Tag: buildings

Inside the historic Portuguese U.P.S.E.S. Chapel.

Today I enjoyed a look inside a beautiful Catholic chapel in Point Loma. The historic U.P.S.E.S. Chapel, located on Avenida de Portugal, was open to curious visitors for the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s 2019 OPEN HOUSE SAN DIEGO.

The small, nearly one hundred year old chapel stands in a neighborhood that once was the home to many Portuguese tuna fishermen. Many families that have descended from these seafaring fishermen still call this part of San Diego their home.

U.P.S.E.S. comes from União Portuguesa Açoreana Sociedade do Espírito Santo, which in English means the United Portuguese Azorean Society of the Holy Spirit.

According to the U.P.S.E.S. website, this building “was completed and inaugurated in 1922. The design of the Chapel is a facsimile of those that exist on the island of Terceira, Azores and follows the design of the chapels of that era. The interior reflects the design of the chapels that were found in the tuna vessels of that era. Today, as it was intended in 1922, the Chapel is used to house the Crown of the Holy Spirit during the Festa do Espirito Santo celebrations. On Pentecost Sunday, devotees of the Holy Spirit visit the Chapel to pray and offer a donation of money or Portuguese sweetbread to assure the continuation of this time honored ethnic religious celebration.”

The chapel stands adjacent to the United Portuguese SES Hall, directly across the street from the Portuguese Historical Center.

After walking up some steps and looking at memory-filled commemorative pavers, I stepped inside the chapel and took photos of its modest, elegantly beautiful interior.

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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 fine morning walk down Ash Street.

These photos are from early this morning. I pulled out my camera and began walking west down Ash Street from the top of Cortez Hill. I ended near the trolley and railroad tracks, just north of the Santa Fe Depot.

Over the years my blog has shown many of these downtown buildings. Often I provide description. Today I just want to share what it’s like to walk down Ash Street on a clear spring morning.

Here we go…

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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!

Magical light transforms Old Town backyards.

After work I got off the trolley at Old Town, crossed Congress Street, and headed into the State Historic Park. With the recent return to Daylight Saving Time, there’s an extra hour of light for a leisurely walk.

At first I wasn’t sure what I would photograph. Then, minutes before the sun might disappear behind the horizon, I found myself lingering near the backyards of several very early San Diego houses.

It was the golden, almost dreamlike light that caught my eyes.

I walked along a quiet pathway that passes behind a row of historic structures, including Colorado House, La Casa de Machado y Silvas, U.S. House and San Diego House.

These backyards, back porches and gardens always appear a bit timeworn and scraggly, but the late light magically turned them into something wholly new.

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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!

Samples of fascinating architecture in San Diego.

The San Diego Architectural Foundation’s 2019 OPEN HOUSE SAN DIEGO event is coming in two weeks! The public will be invited to freely tour over 100 locations around San Diego. Some of the tours will provide behind-the-scenes looks at some truly unique and fascinating architecture.

In anticipation of the big event, I thought I’d recall a few past blogs posts that concern architecture in San Diego. Most of these posts are from OPEN HOUSE tours in the past couple years.

Click the following links to enjoy:

An architectural masterpiece in San Diego.

A short architectural tour of the Santa Fe Depot.

Architecture and light at Timken Museum of Art.

A quick peek inside St. Paul’s Cathedral.

A tour inside the historic Spreckels Theatre.

Photos behind the scenes at Copley Symphony Hall!

Elegance and history at downtown San Diego hotel.

History comes alive during tour of Spanish Village.

Salk Institute architect Louis Kahn: an amazing exhibit!

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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 silvery, sparkling tree in Little Italy.

Stand in certain spots on the North Embarcadero, look east toward Little Italy, and your eyes might be dazzled by a sparkling tree on a large wall.

The glittery abstract tree decorates the west side of the Broadstone Little Italy building, near the corner of Grape Street and California Street. The branches of the mirror mosaic rise above train and trolley tracks. As the sun descends toward San Diego Bay, the silvery tree really shimmers and shines.

I’ve learned that the artist’s name is Stephanie Clair and that her piece is called The Shimmer Tree!

The Shimmer Tree, public art in San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood by Stephanie Clair.
The Shimmer Tree, public art in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood by Stephanie Clair.

UPDATE!

Here’s a pic I took a couple years later over the railroad tracks from a different angle…

IMG_7665z

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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!

Giant seashell sculpture is a Growing Home!

A child of San Diego sits in an enormous sculpture of a living seashell, a Growing Home.
A child of San Diego sits in an enormous sculpture of a living seashell, a Growing Home.

Some amazing public art was installed in East Village about a week ago!

Growing Home is an enormous stainless steel sculpture of a sea snail’s living shell. Laser-cut into the upward coiling shell are notable events from San Diego’s history. The sculpture can be found on the east side of Park Boulevard near Petco Park and the downtown Central Library. It stands at the new Park 12 – The Collection luxury apartments.

Growing Home was created by Joe O’Connell and Creative Machines and is made of stainless steel with LED lighting. Creative Machines produces interactive and monumental art for clients around the world. They are based in Tucson, Arizona.

The shell represents the ever-growing city in which we live. As history has progressed, the shell has grown and grown.

I took these photos after a rain shower, so the large wet stones arranged next to the seashell seem to lie glistening on a beach!

Growing Home rises as public art at Park 12 - The Collection, new luxury apartments in San Diego's East Village.
Growing Home rises as public art at Park 12 – The Collection, new luxury apartments in San Diego’s East Village.
Growing Home, 2018, Joe O'Connell and Creative Machines, stainless steel and LED lighting. A city's history grows like the shell of a marine mollusk.
Growing Home, 2018, Joe O’Connell and Creative Machines, stainless steel and LED lighting. A city’s history grows like the shell of a marine mollusk.
History becomes an essential part of an ever-growing city--a city that is home to many.
History becomes an essential part of an ever-growing city–a city that is home to many.
Growing Home features headlines of events that have shaped San Diego history.
Growing Home features headlines of events that have shaped San Diego history.
The lattice dome of the San Diego Central Library rises beyond Park Boulevard.
The lattice dome of the San Diego Central Library rises beyond Park Boulevard.
Moments in history are preserved as words written in the growing shell.
Moments in history are preserved as words written in the growing shell.
Moments in San Diego history become part of our lives. The city is our home.
San Diego history become part of our lives. The city is our home.
The coiled, elongated shell of a sea snail is a Growing Home. Sit inside on a small bench for a fun photo!
The coiled, elongated shell of a sea snail. Sit inside on a small bench for a fun photo!
Growing Home rises at Park 12 - The Collection, in San Diego's East Village near Petco Park.
Growing Home rises at Park 12 – The Collection, in San Diego’s East Village.

UPDATE!

Seven years later(!) I took a photo 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!

From tiny seeds grow towering things.

I was walking through downtown San Diego this morning, on my way to catch the trolley for work, when I noticed that a store owner had written on their window: A giant sequoia tree is the result of one tiny seed.

As I looked about, the only gigantic things I could find were surrounding buildings.

Then a startling truth occurred to me.

Even the most towering skyscraper is the result of one tiny seed . . . in the human mind.

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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!

Evening magic at Embarcadero Marina Park North.

This evening, just before sunset, I walked around Embarcadero Marina Park North.

Here are some photos of the magic…

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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!

Changing light at Tuna Harbor.

The following series of photos represents a span of time from about 45 minutes before sunset to about 10 minutes after sunset. I took these shots this evening.

I lifted my camera periodically as I sat on a bench beside Tuna Harbor, on San Diego’s beautiful Embarcadero.

It was interesting to watch how the light would subtly change.

Our world’s inexorable journey through space and time gradually transformed Tuna Harbor’s fishing boats, the water and the sky, and various downtown buildings.

I took these photos as I sat working on a new short story. I’m pretty sure it will be titled Light at the Edges.

I hope the story will be finished to my satisfaction in the near future. When the words feel right, I’ll publish them here.

More visual complexity downtown.

My camera was busy yesterday.

Not only did I take some magical photos of Balboa Park after work, but before work I snapped cool, complex images of downtown San Diego.

My eyes were searching everywhere as I walked from Eighth Avenue on Cortez Hill west down Ash and Beech Street.

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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!