Art Deco relief work shows female flying above propellers of airplane.
“Through science and the toil of patient men, the nation’s thought traverses land and air and sea.” Those are the words inscribed along the top of downtown San Diego’s Post Office, on E Street between 8th and 9th Avenue. Beneath the words are nine terra-cotta panels created by Archibald Garner in 1937. The Art Deco images include a car, train, ship and airplane, the means by which mail has been delivered over many decades, transmitting the written word across the nation and around the world.
Titled “Transportation of the Mail,” Garner’s handsome panels were the result of a Department of Treasury competition. Like most Post Office public art created during the New Deal, the work was funded through the Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture, also known as The Section of Fine Arts. The post office itself was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and stands across the street from the now closed old Central Library. You can see a few interesting photos of the library here.
View of San Diego’s downtown Post Office from Ninth Avenue.Steamship cuts through ocean waves on its way to deliver the mail.Distinctive Art Deco train can be seen near roof of San Diego’s old Post Office.Historically interesting panels, which appear at the top of high windows.Classic automobile in Art Deco public artwork in downtown San Diego.
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Bronze plaque in Coronado marks birthplace of naval aviation.
In Coronado’s beautiful Centennial Park, just north of the Coronado Ferry Landing, you can find this relatively new bronze plaque. It marks the birthplace of naval aviation, Rockwell Field, which no longer exists.
The historical marker reads:
BIRTHPLACE OF NAVAL AVIATION
In 1910, on the unoccupied brushland of North Coronado Island, inventor and entrepreneur Glenn Hammond Curtiss opened his winter flying school for prospective “aeroplane pilots.” Among his first class of students was Navy Lieutenant Theodore G. “Spuds” Ellyson, who would become the first Naval Aviator. In 1917, the U.S. Congress appropriated the island to support the World War I effort and two airfields occupied its sandy flats–the Navy’s “Camp Trouble” and the Army Signal Corps’ Rockwell Field. The Army vacated Rockwell Field in 1935, at which time the Navy expanded its operations to cover the whole island. Many aviation milestones originated from North Island including the first seaplane flight in the United States in 1911.
San Diego, California was designated the “Birthplace of Naval Aviation” by the Armed Services Committee of the United States House of Representatives on 24 March 1961.
Marker Placed By
California State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution
2011
Historical marker is located near east end of Centennial Park.Rockwell Field in 1924.
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Every so often a new plane is added to the Midway Museum collection. The historic aircraft carrier USS Midway, active from 1945 to 1992, now has a couple dozen restored airplanes among its exhibits. Today the latest addition was hoisted up onto the dockside elevator by crane from the pier below! I was there to snap a few cool pics!
The last time I saw an airplane brought over from North Island, where the restorations take place, it was by barge. So I was surprised this time when a plane arrived on the back of a truck. This F4F Wildcat is a specimen of the small carrier-based fighter that helped to win the Battle of Midway during World War II. This particular plane was salvaged from the bottom of Lake Michigan. Restoration in a special hangar at Naval Air Station North Island, across San Diego Bay, took three years. You’ll notice the wings are missing from the fuselage. They came in on a second truck!
The first photo shows the Wildcat arriving on the opposite side of Navy pier.
Historic airplane transported by truck to USS Midway.
The truck has pulled alongside USS Midway’s dockside elevator, which is lowered and ready to receive the new exhibit.
Preparing to lift Wildcat onto USS Midway’s elevator.
A small crane waits off to the left to lift the airplane. Here we see some preliminary preparations.
Crane begins to lift F4F Wildcat onto USS Midway.
Up it goes! Everybody was extremely careful that no mishaps occurred!
Aircraft is placed on USS Midway while people watch from flight deck.
And finally the F4F Wildcat is aboard its new home! This plane will be part of a three dimensional theater exhibit called Battle of Midway Experience. I can’t wait to see it!
Usually the huge elevator on the south side of the USS Midway Museum contains a few tables and chairs. When I walked by and took the above photo, it featured an F-4 Phantom II jet fighter that flew during the Vietnam War!
The historic USS Midway, a modern aircraft carrier converted into a museum, has become one of the most popular attractions in San Diego. It’s docked on the old Navy Pier right next to downtown. Over a million people visit the Midway each year!
Over time the museum continues to add refurbished military aircraft exhibits. The flight deck is now crowded with them, and the hangar below is filling up. The old airplanes are fixed up and painted by volunteers at Naval Air Station North Island across San Diego Bay, then brought over to the Midway on a barge and lifted onto the flight deck with a big crane. I saw this happen once years ago and it was a very cool sight!
UPDATE! I took the next photo on a sunny day the following summer…
This A-4 Skyhawk of the Black Knights attack squadron was once based on USS Oriskany.
ANOTHER UPDATE! Here come two more pics that I took in late 2014. It seems the A-4 Skyhawk is now a permanent feature on the elevator…
Small boat passes near USS Midway aircraft carrier on San Diego Bay.USS Ronald Reagan seen docked at Naval Air Station North Island across San Diego Bay.
ANOTHER! Why not add another pic? This one was taken in early 2016…
Birds large and small in a photo taken from the edge of San Diego Bay.
One more UPDATE!
I stood on the pictured elevator in 2025. The area is now filled with tables. I noticed the following sign…
One of Midway’s three giant aircraft elevators that are capable of moving aircraft between the Flight Deck and Hangar Deck in 15-20 seconds. The hydraulically operated elevators have a lifting capacity of 130,000 lbs…and are large enough to accommodate two F/A-18 aircraft at a time.
The yellow ribbons along the edge of the elevator in the final photo memorialize the approximately 60,000 military personnel killed in action during the Vietnam War. The ribbons during my visit were tied all around the aircraft carrier…
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I had a busy weekend! On Sunday I took the ferry from downtown San Diego across the bay to Coronado. You’ll soon see some photos I took from the ferry.
In the middle of my island adventure, while walking down Orange Avenue, I met a friendly man in front of the VFW. He was selling a bunch of amazing airplanes that he’d created using soda and beer cans.
Before he retired, he explained, he’d worked on actual aircraft, so he transfered his knowledge to this very unique hobby. The models he makes all have propellers that whirl in the wind. Each design is aerodynamic, and every plane takes several hours to produce. Only a couple other people in San Diego produce similar work.
He went on to say that over the years, he’s sold thousands of these cool planes! He also displays them in Balboa Park and other locations. I almost bought one!
Cool San Diego Sights! 