Tag: aztecs

Let’s Go SDSU Aztecs!

Who would have believed the SDSU men’s basketball Aztecs would be one victory away from a national championship?

Tomorrow the San Diego State University Aztecs face the University of Connecticut Huskies for all the NCAA Tournament marbles. The Aztecs are underdogs. Which means they are poised for another hard fought victory!

What an accomplishment to even reach the Final Four. But now there’s a chance for SDSU to absolutely shock the sports world.

I thought it would be fun to head to SDSU by trolley late this morning to see what I might see. I walked through the center of the campus, past Viejas Arena, past frat houses and local businesses, hoping to find excited banners, posters, hand made signs, anything expressing school spirit during this incredible historic event.

Nothing.

Yes, I know it’s a Sunday and the Aztecs advanced to the title game only yesterday. But the Final Four is a week old. If there are any signs of school spirit now decorating the campus, I completely missed it.

I just saw the above sign at a preschool across Montezuma Road.

I do know for a fact that there are a whole lot of fans out there! So Let’s Go SDSU Aztecs!

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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!

Aztec mural on Escondido tortilleria.

A bold new mural recently debuted in Escondido. The colorful artwork, painted by local artist and teacher Charlie Mejia, depicts six ancient Aztec symbols: Malinalli, Atl, Ehecatl, Ollin, Xochitl and Quiahuitl.

You can find this public art on the north side of Tortilleria Santacruz, beside the Escondido Creek Trail bike path where it intersects with Rose Street, south of Washington Park.

When I was told about this new mural, I also learned internationally renowned muralist Mario Torero, one of the founders of Chicano Park, will soon be decorating a nearby wall!

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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!

Colorful mural enlivens Barrio Logan fence!

Check out this awesome mural in Barrio Logan!

The symbolic artwork was painted on a wooden fence on Logan Avenue south of Evans Street. I spotted it yesterday.

The local artist is Jessica Petrikowski (@artbypetrikowski). Very colorful Aztec imagery is accompanied by two hummingbirds. I believe that’s Quetzalcoatl on the left and his rival “opposite” Tezcatlipoca. The pair of touching hummingbirds are of the same two colors. Throughout the mural, sprouting green life rises from the earth.

This mural was painted a little over year ago. The spray paint art that previously decorated this same fence was also by Jessica. You can see a photo of that old mural among others in this blog post.

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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!

Aztec Village before first game at Snapdragon Stadium!

Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley officially opened today! The SDSU Aztecs are beginning their 2022 football season today with a big game against Arizona!

Before the game, a fun, festive Aztec Village was attracting a huge crowd of students, cheerleaders and fans outside the new stadium!

I watched as thousands streamed in from the Stadium trolley station, which also opened today, after a long closure due to the surrounding construction. I noticed that the river park and other areas around Snapdragon Stadium are very far from completed.

I hope to check out the new San Diego River park with its James Hubbell public artwork once it opens! Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, enjoy photos of all the “Grand Opening Day” fun outside Snapdragon Stadium!

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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!

The new Aztec Stadium rises!

San Diego State University’s new Aztec Stadium in Mission Valley is rapidly rising!

I took some photos in late April and you could see back then how the construction had just begun. Now huge supporting steel beams for the stands and stadium lights can be easily seen from Friars Road!

I took these photographs from the southwest side of the stadium late this afternoon.

UPDATE!

A week and a half later I took the next series of photos. My walk continued along Friars Road on the north side of the new Aztec Stadium.

I encountered someone else gazing over the construction site fence. He remarked the stadium was going up quickly. I had to agree!

ANOTHER UPDATE!

Here’s a photo I took one early morning in mid-September, 2021…

AND…

A photo I took from the east side in early October…

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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!

Cool skateboard murals at Chicano Park Skatepark!

Today I headed to Chicano Park to look for a recently painted mural. A friend that I know from work told me about it. Searching among the dozens and dozens of colorful murals in Chicano Park, I’m afraid I couldn’t find it! But I’ll ask her about it again and make another attempt in the near future. (UPDATE! Turns out she was mistaken.)

As I walked at the southwest end of Chicano Park, I circled around the popular skatepark which is located under the Coronado Bay Bridge. The Chicano Park Skatepark was created in 2015 with a little help from San Diego skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and his foundation.

And check out what I spotted! Four cool skateboarding murals that I’d never seen before!

The small murals face the various quarter pipes, ledges and rails where youthful skaters were riding back and forth and performing tricks.

I saw an Aztec performing a handplant, and indigenous peoples Día de los Muertos skeletons skating up and down the bridge’s concrete pillars, too!

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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!

The new Aztec Stadium begins to take shape!

This afternoon I headed over to a spot west of the SDSU Mission Valley construction site. I was curious to see if San Diego State University’s new Aztec Stadium is taking shape yet.

It is–but the work is still in a very early stage!

I took these photographs from a distance. You can see where some lower level seating in the stadium will be.

If you want to see a rendering of the finished Aztec Stadium, and compare it to the construction so far, click here.

Because I work nearby, I’ll occasionally swing by in the future to check on the stadium’s progress and update my blog with new photos.

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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 colorful murals on 43rd Street.

I spotted these two very colorful murals while walking down 43rd Street in southeast San Diego. Both contain symbolic elements.

The first, combining Aztec imagery with humor, I saw at 43rd Wash & Wax…

The second mural I discovered at the corner of 43rd Street and Boston Avenue. It includes an image of President Obama paired with what I believe is the Egyptian god Horus as a royal falcon…

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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!

Colorful mural full of Aztec imagery!

I love this super colorful mural. It’s jam-packed with elaborate Aztec imagery!

I saw it as I walked down Main Street at the intersection of Vesta Street. The artwork adds life to a corrugated steel wall outside G & A Automotive. I believe it was painted fairly recently, but I don’t know the artist.

Additional artwork can be seen inside the auto repair shop’s small yard, but there was a No Photography sign. You’ll have to swing by to see it all for yourself!

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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!

Demolition of San Diego Stadium is underway!

San Diego Stadium, built in 1967, once home of the baseball Padres and football Chargers, which has been known over the decades as Jack Murphy Stadium, Qualcomm Stadium, and most recently SDCCU Stadium, is presently being demolished!

I walked down Rancho Mission Road this afternoon to take a couple of photographs through a construction fence surrounding the old stadium parking lot.

I see the big mural at the back of the scoreboard titled The Fan Game, by artist Mario Uribe, is still standing. If you want to see photographs of this cool sports mural from earlier this year, click here.

Eventually the area occupied by the stadium and its parking lot will be transformed into a huge extension of San Diego State University. I’ve heard the new campus referred to as either SDSU West or SDSU Mission Valley. A new 35,000 person capacity Aztec Stadium will also be built at this site, as well as a beautiful new river park.

To read more about the project, click here.

UPDATE!

Here are more photos I took a couple weeks later. Most of the mural is gone, and a larger chunk of the stadium is missing!

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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!