I was walking through downtown Vista today when I stumbled upon the North Pole!
The stately First National Bank Building at Main Street and Citrus Avenue is now encircled by merry holiday decorations! Nearby, a sign points to the North Pole!
I suppose Santa was greeting kids among those candy canes a couple weekends ago. This year I missed the Vista Christmas Parade.
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If you ever driven down Catalina Boulevard in Point Loma, and wondered about some colorful public art on the façade of City of San Diego Fire Station No. 22, here are a few photos that you might enjoy!
These four vertical murals, together titled Firefighters, were created in 2018 by Roberto Delgado. Silkscreen and airbrushed porcelain tiles form abstract, layered images of Point Loma firefighters fighting fires in the community, at different times in history.
The artwork is based on historical and contemporary photographs. On the left, eyes can’t possibly miss the Old Point Loma Lighthouse! I also see a tall ship down in San Diego Bay, and what appears to be a tuna fishing boat. If you can discern more than me, leave a comment!
The fire station was dedicated in 2018, replacing an old station built back in 1942.
Just for fun, I also took a couple of photos with the electrical box directly in front of very cool Fire Station No. 22!
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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!
Día de los Muertos is again being celebrated with an altar at the San Diego County Administration Building.
For 2022, the altar has greatly expanded. Composed of many sections, the altar now fills almost half the outdoor plaza on the east side of the building.
Numerous loved ones who’ve passed on are being remembered this year.
I happened to photograph the altars the past two years. Though equally moving, in size they were small compared to the 3rd Annual Altar de Muertos that I observed today.
It appears the Día de los Muertos tradition at the San Diego County Administration Center is strong and growing.
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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!
Right now there is a whole lot of construction activity along downtown San Diego’s waterfront.
Today, during a walk along the Embarcadero, anyone could observe new buildings rising, an aircraft carrier’s hull being inspected, a cruise ship pier being reinforced, and an iconic San Diego landmark being painted!
First up, check out how quickly the buildings of the Research and Development District (RaDD) are rising!
The five new bayfront buildings will be grouped around the U.S. Navy Region Southwest Headquarters building, which itself was completed two years ago.
I learned from a USS Midway Museum volunteer that the Midway’s hull is inspected and cleaned every year.
The extensive operation consumes a substantial part of the aircraft carrier museum’s budget.
There are numerous sealed inlets in the enormous ship’s hull where saltwater from San Diego Bay might invade. There is also algae and other marine growth to be removed below the waterline. It’s part of a vital hull preservation program.
As I approached the B Street Pier today, home of the Cruise Ship Terminal, I observed a huge drill and other ponderous machinery.
I’ve learned the structural stability of the pier is being improved.
The Port of San Diego project is technically described as curtain wall repairs and backfilling. Don’t ask me exactly what that means!
Lastly, the landmark 1938 County Administration Building’s new paint job continues.
The sections that have been finished look great!
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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!
The Torrey Pines Lodge has been welcoming visitors for nearly 100 years. In 2023 the historic adobe building, nestled in the beauty of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, will celebrate its centennial!
When I visited the Torrey Pines Lodge this weekend, several docents told me that plans are now being made for observing its centennial. I hope to attend public celebrations next year!
As I walked through the old building, which today serves as a Visitor Center, I viewed a few displays concerning its history.
I’ve taken photographs for you to enjoy. (If you’d like to see more of the Lodge’s interior, and several of it’s museum-like exhibits, check out an old blog post here.)
The San Diego Union newspaper article, dated January 1, 1923, describes the new Beautiful Adobe Lodge.Tableware from the days when the Torrey Pines Lodge served as restaurant.Dinner was one dollar! Motorists on their way through to San Diego or Los Angeles could also purchase Mexican and Indian rugs, blankets, pottery, baskets, etc. at the Lodge.The Torrey Pines Lodge was dedicated on April 7, 1923.
In the summer of 1922 when construction began on the Torrey Pines Lodge, this area consisted of a treeless and windswept sandstone bluff.
Miss Ellen Browning Scripps, a noted San Diego Philanthropist and the sole contributor to the acquisition of what was called at the time, “The Torrey Pines City Reserve,” donated the funds to build the Torrey Pines Lodge…
…Architect Richard Requa was noted for his pueblo and Mayan style of architecture, and designed many buildings in San Diego’s Balboa Park…
The Lodge was built from sun baked adobe bricks, made on the construction site from local clays. Miss Scripps also brought Hopi Indians from the Southwest to aid in the making of authentic adobe bricks…
The Lodge and its restaurant opened to the public in February of 1923 and was an immediate success, perhaps due to its stunning scenery and location adjacent to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Highway…the main road between Los Angeles and San Diego until the mid-1930’s…
…the Lodge was a favorite day trip…as well as being a popular stop for tour buses of the era. The Model T Fords of the 1920’s found the highway’s steep grade a challenge…
Old photographs shows dining tables on the Lodge’s front terrace.The beautiful Torrey Pines Lodge in 2022. Some restoration work is visible.A wooden plaque inside the Lodge.The Torrey Pines Lodge is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
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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!
If these photos appear strangely dark, that’s because I’ve increased contrast to bring out the details of a badly faded mural.
This large old mural was painted on the south side of the Hazard Center shopping center in 1996 by an artist whose signature is Duff. The artwork faces the San Diego River and is exposed all day long to the sun.
That building you see in the mural is the Junípero Serra Museum. It stands across the river several miles to the west. The museum’s tower (which is often mistakenly thought to be the San Diego Presidio) can be seen rising above trees from various spots in Mission Valley.
Do any of you know who the artist Duff is? I can find nothing by searching the internet. I documented another Duff mural in Mission Valley, which was painted beneath Friars Road, here.
Please leave a comment if you know anything more!
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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 old downtown San Diego Superior Court building that once stood on Broadway was demolished over two years ago.
On the vanished courthouse’s large city block a 37-story mixed-use tower, called West, has risen. The project is now rapidly approaching completion.
New windows installed on the building’s exterior have brightened downtown with more mirror maze reflections!
I took these photographs today as I walked west on Broadway, then north up Union Street beside the Hall of Justice toward San Diego’s five-year-old Central Courthouse.
On a sunny day the blue sky seems painted on the shining glass!
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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!
In mid-September I noted colorful new trashcans are being placed in the various neighborhoods of downtown San Diego. The one’s I photographed back then celebrate the Business District and Cortez Hill.
Today, during a downtown walk, I noticed additional new trashcans that celebrate East Village and the Columbia District!
These colorful trashcans are being placed on street corners by the Downtown San Diego Partnership’s Clean and Safe program.
Here’s what I spotted today…
The East Village trashcan design features Petco Park on one side and a flowery East Village mural on the other.
(To see photographs I once took of the actual flower mural, click here.)
The Columbia District trashcans depict three prominent downtown buildings: Emerald Plaza, One America Plaza, and the Santa Fe Depot. On the other side is an image of the America Plaza trolley station at night.
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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 performance in the Ford Bowl (now the Starlight Bowl) during the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park. No known copyright restrictions image from Flickr.
The historic Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park has been out of operation since 2011. The organization Save Starlight has been working diligently to bring this beloved open air amphitheater back to life!
If you’d like to lend a hand, consider signing this online petition. Add your voice to others who urge the City of San Diego to grant Save Starlight a lease, so that they can begin the needed renovations and finally open to the public!
I added my name to the petition a moment ago. Will you?
You, too, can sign the petition, or learn more about the project, 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!
The fascinating history of Carlsbad includes its very first church, St. Michael’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church, built in 1894.
St. Michael’s By-the-Sea is located on Carlsbad Boulevard at Christiansen Way, a block south of Magee Park.
During a recent adventure in San Diego’s North County, I walked around the church’s original structure, which stands by several other later buildings.
I paused to read this plaque…
The first church built in Carlsbad was St. Michael’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church. Originally erected in 1894 overlooking the ocean on Oak Avenue, the quaint Gothic structure was moved to its current site in 1959 when Florence Shipley Magee donated an adjacent site for a new church.
Original redwood paneling, oak pews, and a Victorian pump organ are all still in good condition. The only alterations are a new entry, replacing one which led directly into the choir area at the front of the chapel, and a new heating and air conditioning system.
Far from being a relic of the past, the chapel is used for regular Sunday and weekday services as well as for weddings and funerals.
PLAQUE COURTESY OF THE CARLSBAD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
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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!
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