I walked through downtown San Diego early this morning before today’s expected midday heat. I headed through East Village and the Gaslamp Quarter and ended up near the San Diego Convention Center.
The newly risen sun was illuminating certain buildings.
I took these photos…
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The late 19th century was a transformative time in San Diego. The arrival of the transcontinental railroad and a wave of real estate speculation sparked great changes to the character of downtown. Those who walk through the Gaslamp Quarter can see many historic old buildings that were built in the 1880s.
One of those historic buildings is the Hubbell Building, located at 813-823 Fifth Avenue. Its construction began in 1886 and was completed in 1887.
Yesterday, while walking through the Gaslamp Quarter, I realized that, after almost 13 years of blogging about San Diego, I’ve never taken photos of the Hubbell Building.
So here we go…
A plaque near the front door reads:
The Hubbell Building, 1886
The Hubbell Building is a three-story brick building constructed in the Victorian style. The lower floor has been used mainly for retail, particularly clothing stores. Some of the more notable shops were The Arcade, specializing in ladies’ fancy goods, City of Paris Clothing, and George Marston’s Gentleman’s Furnishings. Marston’s was very successful in San Diego, and operated here until it moved into its own building next door. The upper floors were leased to the Grand Army of the Republic from 1904 to 1926.
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The Bonita Museum has had some huge changes in the past year. A bunch of cool public art has appeared outside the museum, including the striking blue building exterior! I enjoyed seeing it all a few days ago.
I’ve already posted photographs of two works of public art by the museum’s parking lot: the WR This Cats Smart horse sculpture that debuted in 2021, and the Inner Strength sculpture, which debuted earlier this year.
The Inner Strength sculpture was created by Chula Vista artist Michael Leaf. He is also responsible for the new blue museum exterior composed of differently cut aluminum panels, whose appearance is transformed as the day’s light changes. This unique building “skin” was created with special paint that changes hues. It’s appropriately titled Chameleon IT.
Some photographs on a fairly sunny day…
Michael Leaf has also contributed these two unusual seats, which he designed and built. They seem to be erupting vertically with energy. They’re titled Communication Chairs…
And he created this happy sculpture: Lead with Your heART!
Here’s a detailed article concerning the recent addition of public art.
Will more cool pieces be added to the Bonita Museum’s outdoor sculpture garden?
I hope so!
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The Hall of Nations building at Balboa Park’s International Cottages is in the process of being restored. The City of San Diego has repaired much of the water-damaged exterior of the historical building, and some painting is underway.
Last year I noted how sections of stucco had fallen off. I later learned that–thank goodness–the damage wasn’t as severe as it might have been.
The Hall of Nations building was constructed for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Back then it was the Kansas State building and housed exhibits and events representing the state of Kansas.
It’s good to see the city taking care of San Diego’s crown jewel Balboa Park. It appears to me more work in various places around the park needs to be done!
Thank you!
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At the southeast edge of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park stands a building with a very interesting history. Beginning in 1908 as St. Joseph’s Rectory in downtown San Diego, it was moved to Old Town in 1940 where it became Old Town Convent.
Today, Historic Tours of America (Old Town Trolley Tours) operates a gift shop inside. The building contains one part of their Old Town Market, along with the adjacent Casa De Aguirre and Carriage House. The second floor is home to a Visitor Center operated by the Old Town Chamber of Commerce.
This website explains: Originally built as the Saint Joseph’s rectory at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Beech Street in downtown, the building was moved through the streets to Old Town San Diego in 1940. Once in Old Town San Diego, the building was a seminary, convent, community center, and, during World War II, it was a USO. The building was restored in 2003 by Historic Tours of America and is registered as San Diego Historical Site Number 323.
The photos I’ve included were taken at various times over recent years.
Visitors who walk through the front entrance will discover a display that tells The Story of The Old Town Convent, in the words of Sister Catherine Louise LaCoste in the early 1980s…
…a three-story edifice known today as the Convent of the Community of the Holy Spirit… The Convent soon became the permanent quarters for the first diocesan junior seminary, called St. Francis, when eight young men moved in on November 3, 1941… Plaster soon covered the wooden structure…
…During World War II, in 1942, a group of soldiers was quartered in the basement. They prepared meals for the anti-aircraft and searchlight batteries located in the area…
…the Religious of the Sacred Heart came to San Diego to open a College for Women, now known as the University of San Diego. The sisters were given the building to use as a rent-free convent that they called St. Madeleine Sophie Barat…
In front of the building is a sign that shows a timeline of Old Town’s history. It includes this:
Curious visitors might spy this interesting plaque on one wall, too…
This exhibit exposes the original redwood clapboard siding of the Convent when it was St. Joseph’s Rectory, built in 1908. The Craftsman-style structure also featured wood shingle siding on the upper stories. When the three-story building was moved to this site in 1940 it was surfaced with stucco and painted to match the exterior of the Immaculate Conception Church across the street.
One other plaque I’ve found…
Old Town Convent Preservation
The restoration and preservation of the Old Town Convent was made possible largely due to the efforts of Carmen and Joe Toigo, Old Town residents, who by their tireless actions and advocacy saved this building from destruction.
May 2003 Historic Tours of America, Inc.
The adjacent Casa de Aguirre, with its own unique history, contains a small, little-known museum that might interest you. You can find a blog post I published about it by clicking here.
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Most visitors to Balboa Park never see this historical building. It’s situated in the southwest corner of the park, in an area called Marston Point. People who drive to the south end of Balboa Drive will see the building sitting alone behind a fence.
There’s a reason the Fire Alarm Building sits safely in isolation on a bluff overlooking downtown. When it operated between 1928 and 1970, it was the hub where signals telegraphed from the city’s many fire boxes were received, and communications made to appropriate fire stations.
The Fire Alarm Building was built in 1927. It was designed in the Spanish Colonial style by architect Robert Snyder. Snyder often collaborated with his partner William Templeton Johnson, who a year earlier designed the San Diego Fine Arts Museum, near the center of Balboa Park.
Here’s an extensive article about the Fire Alarm Building’s history.
In 1928, to equip the Fire Alarm Building, the City of San Diego purchased over $20,000 worth of fire alarm communications equipment from the Gamewell Company of Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts… There were three rows of tape-punching telegraph registers arranged on marble-topped tables. They were linked to the city’s fire alarm and police alarm boxes… A coded signal locating the particular alarm box was punched onto the register’s tape readout. The operator then read the coded message and set up the location of the alarm box on a master transmitter and sent a signal to all of the fire department’s fire engine stations throughout the city, ringing bells and turning on station lights. When selective transmissions were later installed, only those stations within the area of the fire would receive the alarm. This was affectionately known as the “silent night” program by grateful firefighters.
Today, the Fire Alarm Building is home to San Diego’s Park & Recreation Department Administrative Services section. Peer through the fence and you’ll see the handsome Spanish Colonial inspired entrance and a beautiful little garden area.
I took these photographs during many walks through Marston Point. They’ve been sitting in a computer folder. Time to share them!
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Now six days to go before Comic-Con 2026. During my final walk of the day around downtown San Diego, I spied two new building wraps and two new offsites that are just beginning to rise!
First, behind the San Diego Convention Center, the big stage for Adult Swim on the Green was being tilted up into place!
I then noticed the Hilton Bayfront’s big building wrap was being applied. What will it be? FX show American Horror Story?
Turning around, I saw a new wrap being applied to the Marriott Marquis, next to the ESRI wrap, which will be coming down very soon. Looks like Star Trek…
After crossing over to the Gaslamp trolley station, look what I found. They’re getting ready to put up this year’s Percy Jackson offsite!
I then noticed the Rings of Power wrap on Fifth Avenue is done and features Sauron. (Those balloons are from a street party for the ESRI convention, which concludes today.)
Finally, I observed the Yaga wrap on the Hilton Gaslamp is about done! There are The Vampire Lestat graphics, too.
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
Just a week until the official start of Comic-Con 2026 in San Diego. I walked around downtown and the Gaslamp Quarter late this morning to see how everything is progressing outside the convention center.
Most of the preparation right now concerns putting up huge building wraps. Regular San Diego Comic-Con goers will see similarities with past years.
Workers were putting the finishing touches on the Pendry hotel wrap promoting The Vampire Lestat…
One of the hotel’s ground floor windows is wrapped, too.
The Lodge wrap is up for Paramount+ at Happy Does…
Wraps are starting to go up on the Fifth Avenue side of the Hilton Gaslamp. Words indicate that Prime Video’s Rings of Power is being promoted…
AMC shows are represented on the hotel side facing the San Diego Convention Center.
The Walking Dead: Dead City…
Also, what I believe is Yaga…
Turning toward the Omni hotel, I noticed the Marvel’s Wolverine wrap is done…
The hotel’s Funko POPs wrap is nearly done…
Meanwhile, The Rookie’s big wrap on Petco Park is finished, but not quite the smaller one…
Abbott Elementary’s big wrap on Petco Park is looking good…
I can’t wait to see what develops next!
UPDATE!
Look who I spied after lunch…Alvin!!!
UPDATE!
By late afternoon, the Funko POPs wrap had added Star Wars characters, the Rings of Power wrap was making headway, and the Yaga wrap was more than halfway on…
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
The vampire creations of Anne Rice have returned for another San Diego Comic-Con!
In past years, these bloodthirsty creatures of the night have shown up at the Hilton Gaslamp. For 2026, I see they’ve begun to materialize over at the Pendry hotel–at least their images on a building wrap have! The wrap no doubt will promote AMC’s gothic horror series The Vampire Lestat.
Today’s the first day I noticed building wraps going up around downtown San Diego for Comic-Con 2026.
Getting excited!
UPDATE!
24 hours later, the two wraps look way cooler…
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
The first building wraps for Comic-Con 2026 are now being applied in downtown San Diego!
My first four photographs, taken early this afternoon, show graphics being applied to the Omni San Diego Hotel promoting Funko POPs.
The beginnings of another wrap on the Omni appear to have something to do with Marvel superhero Wolverine. It might be promoting video game Marvel’s Wolverine for PlayStation 5–we’ll see!
Park/12 is getting a huge building wrap, too!
It appears to promote upcoming animated feature film Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender.
UPDATE!
What I found the following late afternoon…
Looks like Petco Park is getting wraps that promote ABC’s police drama The Rookie…
UPDATE!
And the following morning (Wednesday), a wrap for the Paramount+ offsite The Lodge was going up at Happy Does…
It turns out the second Petco Park wrap is for Abbott Elementary.
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!