The shapely, elegant beauty of Balboa Park’s Botanical Building is returning!
San Diego’s iconic wood and steel structure, which was badly in need of repair, is in the process of being rebuilt.
I took these photographs today. Compare them to photos I took months ago. You can view those here.
New wood lath now forms the airy roof of one wing. When it was built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, Balboa Park’s amazing Botanical Building was one of the largest lath structures in the world!
I can’t wait to see it finished!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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Two huge events are coming to Balboa Park in March. The amazing Cherry Blossom Festival and the epic Thursday Club Rummage Sale are just days away!
Pink cherry blossoms have begun to appear in the Lower Garden of the Japanese Friendship Garden. When the Cherry Blossom Festival opens later this week, walking through the cherry trees will be like walking through a dream. The event always attracts a large crowd. There’s Japanese food and entertainment, too! It’s a good idea to arrive early.
The 2024 Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 7 – 10. Learn all about it at the JFG website by clicking here.
The second big event is the Annual Rummage Sale of the Thursday Club. For 2024, the rummage sale will be held in the Municipal Gymnasium, which is located between the Comic-Con Museum and the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
Arrive early for this one, too! The massive event, billed as San Diego’s Largest Rummage Sale Since 1927, attracts thousands of bargain-seekers. You’ll find gently used furniture, decor, clothing, electronics, collectibles, art, books, music, you name it!
Doors will be open Saturday, March 9, from 9 am to 4 pm. On Sunday, March 10, you can swing by from 10 am to 2 pm. Click the Thursday Club website here to learn more.
Proceeds from the rummage sale go to very good causes:
The Thursday Club, a group of volunteers dedicated to educational, cultural and civic community involvement and leadership for over 100 years in San Diego, has returned almost $2 million to Balboa Park and the community through club activities… Each year, half of the proceeds of the sale go to benefit a variety of programs and projects within Balboa Park, and half goes to support non-profit organizations in the San Diego community.
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
The epic Bay to Park Paseo is a 1.7 mile long, art-filled walking experience that is now being created in downtown San Diego!
Many creators and designers will soon be installing unique artwork along the Bay to Park Paseo, which celebrates the designation of San Diego/Tijuana as World Design Capital 2024!
Most of the new art will be installed along Park Boulevard, up a corridor that connects San Diego Bay to Balboa Park. The Bay to Park Paseo will start at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, cross the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge, and run up the east side of Petco Park, continuing north up Park Boulevard.
Many of you know a lot of old art can already be found along this long corridor!
I’ve photographed most of it over the years.
Here are a few photos of preexisting art on the Bay to Park Paseo…
To enjoy blog posts that feature preexisting art along the Bay to Park Paseo, click the following links. I’ve arranged these links from south to north. (Check the bottom of each blog post for the approximate date I took the photos.)
Some of the painted artwork you see in these old blog posts has since faded, been replaced or badly marred by graffiti.
An idea! Before the Bay to Park Paseo officially opens, perhaps original artists could be contacted in order to restore some of this great old art!
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Visitors to the Timken Museum of Art in San Diego have the rare opportunity to observe conservators working to restore and preserve a fine art masterpiece!
Two expert conservators have been working on François Boucher’s gorgeous Lovers in a Park (1758) in one of the museum galleries, and the public is invited to watch and ask questions on Fridays from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm.
When I swung by the Timken during my Balboa Park walk last weekend, I noted the conservation effort was in Week 18–nearing its end. So you might want to drop by very soon.
Visitors stand at a safe distance from the nearly 8 foot tall French Rococo painting. For almost seven decades Lovers in a Park has been displayed, and with time it has become somewhat discolored.
A sign explains how surface grime has been removed, old varnish has been removed, and there has been a deep grime removal. All the old overpaint has been removed, and a synthetic resin protective varnish has been applied. The current phase of work is inpainting–where colors are matched and areas of paint loss are filled with conservation pigments.
Read more about the Timken Museum of Art’s conservation program here.
On the opposite wall, a large graphic divides the painting into quarters, demonstrating how the canvas was carefully examined before conservation efforts using visible light, ultraviolet light, infrared reflectography, and X-radiography.
Anyone interested in art really should check out this special “interactive” exhibition. You’ll probably learn a lot!
You can read about the Timken’s current exhibitions by clicking 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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
A big Chinese New Year event is taking place this weekend in San Diego!
The Year of the Dragon, 2024, is being celebrated at the Chinese New Year Festival in Balboa Park. Hosted by the House of China, plenty of fun, cultural entertainment and ethnic food awaits families at the International Cottages!
I visited today and took a bunch of colorful photos that you might like.
The annual Chinese New Year event in Balboa Park always attracts a huge crowd. The list of performers is long–there is music, fan dancing, theater, and a traditional, crowd-pleasing Chinese New Year’s lion dance, of course!
Unique gifts, crafts and Chinese calligraphy lessons can be found among the many booths. There’s enough going on to keep the family occupied for much of the afternoon. Grab a dumpling, a boba tea, a good seat on the lawn, and enjoy!
The event continues tomorrow, Sunday, February 18, from 11 am to 5 pm.
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Three years ago I posted a blog titled Balboa Park’s hidden Australian Garden. You can read it here.
I’ve learned the San Diego Floral Association has downloadable maps of this large, little-known garden. The two maps show where different species of plants and trees (that were donated by the government of Australia for the United States Bicentennial) are planted.
Click here for a .pdf map of the Australian Garden’s lower area, which stretches along Paseo del Oro in Gold Gulch. There are different species of Acacia, Brachychiton, Eucalyptus, Grevillea, Melaleuca, and many others.
For a map of the upper area, where you can observe more beautiful plants below Presidents Way, click 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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Black History Month is being celebrated at the San Diego History Center throughout the month of February. Special displays honor African American artists, families, trailblazers and champions in San Diego. And there are fun educational activities for young people, too!
Did you know that Audrey “Mickey” Patterson-Tyler was the first Black woman to win an Olympic medal? And that she in her later years lived in National City? I didn’t know.
Did you know that quilts played an unexpected role in Black History? Harriet Tubman used quilts to display secret codes along the Underground Railroad, guiding slaves to freedom. Kids exploring the exhibit can color or add stickers to their own special paper Story Quilt.
As I read various signs, I was reminded how the San Diego History Center partnered with the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Arts six years ago, to feature the work of local Black artists. I blogged about that event here.
There’s so much in the exhibition to absorb: historical photographs, biographies, a display about local struggles for civil rights, and a display concerning Martin Luther King Jr. and his visit to San Diego.
Want to check it out? The San Diego History Center is located in the heart of Balboa Park, Admission is free!
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
This beautiful Anti Slavery Quilt is in the collection of the Women’s Museum of California. The quilt is now on display at the San Diego History Center, in celebration of Black History Month.
I was surprised to learn yesterday that the Women’s Museum, located for many years at Liberty Station, moved. It now makes the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park its home!
The quilt is by D’Andrea Davis Mitchell. A nearby sign explains how in the 1970s quilting experienced a revival and became considered work of both craft and art. Inspired artists have used quilting to challenge perceptions of gender roles and the African-American experience in US history.
The Anti Slavery Quilt is part of a larger exhibition inside the San Diego History Center that can be viewed all this month.
My next blog post will show a bit more of what you’ll experience should you walk through the History Center’s door in February!
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Comic book artists and writers of African decent gathered in Balboa Park at the WorldBeat Cultural Center. They greeted fans and sold their work during a very cool Black History Month event!
So many creators arrived from Southern California and across the United States that the WorldBeat Center was packed wall to wall, with exhibitor tables spilling outside onto the patio. I was amazed at the size of this event, and excited by the unbounded creativity.
Black Comix Day is organized by local artist Keithan Jones, the writer and artist behind KID Comics. His philosophy is the Kid In you never Dies. He conceived of The Power Knights when he was himself a kid, and has gone on to publish mind-blowing professional art.
Yesterday I walked past the exhibitor tables and spoke to many of the comic book and graphic novel creators. You can see the positive energy and enthusiasm simply from my photos!
Check it out!
Poster for Black Comix Day at front door of the WorldBeat Center in San Diego.Marcus D. Newsome is a comic book artist, animator, illustrator and creator of Lightning Strike. Check out his website here.Eugene Randolph Young is an artist, illustrator, graphic designer and educator. He is inspired by indigenous lore, cyberpunk and Afrofuturism. He’s fascinated by artificial intelligence, too! Check out his website here.Some cool comic artwork by Eugene Randolph Young!The Surge Series is full of great Afrofuturistic cyberpunk artwork by Mike Haynes-Pitts. Check out his Instagram here.JSPR BLVK Entertainment’s table at Black Comix Day. Lil Red is a cool coloring book for kids that teaches safety! The website is http://www.jsprblvk.comJamaal A. Harley is the writer/creator of Royal Oak Comics. Check out his website here!Cool artwork displayed at the Royal Oak Comics table.A look inside the colorful WorldBeat Center during Black Comix Day 2024.Andre Owens is a creator/writer who produced Force Galaxia–Cosmic Tales of Adventure! See his Hiro Unlimited website here.Andre Owens told me that creating The Bovine League has been a lot of fun. Super-powered cows from Switzerland, The Bovine League, must go on a global quest to find the stolen Cosmic Udder and the Four Teats of Matter.KolaNut Productions has produced all sorts of cool content, including animation, that is filled with African magic, ancient folklore, and the NeoAfrican Universe. Check out their website here.Cool artwork everywhere you turn at Black Comix Day 2024!These three friends are bursting with smiles and creativity. They represent Thingamajig Studios! I love their groovy artwork. Check out their website here!UjuBeam displayed by creator Jared Lipscomb. amateur entomologist and founder of Hud Bug Comics. Super-powered insects! Check out his website here!The awesome smile of an artist creating her first comic book! I learned of her page on Facebook: mind of madness art, but could not find it! I wish I had asked more questions! (If anyone has more info, leave a comment!)Fun artwork at Black Comix Day 2024.David Phillips is the creator of Agents of S.O.U.L. As a kid, David was inspired by his Mom! Why don’t you draw some superheroes that look like you? Check out his website here!In Agents of S.O.U.L, non-super-powered heroes battle super-powered villains! Technology and science provide Black and Brown empowerment.Jason Reeves of 133art has produced many comic book titles full of Black heroes. There are comics for both kids and adults! Check out the website here!Keithan Jones works on commissioned artwork during Black Comix Day 2024.Creativity unites lovers of life and art.
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
If you love great art, and you’ve never experienced the annual Small Image Show in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center, you’re missing out!
In 2024 this popular event is celebrating its 48th anniversary. Small works of art by about a hundred artists from all around San Diego County fill the walls of Gallery 21. You’ll find juried paintings, sculptures, and works in other media. The pieces are so small that dozens cover almost every wall, competing for your attention. There are many bold colors and beautifully detailed images. A few tiny pieces appeared to have been created using a magnifying glass!
When I visited today, a couple of very friendly artists were greeting everyone who entered the gallery. They are happy to answer any questions.
The exhibition is free, the art is for sale, and Gallery 21 is open 11 am to 4 pm every day. The 48th Annual Small Image Show continues through February 25.
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Cool San Diego Sights! 