Remember the large, beautiful skylight above the central atrium of the San Diego Natural History Museum? It’s no more!
What you see in the above photograph is what remains of the old skylight structure. Dismantled sections of the framework now sit on the ground in a nearby parking lot.
The Natural History Museum is reconstructing its roof. No more skylight. As this NAT webpage explains, the new solid roof allows for the installation of 200 solar panels and promises better climate control to protect the museum’s valuable collections. The new roof will be easier to maintain and more environmentally friendly, too.
Visitors to Balboa Park can see the huge crane that is being utilized for the work…
…
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.
An amazing transformation is coming soon to Balboa Park!
Hopefully by Thanksgiving, definitely in time for December Nights I’m told, the front entrance of the Municipal Gymnasium will be radically altered. The historic building will more closely resemble how it appeared when it debuted in 1935 as the Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries during the California Pacific International Exhibition!
A construction fence in front of the Municipal Gymnasium was put up recently. Today I spotted workers atop the building’s marquee preparing the structure for its monumental transformation!
What will this amazing change look like when completed?
Click here and here to enjoy a preview, and learn more!
UPDATE!
A week later, I noticed the following changes. First, a descriptive sign appeared on the construction fence…
Municipal Gym Façade Restoration sign includes historical photo.
Second, markings have been made above the building’s marquee, in the space where the large bronze mural will be mounted…
ANOTHER UPDATE!
And a few days later…
…
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.
What will the city of San Diego look like 100 years in the future? I was curious how today’s generative AI might picture it.
I used the prompt “San Diego 100 years in the future” with the AI Drawing Assist on a Samsung Galaxy phone. The images that were produced were rather startling!
Futuristic buildings, exotic elevated walkways and new modes of transportation…but how realistic is it to believe such radical transformations could be made in only one hundred years? (Um…anti-gravity?)
Nevertheless, this is pretty cool!
I see identifiable aspects of the present city skyline are incorporated into images, as well as San Diego Bay. Notice how certain recognizable buildings are arbitrarily positioned or weirdly altered by the artificial intelligence?
I love how lush green vegetation sprouts everywhere including the roofs and sides of many buildings. I love how curvy and absurdly complicated some of the conjectured architecture is!
(Earlier this year, I performed a similar experiment. I used the term “Balboa Park at sunset” to produce generative AI images in the same way. The results were bizarre. This is what I got!)
Okay–now for today’s experiment. AI draws the future of San Diego…
…
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.
One might expect beach blankets on the sand and picnics on the grass around San Diego’s sunny Mission Bay. But a vineyard?
Well, yes!
A small working vineyard can be found below the patio of the Mission Bay Beach Club. With its Superbloom vegan coffee shop, yoga classes, artisan market, wine tastings and view of the nearby water, the unique gathering place is a hipster’s paradise.
The other day I walked past the distinctive building that is now home of the Mission Bay Beach Club.
As I walked past the landmark structure, which was built in 1969 by architect Richard Lareau, I recalled how decades ago it housed the Mission Bay Visitors Information Center. Travelers arriving in San Diego on Interstate 5 could exit at Clairemont Drive and learn all about our city’s attractions.
Before it eventually became the Mission Bay Beach Club, the building sat vacant for years.
In the 1980s, I used to shoot hoops at the nearby basketball courts with ordinary guys from the neighborhood. Those courts have been neglected, dismantled.
…
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.
One week to go in San Diego before the start of Comic-Con 2025! Preview Night is next Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
Not surprisingly, preparation in downtown San Diego–particularly in the Gaslamp Quarter and East Village–is kicking into high gear.
Cherry pickers everywhere! Lots of building wraps going up!
I’m always surprised at how quickly these gigantic advertisements can be applied to the sides of our downtown high-rises. They are essentially large format printed stickers. The workers are highly experienced and do an amazing job every year. Some of the guys are from Arizona; others come down from Los Angeles.
I walked down Fifth Avenue this morning, over the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge, then turned around, heading back to my nearby downtown home. I took a bunch of photographs!
First, here’s some cool stuff I saw as I headed down Fifth Avenue.
Peacemaker and Eagly have appeared along the sidewalk…
Check out this ultra-cool Hot Wheels vehicle! I assume it’s here for Comic-Con.
A shop window is painted with Batman, R2-D2 and other pop culture characters.
Outside Happy Does, workers were finishing up with the venue’s usual Paramount+ The Lodge wrap.
Workers were getting busy sorting rolls of printed “wrap segments” at the Hilton Gaslamp building.
And this is how the wrap will appear. Scream For Me!
On my return trip, I noticed they had already made a little progress…
Oh wow! What’s this at the Omni San Diego Hotel?
It’s Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle! All Out War Begins!
Coming around Petco Park, look what I spy on the Park 12 building!
This huge building wrap must’ve gone up super fast. It’s Dexter: Resurrection on Paramount+. He’s Alive and Killing It!
Looks like local artist Shirish Villaseñor is painting the windows of Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt with Pokémon characters! Every year she creates fun stuff for Comic-Con!
What’s this on the exterior of the Omni? I can see it’s a Sony movie that’s coming up.
Making my way back across Harbor Drive to the Gaslamp…
Heading back up Fifth Avenue mid-morning…
The two Daryl Dixon wraps on the Pendry San Diego Hotel appear more than halfway done!
Stay tuned!
…
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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.
A little-seen mosaic greets people walking toward the door of Cocina 35 in Liberty Station. Tiles form the words: THE SHIP’S BELL. The colorful tiles embedded in the walkway form the image of a sailor ringing a bell. Why is it here?
Liberty Station in Point Loma is the site of the old, decommissioned Naval Training Center San Diego. The buildings of the historic training center have been redeveloped, and now house restaurants, museums, artist studios and more. This mosaic can be found at Liberty Station’s Building 193, which used to be the naval base’s Enlisted Men’s Club.
The Enlisted Men’s Club would be called The Crow’s Nest, then later The Ship’s Bell. The mosaic greeted sailor recruits who wanted to get away from officers for a little relaxation and entertainment. The club was open every night and provided a variety of music and drink to anyone over 18 years of age.
Today, Liberty Station’s Building 193 is home to Cocina 35 and a variety of other restaurants and businesses.
Do you have any memories of The Ship’s Bell? Leave a comment below!
UPDATE!
I noticed this plaque near Building 193 during a later walk…
Building 193 was completed in 1941. The enlisted men’s club was a place to relax away from the officers, although the recruits were watched by the shore patrol to encourage appropriate behavior. Officers had the Chief Petty Nightclub and the Admiral Kit Club for their entertainment.
…
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.
Major improvements are coming later this year to Balboa Park, San Diego’s beautiful crown jewel!
In the park’s Palisades area, new historical markers are on the way. They’ll be placed near the entrances of the San Diego Automotive Museum, Municipal Gymnasium, and the Comic-Con Museum.
In addition, nearby lamp posts that date from the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition are to be sandblasted and restored to look like new!
Most importantly, the Municipal Gymnasium’s exterior is going to change substantially, to more closely match the building’s appearance in 1935, when during the exposition it was called the Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries. You can learn more about the changes that are coming by clicking here.
These fantastic improvements are being made through a partnership between the Balboa Park Committee of 100 and the City of San Diego.
Today some folks were meeting in the park making decisions concerning the project, including the placement of the historical signs, and the exact color of the sculptural ornamentation that will added to the front of the Municipal Gymnasium.
I stumbled upon today’s activity, learned a little about the project, and took a few photos.
At the start of September, construction fencing will appear in the Palisades and work will begin! I was told all should be completed by Thanksgiving.
The next photo is how today’s Municipal Gymnasium appeared in 1935, when it was the Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries…
Photo courtesy of San Diego City Clerk Archives.
This is how it might appear when all is said and done…
And this was observed today…
Sample ornamental panels, or sculptural blocks, were on a table and being considered today. They will be made of glass-fiber reinforced concrete.
I learned the band of ornamentation above the coming 14 feet by 22 feet cold-cast bronze relief mural will be slightly darker than the building’s current color. The ornamentation on the marquee will be more of a bronze color.
Some of the original 1935 lamp posts that will be restored!
…
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.
As I walked through downtown’s Civic Center Plaza this morning, I noticed banners on fencing near the San Diego Civic Theatre. They recall how superstars such as Diana Ross, Tony Bennett and Robin Williams have performed in the popular venue over the past six decades.
I hadn’t realized the Civic Theatre is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year!
Curious, I checked out the history of the San Diego Civic Theatre. Here it is.
Others who’ve entertained audiences at this historic venue include Frank Sinatra, Jerry Seinfeld, Conan O’Brien, Luther Vandross, Jerry Lewis, Patti LaBelle, Carole King, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. Do you have any memories?
Today, if you enjoy performances by San Diego Opera or Broadway San Diego, you are part of that continuing history!
Five years ago I went on an architectural tour of the Civic Theatre building and took photographs of the grand, elegant interior. You can revisit that blog post here.
…
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.
The bright yellow building at 510 North Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas is hard to miss. It was the original train station in Encinitas, as its appearance suggests. Today it’s home of Pannikin Coffee & Tea, a popular community gathering place.
I found few other indications of the building’s interesting railroad history: a marker near the front door (seen above) and an old Encinitas station sign.
I walked inside Pannikin Coffee & Tea and was disappointed there was so little on display specifically concerning the railroad station’s history. I asked two employees about it, who told me about the salvaged Encinitas station sign up near the ceiling.
According to this article, the original Encinitas train station was built in 1887. The building moved from trackside to its present location in the early 1970s and in 1980 became a coffeehouse.
It’s a uniquely attractive building, with its bright color and old Victorian charm.
…
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.
The San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park has plans to substantially expand. The proposed renovation of the West Wing celebrates the centennial of the museum in 2026.
A physical model of an early design concept for this new West Wing extension can be viewed today inside the museum. The design was conceived by the prestigious international architectural firm Foster + Partners, and the model is part of an exhibition that shows their other work around the world.
I got a look at the model yesterday and took some photos so you might visualize how Balboa Park might appear in the future. Obviously, this is important to everyone in San Diego.
Like other Foster + Partners projects, the design will create an experience that is spacious and full of natural light. The proposed expansion will add 37,000 square feet of gallery space, including an immersive digital space. There will also be a community engagement pavilion that will provide interactive space for artists and visitors alike.
As you can see, this large expansion will replace today’s sculpture court and garden.
Personally, I’m not really sure what to think of it.
I like the general idea, but how will this new structure fit in with the surrounding, entirely different Spanish Colonial Revival architecture? It will stand across Plaza de Panama from the much smaller Timken Museum, which also has a more sleek, modern appearance, perhaps creating a visual counter-balance.
The very first thing that struck me is how small the historic San Diego Museum of Art appears beside their wide, taller expansion. No other buildings are shown in the model such as the nearby House of Charm, but I imagine it, too, will appear small in comparison.
My main concern is how this fairly tall new structure might obscure or partially obscure views of Balboa Park’s iconic California Tower, which is arguably the most beloved sight in all of San Diego. The expansion will almost certainly hide the California Tower from people who are in the north part of the Plaza de Panama.
It also appears the design work at the sculpture court and garden by renowned modernist Malcolm Leland will disappear. You can see photographs of that in one of my past blog posts by clicking here.
Well, what do you think?
If you visit the model in the museum, there’s a nearby video that helps you better visualize how this expansion will appear, and an opportunity to leave your own comment.
Here’s a photo I took a few years ago from a short distance up El Prado. You can see the present-day sculpture court with its columns and banners to the right of the California Building’s dome.
The proposed expansion, to my eye, appears to be about three times the height of the sculpture court. So imagine that. The California Tower should remain visible down El Prado, fortunately.
…
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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 