I like this photo…even though an optical illusion makes it appear a bit tilted!
This was taken in the early morning from the short walkway that passes over Balboa Park’s shimmering reflecting pool. You are looking toward the splendid Spanish Colonial Revival buildings on El Prado.
Later in the morning, when the world has yawned, stretched and put on its shoes, people will be sitting on the white benches. Children will be standing at the pond’s edge, gazing down at Japanese Koi and myriad other critters in the water. An older gentleman will probably be heard nearby, playing Mariachi music with his guitar. And dozens of photographs will be taken. Each as beautiful as this one!
Here are some additional pics taken at various times…
View of the entire reflecting pool from the Botanical Building.Side view of the Balboa Park’s reflecting pool.Photographer at work beside the beautiful water.
One of my favorite places in Balboa Park is the reflecting pool, or lily pond, as some call it. This tranquil body of water lies between El Prado and the enormous wood lath structure which is the Botanical Building.
Flower beds, green grass and families enjoying picnics surround the pond, and colorful lotus flowers grace the surface. All sorts of interesting creatures call it home. In addition of numerous large koi (two can be seen in this photo), and floating turtles craning their heads to gaze at tourists, there are crawdads and a variety of fish that people have dumped into the pond. Years ago a small shark was spotted in the serene water!
An interesting historical fact: during World War II, when Balboa Park was utilized to mobilize American soldiers, the Navy used the reflecting pool to train sailors! You can still see old black-and-white photos of men rowing on the pool when you visit the San Diego History Center, a bit further to the east down El Prado.
These photographs are of the small pond-like section right next to the Botanical Building. This is the best place to watch brightly colored Koi swimming about.
Looking down at bright colors in the reflecting pool.Lots of color can be found in this section of the reflecting pool, by the Botanical Building.Turtle comes out of the water to enjoy a bit of San Diego sunshine!Crowd gazes into small section of the Balboa Park lily pond.
Elaborate facade of the beautiful California Building in Balboa Park.
Here’s one iconic sight in Balboa Park I always lift my eyes to enjoy. The elaborate facade of the California Building, home of the San Diego Museum of Man, contains sculpted historical figures molded from clay and plaster. These figures include Junipero Serra, father of California’s Spanish missions, and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who discovered San Diego Bay nearly five centuries ago in 1542.
This fantastic building, inspired by the church of San Diego in Guanajuato, Mexico, was erected for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, an event that celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal and promoted San Diego as a destination. Like other similar buildings to the east along El Prado, it is in the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style, which was largely developed by Bertram Goodhue.
The California Building and adjacent California Tower, and the more simple structure to the south across El Prado–housing Evernham Hall and the St. Francis Chapel–form the California Quadrangle. The courtyard-like area at the quadrangle’s center, where visitors can sit at tables and through which cars today travel, is called the Plaza de California.
Every few years I venture into The Museum of Man just to refresh my memory. There are a number of interesting anthropological exhibits, including a whole room full of spooky Egyptian mummies!
Here are some more pics…
Gazing up at the colorful dome of the California Building, and the California Tower.People on the street in front of the Museum of Man. El Prado runs through the Plaza de California.Plaster figures from local history adorn the ornate facade.Banners near the entrance show current exhibits at the Museum of Man.Plaque a bit west of the Museum of Man, beside the archway into Balboa Park’s California Quadrangle, commemorates Cabrillo’s discovery of California.Sitting at a table under an umbrella near the beautiful Museum of Man.
Here are even more photos from a later date…
Sign in the California Quadrangle. Built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, the Plaza de California and surrounding buildings served as the grand west entrance for the exposition.Photo toward the southeast corner of the California Quadrangle shows Mission Revival style arches.Photo of the iconic California Tower from a point east on El Prado.The ornate upper levels of the California Bell Tower. Tours up the tower’s stairs provide amazing views of Balboa Park and San Diego.Photo of the beautiful California Building from the east, near the Old Globe Theatre.Elaborate ornamentation around the archway outside the east side of the California Quadrangle.Colorful dome tiles, part of the Spanish Colonial Revival masterpiece of exposition architect Bertram Goodhue.
…
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!
In 1961, the Balboa Club moved into a building near the southwest corner of Balboa Park. The building today is faded, padlocked, and seldom used. Few people now visit this once popular meeting place. It is the location of the San Diego Chess Club.
Taking a picture through side window of empty chess club on a weekend morning.
Through a dirty window on the north side, rows of empty tables are visible. The place seems dead.
Most chess players now test their skills on virtual chessboards. Two flesh and blood players squaring off in a lively, tension-filled room across a common table has been replaced by isolated taps and clicks on small screens.
Years of neglect show at San Diego Chess Club building in Balboa Park.Chessboard and other images on side facing Sixth Avenue are faded.
Adjoining the building are numerous lonely horseshoes pits. The Balboa Park Horseshoe Club seems just as forgotten.
Unused horseshoes pits near San Diego Chess Club.
Walked past on a spring day… The game of horseshoes isn’t dead yet!
One fine Saturday afternoon, I finally saw a handful of folks playing horseshoes!
I love cool photographs that contain all sorts of color. Visual color and local color. The above pic does both!
These lobster traps are stacked on Tuna Harbor Pier, which stretches into San Diego Bay from the G Street Mole. You can see the tops of downtown skyscrapers jutting at the very top of the picture.
If I were a fisherman, I’d be happy to spend a good chunk of my life enjoying the sights from this wonderful pier!
Aiming my camera through a line of new traps.A rainbow of colors inside a steel cage.A lobster trap, rope and float framed by the clear blue sky.Another view, from above.I could post a hundred photos like this!Here are some light purple floats dangling in a line.Bricks weigh down traps so they lie at the water’s bottom.Cool pic through a long, complex row of lobster traps.Wall of lobster traps on Tuna Harbor Pier.
This last photo was taken from the pier near Seaport Village:
Fishing boats in Tuna Harbor and downtown skyscrapers.
The above photograph was taken near the public pier that stretches into San Diego Bay from the G Street Mole. It can be found next to the top rated Fish Market restaurant, a bit south of the USS Midway. The picturesque skyline rises behind a number of inactive fishing boats in the always interesting Tuna Harbor this fine sunny summer day.
San Diego’s Tuna Harbor decades ago was home to the largest tuna fishing fleet in the world. That was before fishing regulations and tuna populations shifted, sending most of the boats away. The American Tuna-Boat Association office is still located near the foot of the pier.
Here are a variety of pics taken at different times…
Fisherman heads to a boat in Tuna Harbor.Ramp down to docks in San Diego’s Tuna Harbor.Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton rise behind Tuna Harbor fishing boats.A number of fishing vessels docked inside San Diego’s Tuna Harbor.This typical small boat is part of the large local fishing fleet.Colorful floats of different sizes tangled over the railing along edge of the G Street Pier.Fishing boats docked in Tuna Harbor next to downtown San Diego.Turning a bit to the right. Lobster traps are lined up on a Tuna Harbor dock.Fishermen sort sea urchins from large tank, to be sold at nearby public fish market.Gazing down one dock at a line of fishing vessels in San Diego.Small boat painted with various names, including Rambo!A clutter of work gear all along the wooden dock.Downtown high-rises in the blue sky behind a Tuna Harbor boat.USS Midway aircraft carrier museum can be seen beyond the fleet of fishing vessels.Sun, wind, salt water and frequent use take a toll on these hard-working boats.I believe this is an old Navy boat which has been converted for civilian purpose.A couple more fishing boats tied up in beautiful San Diego Bay.Many boats are out on a Friday afternoon, seeking fresh fish for Saturday morning market.
That shiny cylinder-like drum will be mounted on the rear of a fishing boat, and used to unspool then haul in a very large net!
In Seaport Village and on the grassy fringe beside it one can find all sorts of curious, interesting and helpful folk. There are street performers of every kind. You’ll find clowns, cartoon portrait sketchers, an amazing rock balancer, guys with colorful exotic birds, face painters, henna tattoo artists, balloon twisters, poets, musicians, people in cute costumes posing with tourists, marvelous magicians, palm readers, tarot card readers and various seers with crystal balls.
Above is a pic of Papa Alex, a friendly psychic. According to his sign, he’s a specialist in love problems and finance. Seniors are entitled to a 75% discount.
And here are more pics taken on several of my walks…
This sign promotes psychic readingz and more!HONEST READINGS sign near Seaport Village.The Angel Reader does both tarot and palm reading.Handmade sign in Embarcadero Marina Park North beside Seaport Village.Table next to sidewalk features tarot cards kept in place by crystal paperweights.This smiling psychic has a bright pink tent!
Click to follow the Cool San Diego Sights blog on Twitter or Facebook!
A registered National Historic Place, the Horton Grand Hotel in downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter is a true architectural treasure. It’s ornate Italianate Victorian facade is based on the famous Innsbruck Inn in Vienna, Austria.
Today’s boutique hotel is a modern restoration of two historic buildings, the Grand Horton, built in 1887, and the Brooklyn Kahle Saddlery. The latter was the residence of Wyatt Earp during the years he lived in San Diego.
The Horton Grand has another interesting distinction. Room 309 is said to be haunted by the ghost of Roger Whitaker, a gambler who was shot dead by a man he cheated in a game of poker. Many guests who’ve stayed in this room have reported objects changing position when they are asleep!
Is that strange, glaring, long-bearded figure in the corner of this photo a vengeful ghost? I hope he didn’t follow me home!
Entrance to elegant Horton Grand hotel in the Gaslamp.Another wing of the historic hotel.The inside courtyard used to be outside!A closer examination of architectural detail.The Horton Grand Hotel stands in downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
UPDATE!
I took the following photograph of a plaque on the building many years later, when I happened to see it…
KAHLE SADDLERY HOTEL
BUILT 1886
RECONSTRUCTED 1986
…
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!
I snapped this pic of the San Diego Trolley Yard at the 12th and Imperial Transit Center from the bridge above Harbor Drive. This new pedestrian bridge is a great spot for views of gleaming downtown skyscrapers, the Convention Center, Petco Park, the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, and the trolley and train yards.
This cool photograph was taken through a fence, giving the image a cluttered, layered, weirdly tangled appearance. The red trolleys seem to snake their way through a gray complex jumble of curving rails, vertical electrical poles and the grid of the blurred fence. It’s an image that fascinates the eye!
Here’s a less fascinating photo taken another day…
A less tangled photo from the bridge of the nearby train rail yard and tracks.
This photo turned out pretty good! Wish I could say it was the result of incredible photographic skill! But I must admit to being lucky once in a while…
This dazzling downtown skyscraper, not far from the Santa Fe Depot, reflects the deep blue summer sky and broken white clouds in a truly spectacular way! Look closely, and you can also see the reflection of the One America Plaza building which stands directly across Broadway.
I love that most of the newer skyscrapers in San Diego are a shiny silver or blue or green–like gleaming ocean waves rising above the sandy tan-colored buildings at their feet. The color scheme gives the skyline a watery cool, light and inviting appearance.
Here come two fun pics I took of the same building on a later date…
Reflection on shiny glass skyscraper of One America Plaza across Broadway.
Three tall buildings near Santa Fe Depot reflect from downtown San Diego window.
Cool San Diego Sights! 