Inside the Queen Eileen’s Gift Baskets shop in Encinitas, one wall features a fantastic bit of history: a Coca-Cola mural likely dating from the 1940’s! The vintage artwork depicts Coke’s sparkly old advertising character Sprite Boy!
The owner of Queen Eileen’s discovered the mural during a remodel a few months ago. In the 1940’s the building served as a hardware store. The brightly smiling Sprite Boy appeared when slats covering the old wall were removed!
If you want to learn more about Sprite Boy, who often accompanied Santa Claus, and who originated decades before Coca-Cola’s lemon-lime soda that shares the same name, here’s a great web page to visit!
I saw this cool mural late this morning during an Encinitas Historical Society walking tour of Encinitas, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Stand by for several more blogs and many more photographs from this epic walking tour!
…
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!
A large face greets those heading east on Turquoise Street in Pacific Beach.
Turquoise Street in Pacific Beach, from Mission Boulevard to Cass Street, is the home of a lot of fun street art.
Check out some photos!
Mural on parking lot wall by Treelogy Cafe Restaurant.
These colorful flowers are at the center of the mural.
Old-fashioned advertising artwork on wall of Cafe Bar Europa.
The happy wood shack of Blossoms Design Florist.
Mural in a narrow alley celebrates 90 years of Crystal Pier.
Bottom of the alley mural, with an octopus tentacle wearing a beach sandal. #octopier by @artanystef
Mural on the side of P.B. Yoga and Healing Arts.
Enjoying a hot beverage with a dog. Mural by artist Gloria Muriel on the side of The French Gourmet.
A fun blue character painted on another nearby wall by Gloria Muriel.
…
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 photos for you to enjoy!
I’m sure most people know the truth. Comic-Con is mostly about marketing. Movies, television shows, video games, toys, collectibles, even lunch–all swirl before the eyes of excited fans.
And yet–it’s all so much fun!
How does one draw the line between the calculated marketing and the unabashed fun?
…
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!
A trolley wrap for 2018 Comic-Con promotes ABC’s upcoming show Whiskey Cavalier. Lauren Cohan costars with Scott Foley. She’s a CIA operative; he’s with the FBI.
I was completely wrong! In a recent Comic-Con trolley post, I surmised that ABC wouldn’t have a trolley wrap this year. Look what I spied this morning! Whiskey Cavalier, a show that’s coming to the ABC television network, is being promoted in San Diego.
A quick check of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog shows there are two additional Bob’s Burgers wraps debuting, as well. There are so many trolley wraps now I can hardly keep track of them!
Now I have to keep my eyes peeled for those new Bob’s Burgers trolleys! And who knows what else?
What fun!
Another cool trolley wrap for 2018 San Diego Comic-Con spotted at the Fifth Avenue station downtown.
Whiskey Cavalier is coming soon to ABC television. An FBI and a CIA agent deal with relationships and office politics while occasionally saving the world.
The face of FBI agent Will Chase played by Scott Foley. Opposite him, Lauren Cohan plays CIA operative Francesca “Frankie” Trowbridge.
…
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 photos for you to enjoy!
Marge Simpson has found herself in a sugary mess on a San Diego Trolley wrap that promotes The Simpsons during 2018 Comic-Con!
I can’t believe how quickly trolley wraps are popping up for 2018 San Diego Comic-Con. The past few days I keep seeing new ones! And Comic-Con is still over a month away!
You might have already seen the three Syfy trolley wraps I’ve photographed, promoting six of their shows with fan art. If not, you can see them here.
Today I spotted a humorous wrap that promotes one of the most popular television shows of all time: The Simpsons! FOX seems to have pretty entertaining trolley wraps every year.
Meanwhile, I’ll keep on looking for more new Comic-Con stuff!
The Simpsons, Sundays on FOX. The lovable animated family has been making television audiences laugh for almost 30 years!
Homer Simpson is in sticky doughnut heaven! A colorful FOX trolley wrap for 2018 San Diego Comic-Con!
UPDATE!
I spotted another Comic-Con trolley wrap featuring Bart and Lisa!
Bart Simpson floats on donuts!
Lisa Simpson swims in sweetness.
UPDATE!
I’ve found a third Simpsons wraps!
Santa’s Little Helper helps Snowball II cough up not a hairball, but a whole donut!
Maggie’s pacifier is stacked high with doughnuts.
…
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 photos for you to enjoy!
Old tin shop sign still visible on the historic 1882 Independent Order of Odd Fellows Building in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. A remnant of a past era.
While walking around downtown San Diego, I’m always pleased to make unexpected discoveries. Once in a while I’ll spot faded signs and advertisements that were painted years ago on historic old buildings. Unfortunately, many of those old signs are vanishing and will eventually be lost to time. Some of those walls will be painted, or new buildings will sprout up . . . That’s progress, I suppose.
I did some searching on the internet looking for information about the more mysterious signs, but with very little success. I increased the contrast of many photos to try to make out the faded words. If you know anything, leave a comment!
Most of these photos were taken in the morning, the last three or four days…
A faded sign is painted high on the 1888 Nesmith-Greely Building on Fifth Avenue. It is just visible from the street.
One can barely make out the words HOTEL . . . ROOMS 50c to $1.00
Old brick building at Seventh Avenue and G Street has words so obliterated I can’t decipher anything.
The William Penn Hotel building at Fourth Avenue and F Street opened in 1913 as the elegant Oxford Hotel.
Painted words from San Diego’s past. The Windsor Hotel on Fourth Avenue was built in 1887. The first floor was once a pool hall; in the 1960s it contained cardrooms and nightclubs with go-go dancers.
The 1910 Western Metal Supply Company Building is now an iconic part of Petco Park in San Diego, home of the baseball Padres.
The faded word LYON on a building at the corner of K Street and Fourth Avenue.
From a distance, a square space on the side of the Simmons Hotel on Sixth Avenue appears to be blank reddish bricks.
But a closer look reveals old words from many years ago. Perhaps you can figure out what they say.
Faded words can also be spotted high on the Plaza Hotel building on Fourth Avenue.
I can barely discern a few letters.
The building on the right is The McGurck Block, built in 1887. A drug store was located in it from 1903 to 1984. Actor Gregory Peck’s father worked there as the night druggist.
High up, painted on the old brick building’s side is a fading advertisement. A glimpse of San Diego’s past.
Here’s another pic I snapped on Fifth Avenue just south of Broadway:
Faded sign on side of a building on the 900 block of Fifth Avenue.
I’ve blogged in the past about a variety of cool old painted signs and images in downtown San Diego. Here they are:
Here’s a pic I took several years later, as I sat waiting for a bus at the City College trolley station, looking west…
…
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 enjoy!
A new FOX television show, Son of Zorn, advertised on a San Diego trolley. Comic-Con graphics are slowly beginning to appear in San Diego.
Today I spotted the first cool trolley wrap for the fast-approaching 2016 San Diego Comic-Con!
Check out these photos. I had to time my shots strategically, because the trolleys don’t wait at a station for very long!
Each side of this San Diego trolley car advertises a separate television show; both will debut this coming Fall season on FOX. First up you see graphics for Son of Zorn, which involves an animated warrior character among live-action family members. It’s a unique comedy idea that sounds weird but fun! The second side of the trolley wrap advertises The Exorcist, which is already a cultural phenomenon.
I’m positive more 2016 San Diego Comic-Con trolley wraps are on the way, so stay tuned!
Animated warrior Zorn will be coping with live-action family members (including his son) in an unusual hybrid television comedy on FOX this Fall. Taking a stab at the real world.
The first 2016 San Diego Comic-Con trolley wrap has debuted in June! Both sides of this trolley advertise upcoming television shows on FOX.
And here comes the other side of the exact same trolley car. Another brand new FOX television offering, The Exorcist, is being promoted with eerie blood red graphics.
The Exorcist appears on one side of a San Diego trolley. This enormous moving ad for the new FOX show will be seen by thousands of pop culture fans attending Comic-Con next month. Today it’s operating on the Green Line, which goes right past the convention center!
Starting July 20, which is Preview Night, San Diego Comic-Con will become the international center of entertainment and popular culture. I expect to see more trolley wraps in the weeks ahead!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! In addition to other San Diego places and events (like the MLB All-Star Game–also in July), I’ll be checking out Comic-Con and taking tons of photos this year!
You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool neon sign in shop window of Centre City Sports Collectibles.
Over time I’ve collected these photos. They’re just of colorful neon words that brighten downtown San Diego. I spot all sorts of neon signs during my walks, sometimes in daylight, sometimes at night. Glowing advertisements in windows, on building walls and marquees add life and character to the streets of any city. San Diego is no exception.
Neon words above downtown San Diego cafe door read Pastries Espresso Cappuccino.
Patterned neon adds pizzazz to marquee of Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop on Fifth Avenue.
Bub’s near Petco Park has its brilliant red name in this window.
Neon in the distinctive Gaslamp Quarter landmark sign, which is instantly recognized by both locals and tourists.
Classic neon signage is often seen in pawn shop windows.
The Golden West Hotel near Horton Plaza has a flashy neon sign above its main entrance.
Glowing neon Bail Bonds advertisement at this open-all-night Inmate Information Center.
Off the Wall Tattoos has an “in the window” neon sign.
Lots of super colorful neon at the San Diego Bike Shop on C Street.
Neon words and their reflections broken up by a security grill in front of one store.
Great Wall Express located on Broadway downtown has yummy Louisiana Fried Chicken, as you can see! (Admittedly, I eat too much of it.)
Lucky’s Lunch Counter has a unique sign that really stands out.
Crab Hut invites hungry passersby with its neon logo.
Eye-catching neon sign informs everyone that pizza, chicken wings and sandwiches are on the menu.
An awesome ice cream cone creatively rendered using neon. Okay, I suppose this doesn’t count as a word.
These words instantly got my attention! I hope I have room after all that fried chicken!
…
Follow this blog for more photos of cool stuff! Join me on Facebook or Twitter.
Old poster highlights points of interest reached by past San Diego streetcar and railroad lines. Depicted are orange groves, Mexican bullfighting, an ocean liner and Balboa Park.
When I catch the trolley at downtown San Diego’s Santa Fe Depot, I often walk through an outdoor passageway that separates the hundred year old train station’s enormous waiting room from it’s original baggage terminal. The latter building was converted years ago into an interesting space used by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD).
Recently, while strolling through the passageway, I paused to examine three eye-catching graphics created by the museum to promote one of its current exhibitions. Two of the images incorporate old train posters from San Diego history, which I find to be very cool. I thought you might enjoy a look!
MCASD’s exhibition titled “John D. Spreckels and The Impossible Railroad” concerns a railway project undertaken a century ago by one of San Diego’s most prominent entrepreneurs and benefactors. Perhaps Spreckels’ greatest accomplishment was to complete the logistically difficult San Diego & Arizona Railroad, our nation’s southernmost transcontinental railroad route. I haven’t visited the exhibition, but according to what I’ve read it utilizes interesting visual devices to demonstrate the near impossibility of building Spreckels’ railroad, which had to wind around and over deep mountain gorges. (Spreckels was also responsible for a large network of electric streetcars which traversed San Diego decades before our modern day trolleys.)
Outdoor passage between the Santa Fe Depot and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s downtown Jacobs Building, which years ago was the train station’s baggage terminal.
John D. Spreckels and the Impossible Railroad is one of the current art exhibitions at MCASD. These interesting promotional graphics also incorporate historical newspaper articles.
Old advertisement for the San Diego and Arizona Railway, called the Carriso Gorge Route, which included possible destinations Chicago, New Orleans, Kansas City, El Paso, San Diego.
…
Enjoy photos of random cool stuff! Join me on Facebook or Twitter.
Cool San Diego Sights! 