Four large painted murals can be seen under Interstate 5 where the freeway passes over Rosecrans Street, just west of Old Town. The title of my blog post is a bit deceptive, because I only managed to get decent pics of three murals. The fourth, which depicts the Coronado Bay Bridge, was half in sunlight, half in darkness, and is the least interesting (in my opinion) of the four anyway.
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The other morning I took a stroll down Ninth Avenue in downtown San Diego, from the top of Cortez Hill south to hip East Village. My camera was out and ready. Here are a few fun photos that I took as I sauntered through East Village!
The Hiatt House, located in East Village near Petco Park, used to contain a cool little eatery named Café Noir. That was a few years ago. According to an article I read, during the first part of the 20th century it was home to several generations of a Japanese-American family. The grounds have also been the site of horse stables and a blacksmith’s shop, and the Latonia Hotel, a modest room-and-board for colored people back in the days of racial segregation. Today the Hiatt House serves as a psychiatrist’s office.
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I won’t be going to Mardi Gras in downtown San Diego this evening. I suppose I’m a boring old party pooper. But I did walk through the Gaslamp Quarter this morning while preparations were underway. Check out a few photos!
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This morning a special Spirit of ’45 wreath laying ceremony was held on San Diego’s Embarcadero, right next to the USS Midway Museum. The area is known as the Greatest Generation Walk, and is dotted with monuments and memorials remembering those who fought in World War II. Today’s event took place at the heels of the large Unconditional Surrender statue, created by artist Seward Johnson. The sculpture was modeled after the iconic photograph of a sailor spontaneously kissing a nurse in New York City’s Times Square upon learning the war was over. How appropriate!
The Spirit of ’45 is an organization and series of events around the country that honors Americans who served in the Second World War. Most of these local tributes are held on or around the happy day the war finally ended, V-J Day, but today’s February ceremony was held in conjunction with a national conference. It kicks off the historic 70th anniversary year of commemorative events.
I got lots of pics!
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Here are pics of the 2015 Lunar New Year Tết Festival. The annual event is put on by San Diego’s Little Saigon, and is being held this weekend in a large section of the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot. These photos were taken shortly after the gates opened, and workers were applying some final touches in preparation for later crowds. Because I was so early, I missed afternoon attractions like the traditional Lion Dances and firecrackers. But there was plenty of cool stuff to see!
Tết, or Vietnamese New Year, is celebrated at the same time as Chinese New Year. The event marks the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese variation of the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
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Today I took the trolley to Qualcomm Stadium to check out the very cool Lunar New Year Festival. Before catching the trolley at the Little Italy station, I walked around the nearby County Administration Building and its beautiful waterfront park. Every year on Valentine’s Day, hundreds of weddings are performed here. According to an article I read, this year 187 ceremonies were scheduled!
I didn’t stay long, and I kept a respectful distance from those who were tying the knot, but I did manage to get a few decent pics!
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As you might have read in my last blog post, this morning I walked around Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres. Guess what I saw! An absolutely hugemungous, super ginormous new scoreboard has been installed for the upcoming 2015 season! The high resolution board is the third largest in Major League Baseball, surpassed in size only by videoboards in Seattle and Kansas City. With a screen so big, why bother watching the action on the field? (Just kidding.)
I noticed a variety of other preparations underway around San Diego’s cool downtown stadium. Here are a few more pics…
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Early this morning the Padres began their move to Peoria, Arizona for 2015 Spring Training. An absolutely huge amount of baseball equipment was loaded onto several trucks, and fans, the Pad Squad and television reporters gathered to witness the send-off.
Petco Park, where the Padres play and are headquartered, is not far from where I live, so I walked by to take some photos before catching the trolley to work! Glad I did!
The Padres have loaded up on talent this year, and the coming season looks extremely promising!
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Early this morning, shortly after sunrise, as I waited for the San Diego Trolley at the Little Italy station, I was confronted by a momentary mystery. A very odd spidery shadow was climbing up the wall on the other side of the tracks.
I walked toward the shadow and turned about. A few photos show the mystery solved!
The rising parking garage, at the corner of Cedar Street and Kettner Boulevard, will provide 645 spaces for those who work at the nearby County Administration Center, in addition to paid public parking for visitors to Little Italy. The project is supposed to be finished this summer.
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Here are two boldly painted murals in Sherman Heights, a neighborhood just east of downtown San Diego. I photographed the first mural at 21st Street and Market Street several few days ago. I took my first picture of the second mural last May as I watched the local All-American Soap Box Derby on hilly 25th Street. Since then, the painted boards seem to have been removed from the market wall, and shifted a bit to the left behind a tree. You can see shadows in the two more recent photos.
According to my research, both of these distinctive works of street art were created under the direction of local artist Mario Torero. His passionate artwork, often depicting political themes and civil rights activists, can also be seen at Chicano Park in Barrio Logan, Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park, and elsewhere around San Diego.
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Cool San Diego Sights! 