance. It’s full of great library-related gifts!
As I meandered about the first floor, I discovered this historical exhibit in the middle of rows of bookshelves. It explains how women, after a hard fight, earned the right to vote in California in 1911.
On the first floor you’ll find the children’s section of the library. The walls are painted with characters and scenes taken from Dr. Seuss’s popular picture books. Check out the Cat in the Hat! As many San Diego residents know, Dr. Seuss’s real name was Theodor Geisel, and he was a resident of La Jolla just up the coast.
Check out the reading room on the eighth floor of the new Central Library! It’s roomy, filled with light and lots of comfy chairs. The immense view toward South Bay is awesome!
Here we’re looking upward toward the ceiling of the big reading room. That’s the interior of the Central Library’s iconic steel lattice dome!
There’s a cool baseball history archive and exhibit right next to the reading room. Check out the silvery statue of a baseball player, and all the nostalgic photos on the wall! The exhibit is made possible by the San Diego Ted Williams chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research.
A couple more pics I took during a later visit…
Outside view of upper dome structure and nearby building from 9th floor of San Diego downtown library.Library patron in reading room creates cool graffiti art with the aid of research materials.
Another really cool boat on San Diego Bay is the Maritime Museum’s 1914 wooden pilot boat. Appropriately named Pilot, she served as San Diego’s main pilot boat for 82 years! Over the decades, thousands of commercial ships entered and departed the bay with her navigational assistance.
During World War II, she was used as a patrol boat by the Coast Guard. She was (and remains) decorated with 6 six-month service chevrons.
When you purchase admission to the Maritime Museum (home of the Star of India and other historic ships), you can pay a little extra and ride the Pilot for a short harbor tour. It’s a lot of fun and definitely well worth it!
Pilot boat cruises near USS Midway on Memorial Day weekend.The Pilot with sightseeing tourists cruises past a pier on San Diego Bay.
Here are three more photos I took in 2016!
The first few shots were taken when this blog was relatively new. I had no idea my blog would grow to the extent is has. You might notice I now spend a little more time and effort with my photographs!
The 1914 Pilot Boat, with 82 years of service, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.Pilot docked at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.The small Pilot sets out across San Diego Bay on a tour of the harbor.
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You see all sorts of boats and ships on San Diego Bay. The Silvergate might be my favorite.
Operated by Flagship (the new name of San Diego Harbor Excursion), the small ship is often used as a Coronado ferry.
A varnished wooden bench runs around the outside perimeter of the little ship, where you can just sit and enjoy the fresh air and amazing views. I love it!
Silvergate ferry has discharged passengers behind San Diego Convention Center.San Diego ferry Silvergate departs behind convention center.A favorite little ship, the Silvergate begins across San Diego Bay for Coronado.Silvergate ferry heading across the water with Coronado Bay Bridge in background.
Here are some more photos that I took in late 2017…
Photo of downtown San Diego from the Silvergate ferry.Flagship employee ties up the Silvergate at the Coronado Ferry Landing’s floating dock.People arriving at Coronado Island ready to disembark the small ferry.The Silvergate awaits passengers at the Coronado Ferry Landing.
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Lounging and enjoying a stunning view of San Diego.
People gravitate toward water. Water sparkles, soothes, delights, attracts the eye and invites reflection. I love the opening to Moby Dick, where Melville says: “Let the most absent-minded of men be plunged in his deepest reveries–stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water . . . ”
Look at these folks just gazing at the water!
The Ferry Landing in Coronado offers amazing views of San Diego Bay. Stand out on the pier, splash on the small beach, sit on the grass or on the patio of a restaurant, and just gaze in a quiet reverie at the passing boats and the gleaming San Diego skyline. Call me crazy, but I could linger here for hours.
That’s one reason why I love to take the ferry to Coronado!
The second pic shows people on the Coronado Ferry Landing pier. During the day, San Diego’s downtown skyline is a beautiful sight. At night, all lit up, it’s like a glowing dream. If you were turn to the left, you’d see a whole bunch of people fishing.
Fishing from the small Coronado Ferry Landing pier.People board the Silvergate ferry for downtown San Diego.
Next we see people filing from the pier down to the float where the ferry ties up. During the tourist season, the Silvergate ferry takes people to the Convention Center; a larger ship takes people to the Broadway Pier. You can bring your bicycle on board (or rent one at the Ferry Landing) and bike across the island to the ocean side, where you’ll find the Hotel del Coronado.
The Coronado ferry is great short cruise on the bay.Silvergate docked at Coronado with San Diego skyline.Visitors to the island of Coronado arrive and depart.People stroll down a path near the ferry landing.Kids play on the beach next to the ferry landing pier.Paddleboarding just off the Coronado Ferry Landing.Amazing view of a beautiful sunlit city.
“Imagine Tent City” is a cool bit of public art I discovered while walking along Coronado’s Glorietta Bay. The artwork is composed of photographic images arranged like a mosaic, embedded in ceramic tiles. It depicts the historic Tent City, which was a popular tourist destination for many years just south of the Hotel Del Coronado.
Established in 1900 by entrepreneur John D. Spreckels, the beach tents could be reached by Coronado Belt Line trains operated by the Coronado Railroad Company, running from San Diego around the bay and up the narrow Silver Strand. (Coronado is technically a peninsula, not an island.) The tracks have since been replaced by a very popular bike and pedestrian pathway.
Here’s a pic taken from the south side, walking toward the Hotel Del Coronado’s old Boathouse. The building you see is part of the Coronado Shores condo complex.
And here’s a bunch more cool pics I took at the beginning of 2015…
Imagine Tent City was created by artist Todd Stands.Water skiing in the past, and present-day boats in Glorietta Bay Marina.Two ladies row a pleasure boat.Kids prepare to jump into the water!Sailor and sweetheart beside a beach tent.Old photographic portrait and postcard of Tent City.Coronado Tent City News was a popular newspaper.One image in this amazing mosaic of Tent City history.A postcard shows a crowd around Pavilion at Tent City.Small child and mom have fun in the sand.More nostalgic postcards from historic vacation spot.Illustration of people playing and relaxing on Coronado Beach.Just hanging out at Tent City and enjoying life.Postcard image shows layout of Coronado’s Tent City.Photo of Victorian-style Boathouse, which resembles nearby Hotel del Coronado.Historic 1887 boathouse on bay side of island near Hotel del Coronado.
(This is a photo of the Boathouse as it appears today, a bit to the north up a sunny walkway.)
Another small part of Imagine Tent City public artwork.Lady hangs sign on tent: Our Tenth Season 1909Swimmers enjoy the huge sandy-bottomed Plunge.Lots of vacationers out in calm water–possibly San Diego Bay.Bicyclist pauses to admire wonderful public art in Coronado.
Over the decades, many of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars have stayed at the world famous Hotel Del Coronado. Most checked in for personal pleasure; others were working. The Hotel Del Coronado has been used in the filming of over a dozen movies.
Outside the hotel, a few steps from the sidewalk, you’ll find a glass display containing photos of movie superstar guests. I tried to take a bunch of photos, but most didn’t come out so great.
In my first decent pic, you see a photo with the caption: Screen legend Clark Gable stayed at the Del during the filming of Hell Divers, shot in 1931.
I also recorded a photograph from 1958 of the acting trio starring in Some Like It Hot. The caption reads: Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe proved to be a winning combination for Billy Wilder’s romantic comedy.
And here’s a third photo (which I took on a later date) with the caption: Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe’s steamy love scenes still heat up the screen more than fifty years after the 1959 film was released.
Photo of Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe movie love scene.
Here come even more pics!
Esther Williams and sons on the beach.Rosalind Russell out in the water.Kirk Douglas seems to have quite an appetite!
The Hotel Del Coronado is one of my favorite places for a stroll. The beautiful architecture, the white sandy beach, the rich history, the sunshine and leisurely vibe, all combine for a wonderful experience.
The Del’s unique appearance makes it an unmistakeable landmark in San Diego. It’s a classic Victorian beach resort, and one of the largest wooden structures in California. In 1888, when it opened, it was the largest resort hotel in the world!
Today, the spacious beach that it overlooks is routinely considered a top beach in the United States.
Sixteen different American presidents have been guests at the Del, as well as numerous celebrities. These include royalty from many nations, Thomas Edison, Babe Ruth, and loads of Hollywood movie stars: Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Vincent Price, James Stewart, Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn, to name just a few.
L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, did much of his writing at the Hotel Del Coronado.
Numerous movies have been filmed at the hotel, most notably Some Like It Hot, which starred Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis.
Many photos and signs throughout the amazing hotel remind visitors of its rich past history!
Walkway winds past elegant cottages north of the Del.People enjoy the grassy area in front of the famous beach resort.Just relaxing and talking near the beach.Pushing strollers past some outdoor dining.This herb garden is used for the hotel restaurant.The immense hotel has all sort of angles and contours.Chandeliers in the famous Crown Room were designed by Wizard of Oz author.An interesting study in complex architecture.Old clock stands on sidewalk among palm trees in front of hotel.The iconic Hotel del Coronado is unbelievably gorgeous.
Here are three more pics that I took on a somewhat more cloudy day!
View of Hotel del Coronado near the front entrance.The Hotel del Coronado is a California registered historical landmark.During the summer facilities are set up for guests right on the beach!
Cool San Diego Sights! 