Belmont Park exhibit celebrates 100 years!

Belmont Park has been a favorite destination for generations of fun lovers in San Diego.

In 1925 the beachside amusement park opened as the Mission Beach Amusement Center. Today, an exhibit under Belmont Park’s beloved Big Dipper wooden roller coaster celebrates one hundred years of history!

John D. Spreckels developed the Mission Beach Amusement Park, which he intended to be a “playground for the people of San Diego…” Spreckels expanded his streetcar line to connect Downtown, Ocean Beach and La Jolla to Mission Beach.

The first structure to open was the Mission Beach Roller Rink… The grand opening unveiled the Mission Beach Bath House (now Plunge Pool) and the Dance Hall…

The subsequent construction of the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster was completed in 45 days by a construction crew of 150 men… The Giant Dipper officially opened on July 4, 1925 and enjoyed immediate record-breaking success…

The amusement park was renamed Belmont Park and revitalized in the 1950s under the direction of John (Jack) C. Ray. The park’s footprint expanded further south to include a new main entrance and attractions like The Octopus, a Kiddie Boat Ride, the Wild Mouse coaster, and a double Ferris Wheel.

The largest installation…was “Enchanted Land,” an immersive 23,000-square-foot western ghost town filled with fun-house mazes, shifting staircases, and interactive optical illusions.

On February 2, 1955, a fire broke out at the Giant Dipper… Though the city pushed for demolition, Jack fought to restore the ride… Jack Ray was the coaster’s first savior and where much of Belmont’s modern story began.

Due to financial difficulties, Belmont Park closed in 1976. In 1981, the coaster was set on fire twice in 19 days. A demolition permit had been approved by the city in 1979 and the park’s demise seemed unavoidable.

Before the charred wood of the Giant Dipper had cooled, a local activist movement was already heating up. In October 1981, Carol Lindemulder founded the “Save The Coaster Committee…” Over the next nine years, the committee led an ambitious effort… On August 11, 1990, after a 14-year closure…the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster finally reopened…

The Plunge Pool, which in 1925 was the largest saltwater pool in the world, would reopen in 2019 after an extensive reconstruction effort.

Today just so happens to be Labor Day!

Why not head down to Mission Beach and wonderful Belmont Park? Be a part of history!

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90th Anniversary celebration coming to Balboa Park!

A big, fun event is coming to San Diego next weekend!

The International Cottages 90th Anniversary Celebration will be taking place Saturday and Sunday, September 6 and 7, in Balboa Park!

The International Cottages of the House of Pacific Relations date from 1935, when Balboa Park held its second “World’s Fair,” the California Pacific International Exposition. It’s now 2025–that was 90 years ago!

The anniversary celebration begins on Saturday, between 11 am and 5 pm, when the International Cottages will welcome the public with lots of great food and entertainment.

Then, on Sunday, between 2 and 3:30 pm, an epic program will take place at the nearby Spreckels Organ Pavilion, featuring organ music, bagpipes, multi-national choirs and more!

Bring the family! Spread the word!

(You can read more about the cottages and their free, almost weekly cultural programs by clicking here!)

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Watch a plein air painting demonstration in Balboa Park!

Visitors to Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park were in for a treat today. One of the resident artists had set up on the patio with easel and canvas, and was demonstrating the art of plein air painting! Plein air is French and means outdoors.

Michelle Joy Montrose, the artist, who works out of Studio 1, was there outside, painting one of the other studios in Spanish Village. Several chairs were set up behind her so that anyone could watch. That’s what I did!

Speaking to Michelle, I learned she aims to paint every studio, and perhaps create a coffee table book containing all the images. That should be very colorful!

I also learned that Spanish Village intends to have more of these free public demonstrations in the future. It’s a great idea. Engaging with artists on a sunny San Diego day is educational and a lot of fun.

Michelle was happy to talk about all sorts of stuff, including the creative process. She’s a writer, too!

Should you ever visit Balboa Park and walk through Spanish Village, make sure to see whether a cool art demonstration is taking place out on the patio!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Make art, help kids in Balboa Park!

A very cool event is taking place in San Diego this weekend through tomorrow, Sunday, August 21, 2025. Artists from the Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park are helping you to create your own art, in a fundraiser that benefits kids!

It’s Art Galore Days!

Between 11 am and 4 pm, head over to the Casa del Prado’s outdoor courtyard and look for various stations where you can make fun art!

Purchase $5 tickets and use them to create what you wish. You get entered in a raffle, too, where you can win a fine work of professional art!

The awesome thing is, funds raised will be used to support Spanish Village art education programs for kids and young students!

Some of the beautiful pieces you can win in the raffle:

You can create a snowman button!

You can paint tribal rocks!

You can paint a sunset (or anything you desire) with a frame!

Make a cool succulent shoe!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Exhibit shows evolution of Hotel del Coronado.

Would you like to see an outstanding exhibition concerning the Hotel del Coronado?

The Jewel in Coronado’s Crown: Over a Century of Historic Preservation at the Hotel del Coronado can now be enjoyed at the Coronado Historical Association museum.

Numerous displays in the free museum show how the iconic Del was built in the late 1800s and has periodically evolved and expanded. Through old photographs and descriptions, visitors can observe how, over the past 137 years, preservation of the hotel’s unique heritage and architecture have remained a priority.

If you enjoy learning about the history of San Diego and Coronado, this exhibition is a must see.

A little of what you’ll find, including a detailed timeline…

The Victorian beach resort was designed by architect James W. Reid and debuted as one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. With 399 rooms, it was the world’s largest hotel resort. The Del made history as the first hotel to have electric lighting.

The charming architecture’s complexity and asymmetry help make the Hotel del Coronado one of California’s most recognizable and cherished landmarks.

Luxury and elegance. Since 1888, presidents, world leaders and celebrities have enjoyed staying at the Del, along with tourists vacationing by the beach in our sunny, temperate Southern California climate.

Postcards, menus and more ephemera are displayed.

Many historical photographs in the exhibit document how the hotel has changed and expanded as time rolls on.

The beautiful Coronation Window was finally moved to a prominent position viewable from both inside and outside the hotel.

This exquisite fresco was revealed by workers removing a low ceiling in the Ocean Ballroom.

A recent lobby renovation has made the Victorian hotel’s interior entrance lighter and even more attractive.

In San Diego? Enjoy a walk through and around the Hotel del Coronado, and experience its magnificence yourself!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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French Market returns to San Diego bayfront!

The French Market returned to San Diego’s bayfront this afternoon. The fun cultural event, organized by the French-American Chamber of Commerce of SoCal, was held outdoors at Lane Field Park. Its purpose was to celebrate French culture, flavors and innovation right here in San Diego, and to promote vibrant Franco-American business ties and cultural exchange.

I swung by to check it out!

Several vendors and organizations had canopies on the grass, and there was live music provided by Chloe Perrier & the French Heart Jazz Band, too!

Without further ado…

Versailles Café & Pastries had tasty crepes topped with strawberries and chocolate!
The Alliance Française de San Diego offers French classes in La Jolla and Vista, and organizes social gatherings. Their French Literature & Arts Festival is coming October 2-4, 2025 in San Diego. More here.
The San Diego French American School, in La Jolla, offers bilingual education from preschool through 8th grade.
The mobile and online Clotilde French Bookstore had many books at their table!
Author Claude Koehl’s book, The American Way of Life: The Foreigner’s Perspective, helps people understand cultural differences, using humor.
Some smiling authors!
Six Years of Absence is a novel based on French Sergeant Alexandre Rolland’s harrowing experiences during World War II. Written by Alain Rolland, his son.
A good time in sunny San Diego.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

A funny Air Mail mailbox in Pacific Beach!

An unusual mailbox is located high above the sidewalk in Pacific Beach. You might see it while cruising down Ingraham Street.

What’s that? I wondered during my walk today. Is that actually a mailbox? Only a mail delivery giant could possibly reach it!

Then I zoomed my camera in for a closer photograph…

Oh, I see! The funny mailbox is for Air Mail! Makes perfect sense!

Hopefully the mail delivery aircraft doesn’t stall!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

An artistic seed library in Barrio Logan!

A very cool seed library stands in Barrio Logan. The metal sculpture, resembling a growing plant, can be found on the sidewalk outside Libélula Books. I saw it the other day while walking around.

I spoke to someone at the bookstore. She didn’t know who placed the seed library here. Perhaps someone reading my blog knows.

This is definitely the most creative seed library I’ve ever found!

When stocked, community members can find seeds to plant in their yard or garden. It’s a great concept. Seed libraries promote food security, local biodiversity, and self-reliance.

Here’s proof they can double as a work of art, too!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Rest, strength and Lying Fallow in Logan Heights.

One gallery inside Bread and Salt in Logan Heights now contains an art installation titled Lying Fallow. Dried tall grasses rise from soil underfoot in an artificial indoor meadow. One can walk through the small “meadow” and rest on one of the seats, regathering strength.

I love the outdoors and being in nature. That’s where I feel the most healthy, alive. I know many other people feel the same way.

This installation, when I visited it, did remind me that a real meadow, outdoors, with its earthy smell and gentle movement in the wind, calms, restores, inspires, reconnects the mind, body and soul with something larger than ourselves.

But where in the gallery is the sky?

Everything about Lying Fallow is sincere. The artist Helena Westra has assembled something that is an important reminder: Quiet renewal helps us on life’s journey. It helps us to be newly creative.

But what sort of world have we created where we feel compelled to build a realistic natural landscape inside walls?

Are we so hurried and so trapped in artificial environments that “being in nature” is merely an exhibit that we experience for a moment or two?

Real meadows are still out there.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Oars row again through Chula Vista sky!

Wind Oars are rowing again through Chula Vista’s blue sky!

During previous walks through Chula Vista’s Bayside Park, I’d noticed the oars of the public art sculpture were missing from their posts. Yesterday I saw they’re back!

The wind-driven oars had been taken down temporarily to be refurbished once before, many years ago, so I assume that’s what happened again.

As I walked beside San Diego Bay yesterday afternoon, finding the oars rowing through the blue summer sky, I had to take a few photographs. The immense, newly opened Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center is visible in the background of one photo.

Wind Oars, as explained by Port of San Diego’s self-guided Chula Vista tidelands art tour, was created by George Peters and Melanie Walker in 2004. The kinetic sculpture is made of aluminum, polycarbonate and prismatic film.

You can visit the Air Works Studio website of artists George Peters and Melanie Walker by clicking here.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!