Tag: buildings

Late sunlight creates magic in Balboa Park.

Balboa Park is magical at any time, but as nightfall approaches, and the last rays of golden sunlight touch buildings and trees, the magic flames, becomes even more powerful.

I got off work early today and used the extra bit of daylight to walk about the park and take photographs.

These are the best…

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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!

Do you love Balboa Park, too? Check out my other website Beautiful Balboa Park!

A morning light show downtown!

Those who live and work downtown experienced a fantastic light show this morning!

All anyone had to do was look up!

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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!

Photos of downtown, with sprinkles!

Our first storm of the season was tapering off this morning as I walked around downtown.

Here come photos of a damp city . . . with occasional sprinkles!

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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!

Christmas trees appear in downtown San Diego!

A bright, happy Christmas tree has appeared inside the Donut Bar.
A bright, happy Christmas tree has appeared inside the Donut Bar.

Many colorful Christmas trees have suddenly popped up all around downtown San Diego!

Step into the lobby of any elegant hotel or large office tower and you’re sure to be dazzled!

This morning and evening I walked through downtown searching for Christmas trees to photograph. A couple of my photos turned out a bit grainy due to dim lighting, but hopefully you get the sense of how amazingly beautiful many of these trees are!

I also got pics of some fun ornaments in shop windows!

One of the slender Christmas trees adding holiday cheer to the north entrance to the 701 B Street office building.
One of the slender Christmas trees adding holiday cheer to the north entrance to the 701 B Street office building.
A large Christmas tree has appeared in the lobby of the Wells Fargo building. When I dropped by in the morning it hadn't been decorated yet.
A large Christmas tree has appeared in the lobby of the Wells Fargo building. When I dropped by in the morning it hadn’t been decorated yet.
A beautiful, shining Christmas tree in the grand lobby of One America Plaza.
A beautiful, shining Christmas tree in the grand lobby of One America Plaza.
One of several creative, elegant Christmas trees in the lobby of The Sofia Hotel.
One of several creative, very elegant Christmas trees in the lobby of The Sofia Hotel.
San Diego sand dollar and disco ball ornaments inside the window of Best of Gaslamp.
San Diego sand dollar and disco ball ornaments inside the window of Best of Gaslamp.
One of the dazzling Christmas trees in the posh lobby of the historic US Grant Hotel
One of the dazzling Christmas trees in the posh lobby of the historic US Grant Hotel.
A simply magnificent Christmas tree in the lobby of Symphony Towers.
A simply magnificent Christmas tree in the lobby of Symphony Towers.
A gorgeous Christmas tree inside the luxurious Westgate Hotel.
A gorgeous Christmas tree inside the luxurious Westgate Hotel.
A snowy Christmas tree inside the west entrance of the 101 W. Broadway office building.A snowy Christmas tree inside the west entrance of the 101 W. Broadway office building.
A snowy Christmas tree inside the west entrance of the 101 W. Broadway office building.
A funny surfing Santa ornament in the window of San Diego Trading Company!
A funny surfing Santa ornament in the window of San Diego Trading Company!

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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!

Windblown banners on a November day.

A windy day in November.

Banners all about the Broadway Pier fluttered and billowed in the sunlight.

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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!

New sights on a morning walk downtown.

A colorful canvas in the window of James Watts' studio on Seventh Avenue. I don't recall seeing this cool artwork before.
A colorful canvas in the window of James Watts’ studio on Seventh Avenue. I don’t recall seeing this artwork before.

This morning I walked south down Seventh Avenue, from the top of Cortez Hill to Petco Park.

I was happy to spot some new (and old) cool sights along this stretch of downtown San Diego. So I took photographs!

Some street art recently painted on a sidewalk utility box. I Love Downtown San Diego.
Some street art recently painted on a sidewalk utility box. I Love Downtown San Diego.
Complex reflection in the windows of the building at 701 B Street, which has undergone some upgrades.
Complex reflection in the windows of the building at 701 B Street, which has undergone some upgrades, including this west entrance.
Looking north up Seventh Avenue through San Diego's Financial District.
Looking north up Seventh Avenue through downtown San Diego’s Financial District.
Crane swings a load above the Bosa Tower construction site, with the old Hotel Churchill sign in the background.
Crane swings a load above the Bosa Tower construction site, with the old Hotel Churchill sign in the background.
Advertisements peeling from a construction site fence.
Advertisements peeling from another construction site fence.
A huge mural is now being painted on the rear of the Moxy San Diego Gaslamp Downtown! It appears to depict the Gaslamp Quarter.
A huge mural is now being painted on the rear of the Moxy San Diego Gaslamp Downtown! This cool new mural appears to depict part of the Gaslamp Quarter.
Reflections on the shiny Sempra Energy building, with the historic old 1887 Clermont Hotel in the foreground.
Morning reflections on the shiny Sempra Energy building, with the historic old 1887 Clermont Hotel in the foreground.
A new shirt with a West Coast State of Mind, in a window of the Padres Team Store in the old Western Metal Supply Building.
A new shirt with a West Coast State of Mind, in a window of the Padres Team Store, which is located in the Western Metal Supply Building.
Palm trees reflected in the glassy, very modern Omni San Diego Hotel.
Palm trees reflected in the glassy, very modern Omni San Diego Hotel.

UPDATE!

I took a photo of the Moxy mural days later when it was finished…

IMG_1180z

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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!

Strange beauty of a brick wall downtown.

Stand at the corner of India Street and A Street in downtown San Diego, turn north, and you’ll probably notice an old brick wall on the other side of a parking lot. Approach the wall and you’ll see a complex mosaic of paint and mortar. Like the brushstrokes of a painting, they tell a unique story.

I’m under the impression this building was once a soda bottling plant. I posted a couple photographs of the Hires Root Beer graphics five years ago 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!

Another colorful walk around East Village!

The final words of the famous poem Invictus, outside the entrance to Invictus Fitness. I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
The final words of the famous poem Invictus, painted near the entrance to Invictus Fitness. I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.

I enjoyed an aimless walk around East Village on Saturday. My camera found a variety of cool sights! Some old and some new!

As you can see, there are all sorts of new high-rises under construction in this dynamic part of downtown San Diego.

I walked past the Quartyard at its new corner on Market Street. It’s a couple blocks east of where it used to be. I’ll be posting those fun photos shortly!

Colorful banners along the side of Urban Discovery Academy in East Village.
Colorful banners along the side of Urban Discovery Academy in East Village.
Abstract cat on a sidewalk chalkboard.
Abstract cat on a sidewalk chalkboard.
A cool new mural by Michael Brooks Chandler on the side of a building at 13th Street and J Street.
A cool new mural by Michael Brooks Chandler on the side of a building at 13th Street and J Street.
The 23-story K1 San Diego luxury apartment building is currently under construction just east of the downtown Central Library.
The 23-story K1 San Diego luxury apartment building is currently under construction just east of the downtown Central Library.
Mission Brewery has been located in the old Wonder Bread Building for years now.
Mission Brewery has been located in the old Wonder Bread Building for years now.
This odd, rather memorable mural has also been on the north wall of the building at 1400 L Street for many years. I know nothing about it!
This unusual, humorous mural has been on the north wall of the building at 1400 L Street for many years, too. I know nothing about it!
Pinnacle on the Park rises above the south entrance to Fault Line Park.
The recently completed Pinnacle on the Park rises above the south entrance to Fault Line Park.
Colorful new residential high-rises beyond one of the two silvery spheres at Fault Line Park in East Village.
New residential buildings rise beyond reflections in one of the silvery spheres at Fault Line Park.
An artistic blonde peers out from a shop window in East Village!
A blonde peers out from a shop window in East Village!

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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!

Glorious sunset seen from Santa Fe Depot!

The sunset this evening was absolutely glorious.

I was walking along the long train platform of San Diego’s downtown Santa Fe Depot when the clouds began to really blaze. Fantastic light reflected from the windows of nearby high-rise condos and several hotels to the west. As night fell, dramatic color crowned dark palm trees.

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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!

An architectural landmark in University Heights.

Last weekend I enjoyed an easy walk through University Heights. My small adventure included a close look at an architectural landmark that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Teacher Training School Building–San Diego State Normal School. Today the monumental old building, located inside the San Diego Unified School District’s Education Center Complex, is officially designated Teachers Training Annex 1.

The 1910 building, built by engineer Nathan Ellery and architect George Sellon, is in the Italian Renaissance Revival Style. According to the Save Our Heritage Organisation website: “It is the only structure remaining from the 1897 San Diego State Normal School’s University Heights campus, the forerunner to present day San Diego State University. Originally functioning as a living laboratory for student teachers, it was transferred to the City of San Diego Schools in 1931 and served as the original Alice Birney Elementary School until 1951.”

Many in the community hope to see the historic building renovated and transformed into a new University Heights library, replacing the small branch library on Park Boulevard a couple blocks to the south.

Here are some 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!

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