The sun was newly risen this morning as I walked through downtown. I meandered through East Village and the Gaslamp Quarter, and eventually ended up at the Convention Center trolley station.
Slanting rays of early sunlight reflected from the windows of surrounding buildings. Warm light slipped down sleepy streets and alleys, painting a golden morning.
Early morning light illuminates face inside a window of the Sparks Gallery.
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This morning, as I walked through downtown along Kettner Boulevard, I had to pause for a few moments in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.
Right smack dab in front of my eyes was some of the most amazing contemporary art.
What I saw was fantastic, complex, perplexing, sublime. The artwork contained numberless potential meanings, contrasts, mysteries. And it was created by the thoughts, longings and creative hands of thousands.
As clouds moved and the sun rose and a truck turned in front of me, I realized it was living art. And dangerous.
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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!
Carved likeness of a famous naturalist at UCSD’s John Muir College. The college motto is Celebrating the Independent Spirit.
I was a student at UC San Diego’s John Muir College in the early 1980’s. Every so often I’ll walk through the campus and try to recrystallize those memories. But the older I get, the hazier those memories become.
My walk through UCSD yesterday did make it clear how, after nearly four decades, everything about the university has changed. The explosion of growth is ongoing. New buildings are everywhere. Muir College–once one of UCSD’s most esteemed pillars along with the original Revelle College–is now just a small part of a sprawling university that’s considered one of the best in the entire world.
It’s summer. Almost nobody could be seen as I walked around. That is, until I reached the north edge of John Muir College. Construction workers were busy.
The two enormous parking lots that I remember between Muir and Marshall Colleges are being transformed into what’s called the North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood. And I learned from a friendly worker that the two new dormitory buildings near North Torrey Pines Road will be finished in a couple of weeks! Other impressive buildings, which include new academic centers—one for Social Sciences and one for Arts and Humanities–will be completed in a month or two!
The new North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood is to become the home of Sixth College.
Six colleges now?
Time marches on.
Campus sign details the legacy of famous naturalist, environmentalist, explorer, and nature writer John Muir, advocate for America’s national park system and one of the founders of the Sierra Club.A grove of tall eucalyptus trees near the center of John Muir College, where there’s an emphasis on individual study.McGill Hall behind trees of an outdoor common area.It’s summer. School’s out. And there’s the ongoing coronavirus pandemic situation, too.A John Muir quote on a banner. How fiercely, devoutly wild is Nature in the midst of her beauty-loving tenderness.To the north of John Muir College, multiple large buildings will be finished in the near future.Banner on fence shows rendering of the new North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood.Part of UCSD’s large expansion near North Torrey Pines Road.A student dormitory building that will be finished in two weeks.
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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!
Front of the original San Ysidro Library, built in 1924.
The first public library in San Ysidro was built in 1924. It still stands on San Ysidro Boulevard, between West and East Park Avenue.
I happened to walk by it last weekend.
The building is small compared to the modern, much larger San Ysidro Library on Beyer Boulevard that opened a year ago. But the smaller scale of this original library provides much of it’s charm. The modest architecture with its graceful curves is also welcoming. Had this little library been open, I would’ve stepped right inside.
Instead, I walked around the outside and took a few photos.
THE PEOPLE OF SAN YSIDRO RECORD BY THIS TABLET THEIR APPRECIATION OF THE GIFT OF THIS LIBRARY BY BLANCHE H. AND FRANK B. BEYER – AUGUST 31, 1924An iconic El Camino Real Bell stands near the historic San Ysidro Library on San Ysidro Boulevard.Plaque at base of El CAMINO REAL BELL – Dedicated October 1, 2010.View of east side of the original San Ysidro Library.The graceful, welcoming front of the first San Ysidro Library.
UPDATE!
I’ve learned there once was a World War II Memorial in front of the old library, but it mysteriously disappeared! You can watch an episode of Ken Kramer’s KPBS show About San Diego titled San Ysidro Mystery by clicking here!
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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!
Looking southeast across beautiful Glorietta Bay Marina in Coronado.
Check out these scenic views from the second level of the Glorietta Bay Marina Building in Coronado!
To the east you can see the many boats docked in Glorietta Bay, the green trees of Coronado Municipal Golf Course beyond, and tiny glimpses of distant downtown San Diego.
To the south lies the Coronado Civic Center and its Glorietta Bay Park Promenade. There’s some public art that way. See photos of a beautiful fountain here and crazy rooftop sculpture here.
To the west rise the ten white Coronado Shores condominium towers.
And finally to the north, you can see public art titled “Imagine Tent City” which I once blogged about here, plus the distinctive former Hotel Del Coronado Boathouse, with its Victorian architecture–now home to Bluewater Boathouse Seafood Grill.
The Glorietta Bay Marina Building was dedicated in 2009. Wonderful views surround it.
Plaque near stairs to outdoor second level of the Glorietta Bay Marina Building.
Looking northeast. In the distance rises part of San Diego’s downtown skyline.
Looking south toward Coronado’s City Hall and Civic Center.
Two of the Coronado Shores towers to the west. Just beyond, unseen, lies the Pacific Ocean.
To the north you can see Coronado public art titled Imagine Tent City.
And you can also see the Hotel Del’s historic Victorian boathouse.
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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!
A very unique historic building stands at the southwest corner of Sixth Avenue and Broadway in downtown San Diego.
The Samuel I. Fox Building, built in 1929, always attracts my attention when I walk by. It’s earthy colors seem to change depending on the time of day, due to shifting sunlight and shadow.
The Samuel I. Fox Building was designed by renowned architect William Templeton Johnson, who also masterminded the San Diego Museum of Art and Natural History Museum buildings in Balboa Park, the Serra Museum in Presidio Park, and the La Jolla Athenaeum. He is one of several architects responsible for the San Diego County Administration Building.
He also designed the extraordinary San Diego Trust and Savings Bank Building, which stands directly to the north across Broadway. You can see photos of that building, where William Templeton Johnson kept his office, here.
A Gaslamp Quarter plaque near the Samuel I. Fox Building’s entrance describes its history:
Entrepreneur Samuel Fox built this four-story structure for a half of a million dollars. It was intended to accommodate his Lion Clothing Company, which was the sole tenant until 1984. It boasts 16-foot ceilings, antique oak wood paneling, heraldic lions in full relief, and an over-hanging tile roof. The building was recognized as an artistic masterpiece and a merchandising success.
A few days ago I took these exterior 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!
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 latest addition to San Diego’s beautiful Embarcadero is about to open. The new Portside Pier, a 4-in-1 restaurant and public observation deck operated by Brigantine, is set to open this Tuesday, July 28!
I’ve been watching the construction of this unusual dockside building for well over a year. You might recall I posted some photos late last year here. The Portside Pier is located directly next to the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s historic tall ship Star of India.
This new bayside eatery replaces the much-beloved Anthony’s Fish Grotto, where many San Diegans enjoyed great seafood meals and a view of the sparkling bay for 70 years. Before it was demolished, I blogged about good old Anthony’s Fish Grotto here and here. I blogged about its demolition here!
Portside Pier features four eateries: Brigantine Seafood and Oyster Bar, Miguel’s Cocina, Ketch Grill & Taps, and Portside Coffee & Gelato. The new structure has a fair amount of outdoor seating, which I suppose allows them to open during the current coronavirus pandemic restaurant restrictions.
I look forward to walking up onto the public observation deck and grabbing something to eat in the near future!
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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!
Another avid walker and blogger, icelandpenny, saw my post from yesterday and noticed a colorful building in one photograph.
This morning I walked through Little Italy past that unusual building to get a closer look.
Seen from one side, the coloring of the building’s front on Union Street is a little bit like a crazy quilt. In my opinion, the cheerful way it has been painted is both a lot of fun and uniquely attractive!
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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 old Anton Mayrhofer Residence, located at 2nd Avenue and Cedar Street. The small Victorian house has been designated City of San Diego Historical Landmark No. 299. Anton Mayrhofer was born in Austria in 1856.
Early this morning I photographed a variety of interesting things as I walked west from Cortez Hill to the Little Italy trolley station.
An unexpected religious encounter as I cross an intersection heading toward the trolley station.
Bougainvillea against a wall.
Another person on another journey.
We Stand Together in the Wildflower Salon window.
The Circus Girl in another window.
The architecturally interesting new The Continental Lofts building in Little Italy.
Tiny potted plants inside hive-like hexagons in front of Queenstown Public House.
Half-covered smiles.
Those huge wooden doors at the now permanently closed Indigo Grill.
A mysterious paper collage on top of a sidewalk electrical box.
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 