Colorful mural painted on side of 7-Eleven on Beyer Boulevard, not far from a trolley station.No al Racismo! No to Racism! By @Yvette_RomanLarge agricultural mural on the side of La Bodeguita Food Store.Cat street art under a starry, starry night. By @d_barron26 in 2022.
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The 25th Annual Fungus Fair of the San Diego Mycological Society was held today in Balboa Park. I’ve checked out this event in past years, but I’d never seen such enormous crowds before. The popularity of mushrooms in San Diego appears to have greatly . . . mushroomed!
Not only was Room 101 of the Casa del Prado jammed with people gazing at informative exhibits, but numerous vendors were displaying mushroom art and crafts and edible concoctions in the building’s outdoor courtyard.
I wandered about amazed by all the varieties and apparent benefits of fungi. Mycophiles in attendance could learn how to grow and forage mushrooms. Curious people like me could learn about the characteristics, medicinal uses and dangers of different types.
Check out some fun fungus photography!
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One of San Diego’s iconic landmarks is the statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo near the end of Point Loma, at Cabrillo National Monument.
Over the years there has been a controversy concerning Cabrillo’s place of birth: Portugal or Spain? I covered that in my previous blog post.
The original statue of Cabrillo in the park, by Portuguese sculptor Alvaro DeBree, was commissioned by the Portuguese government. After years of exposure to the weather, that first statue was relocated to Ensenada.
Portuguese sculptor Joas Chartes Almeida carved an exact replica of the original statue out of a more resistant stone, and it was installed in at Cabrillo National Monument in 1988.
During my last trip to Cabrillo National Monument, a ranger inside the Visitor Center showed me a National Park Service document that provides a Brief History of the Original Cabrillo Statue:
In 1949, some 36 years after its establishment as a memorial to Juan Cabrillo, a statue of Cabrillo was finally installed at the monument. The statue had been commissioned by the Portuguese government in 1935 as a gift to the state of California and was to be exhibited in the Portuguese exhibit at the San Francisco Exposition of 1940. The work of Alvaro De Bree, a young Portuguese sculptor, the 14-foot-high, seven-ton statue was not exhibited at the fair as intended, but was instead stored in a private garage in San Francisco. Following a considerable amount of effort, the city of San Diego secured the statue, and it was installed at the Naval Training Center facing Ballast Point. The official dedication of the site took place on September 28, 1942, the 400th anniversary of Cabrillo’s landing.
In 1947, the San Diego Historical Society proposed that the statue be moved to the Cabrillo National Monument. The Chief of the Museum Bureau in Washington, after examining photographs judged the work to be “a satisfactory piece of memorial sculpture” and declared that it appeared suitable “from an artistic standpoint.” The Park Service accepted the statue with the stipulation that the city fund the costs for a base for the statue and for moving it to the monument.
The dedication ceremony took place on September 28, 1949. The Mayor of San Diego, Harley E. Knox, formally presented the statue to the National Park Service and Dr. Manuel Rocheta, chancellor of the Portuguese Embassy in Washington, D.C., delivered an address.
The 1988 replica of the original statue at Cabrillo National Monument.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
This dreamy, surreal mural was painted in 2017 at Pappy’s Market in Oceanside. Visible from the corner of Surfrider Way and Cleveland Street, the artwork, spilling its weirdness, spirituality and symbolism, decorates the south side of the building.
The artist is Elna (@eln4), who is half of the Brothers of Light duo.
The two artists’ distinctive murals have been painted internationally, but primarily in Israel, where they grew up.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
An exquisite stained glass mural titled Nautical Neighbors was installed last summer in the heart of Oceanside.
All the abundant sea life swimming through the mural was designed and created by Don Myers and assembled by the citizens of Oceanside.
You can see this very beautiful public art at the intersection of Mission Avenue and Ditmar Street, across from the MainStreet Oceanside downtown information center.
Enjoy these photos!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
Two small murals decorate the original entrance to the 1927 Riviera Apartment Hotel. When I walk up Park Boulevard from downtown to Balboa Park, I often wonder about them.
The historic Riviera Apartment Hotel exists today as the WorldMark San Diego – Balboa Park, and what originally was the building’s front entrance is now the locked back door. Consequently, these panels are seen by few people.
Here’s a photograph of the building taken circa 1930. It’s hard to determine whether these panels are present inside the original entrance. (The vintage automobiles in the photograph resemble those in the second mural!)
The Riviera Apartment Hotel building has been designated Historical Landmark No. 468 by the City of San Diego.
Do you know anything about these murals? When were they painted? By whom? Leave a comment!
If I happen to learn something more, I’ll post an update here.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
What could possibly be better than pizza and wings? Pizza wings!
The painting of new murals is underway in Chula Vista! One, near the corner of Third Avenue and G Street, promotes La Bella Pizza. It depicts an angelic statue with pizza wings. I took a photo a couple weeks ago and then another a few days ago, so you can see the mural’s tasty progress!
The artists call themselves Arte Atolondrada (@arteatolondrada). I’ve learned another much larger mural will soon be painted nearby, on the east side of La Bella Cafe and Games. This fun project is being undertaken with help from a Create Chula Vista Art Grant.
Downtown Chula Vista continues to grow more colorful and dynamic!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
San Diego Padres mascot the Swinging Friar is hanging out in Chula Vista!
You can find him on a construction wall in front of the historic Vogue Theater, which is now undergoing its big renovation. The Swinging Friar was painted by Ground Floor Murals.
The temporary wall includes other bits of street art, including a couple more images inspired by the San Diego Padres.
Around the corner, a cool Manny Machado mural is painted on the old theater’s north side. See that mural by clicking here.
Go Pads! World Series this season for sure!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
Two dwarf dinosaur glarfs have been restored in Bonita!
The glarfs, named Rumbi and Rangui, now stand behind construction fencing in front of Bonita Village Shopping Center. They appear just about ready to be set free!
According to a posted letter, Rumbi the Glarf (the yellow one) was badly hurt last year. But Rumbi’s human friend Kelly has been working to make everything all better.
Several loving messages on the fence express Get Well wishes.
A nearby plaque explains a bit of glarf history. Rangui is the blue one…
RANGUI THE GLARF
Original created in 1959 by Jerry Lee Gauss
Replication by Kelly Tracy in 2006
Rangui is the original Glarf dinosaur created by Bonita’s Jerry Lee Gauss. The story of Rangui and Rumbi was told in the 2000 Bonitafest Melodrama “When Dinosaurs Roamed the Valley” in The San Diego Union-Tribune and on Channel 7/39’s “About San Diego.” Cast and audience members raised funds to rebuild Rangui.
Unfortunately, there’s a terribly tragic aspect to this otherwise wonderful story. The 15-year-old creator of the glarfs, Jerry Lee Gauss perished four years later at the age of 19 in a car accident.
According to the RoadsideAmerica website, both glarfs were made as an anniversary present for Jerry’s parents. And here’s a little more of the history.
Fully restored, children will again be able to romp on the strong backs of Rumbi and Rangui. And so a young creator’s gift of love will live on and on.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 