Photo of the Spanish Revival Sessions Building in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
Yesterday morning I took some photos of the 1929 Sessions Building in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. The handsome stucco building was designed by renowned San Diego architect Richard Requa, who was the Master Architect for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition held in Balboa Park.
Other buildings that reveal Requa’s unique vision have appeared on my blog. He was one of the architects responsible for the downtown County Administration Building; he also designed the old lodge at Torrey Pines State Reserve.
The Sessions Building in Old Town was built for nurseryman Milton P. Sessions, who used it to operate a plant and ceramic shop until 1942. Today it is home to Toby’s Candle & Soap Shop, where tourists can make their own candles.
The historic Sessions Building was constructed in 1929 in the Spanish-Colonial style, designed by renowned architect Richard Requa.Sign describes history of the Milton P. Sessions Nursery building in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. For many years it served as the State Park’s Visitor Center.
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Early this morning I saw on the news that many parts of San Diego were experiencing fog. So I thought it would be interesting to head to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park for some mysterious fog photos.
Well, one end of nearby Lindbergh Field was lost in a bank of fog–but not Old Town!
I got some wonderful morning photos anyway. It was quiet, just after sunrise, nothing open, very few people around…
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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!
As I headed off to work early this morning, I felt compelled to walk down Seventh Avenue past the El Cortez.
This morning I walked down from Cortez Hill to catch a trolley for work. I had no set plan. I had ample time. Any downtown trolley station would be just fine.
My feet followed my wandering eyes.
The San Diego Symphony has a brand new banner on the west side of Symphony Towers. Find Your Music.Almost to B Street. Some cool reflections produced by the early sunlight.This reflection of a tree on windows seems dreamlike, unreal.The old Centre City Building might have peeling paint, but it still rises handsomely into the San Diego sky. One edge is touched by the morning sun.The cool old Caliente ad remains on the rear of the abandoned California Theatre building. I don’t know if it will be preserved when the historic building makes way for a new 40-story The Overture high-rise.Shall I catch a trolley at the Civic Center station? Nah. I still have plenty of time.Workers were cleaning awnings over the ground floor windows of the U.S. Grant Hotel.As I walked along Broadway past some construction, it looks like I frightened a couple of people!The brand new San Diego Central Courthouse behind the Hall of Justice provides an interesting photographic opportunity.Almost to Santa Fe Depot. Just missed a Green Line trolley. I’ll wait for the next one.
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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!
Please help the Save Our Heritage Organisation gather artifacts and memories to preserve a part of San Diego history. (Click this photo to enlarge the flyer for easy reading.)
I recently tood a photo of a flyer that I spotted in the Senior Lounge in Balboa Park. Please click the above image and read it.
Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) is seeking memorabilia, ephemera, merchandise and memories from Marston’s Department Store, which for nearly a century was the most elegant place to shop in San Diego. The department store was founded by George Marston, who is often referred to as San Diego’s First Citizen. As a civic leader and philanthropist, he was instrumental in creating Balboa Park, Presidio Park and the San Diego Historical Society.
Marston began as a clerk at the Horton House Hotel and eventually built the Marston Company, which ran a department store in San Diego. When earlier locations became outgrown, the large, elegant Marston’s Department Store on C Street, between 5th and 6th Street, built in the Renaissance Revival architectural style, opened in 1912 and became a popular downtown shopping destination. In 1961 it was sold by his family to The Broadway, which has since closed.
Artifacts related to Marston’s Department Store will be used by SOHO in a permanent exhibit inside their Marston House Museum in Balboa Park. Items that you contribute can be sent or delivered to the SOHO offices in Old Town. Recorded memories are also sought. The 2018 exhibit celebrates the 140th anniversary of the store’s founding!
Do you know anyone who shopped at Marston’s Department Store those many years ago? Perhaps they can help the Save Our Heritage Organisation with this very cool project!
George Marston, circa 1907-1908, San Diego businessman, civic leader and philanthropist. Public domain photo from Wikimedia Commons.Photo of San Diego Union newspaper from Monday morning, January 1, 1912. Depicted is a brand new Marston Department Store. The headline reads: Modern Mercantile Emporium One of Best Three on Coast.
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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!
Looking east past the Bow Wave fountain in San Diego’s Civic Center Plaza. The skyscrapers you see are in the heart of downtown’s Financial District.
When I walk through downtown San Diego, sometimes I’ll pass through Civic Center Plaza to see if anything new or interesting is going on at the San Diego Civic Theater, or at Golden Hall in the San Diego Community Concourse.
I personally have a fond memory of Golden Hall. It’s where I attended my first San Diego Comic-Con with a school friend who happened to be a huge comic book fan. I believe that was in 1982, because I remember the artist Mike Grell was there, and penciled a free detailed sketch of his creation the Warlord for my friend. Back then the initial Superman and Star Wars movies were huge sensations. Yes, that was many, many years ago!
Civic Center Plaza today contains several cool sights. So far my blog hasn’t included images of the Memorial to Alonzo E. Horton plaque and the impressive Official City of San Diego Seal in the passage under the City Administration Building. So here they are!
(You might recall that in the past I’ve posted photos of the Bow Wave fountain, the terrazzo image in the plaza of Cabrillo’s galleon sailing into San Diego Bay, and the Sister City signs. Not to mention photos of other incidental stuff encountered during walks.)
Walking west into Civic Center Plaza from Third Avenue. Golden Hall is directly ahead.Lots of people are excited that the smash hit Hamilton is playing right now at the San Diego Civic Theater.Cool photo of Bow Wave, created by artist Malcolm Leland in 1972.A few people stroll through Civic Center Plaza. Windows in the old (and many say outdated) City Administration Building rise over a passage to C Street.Charles C. Dail Concourse conceived by citizens of vision. This Community Concourse is dedicated by the people of San Diego as a tribute to culture, industry and good government, 1965.Memorial to Alonzo E. Horton, 1813-1909, founder of the new city of San Diego, 1867. Placed by the San Diego Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution in the Bicentennial year 1976.People walk toward the San Diego City Information Center past a large terrazzo City of San Diego Seal.Detail contained in the official City of San Diego Seal.
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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!
An exhibit in Petco Park shows the History of the Ballpark Neighborhood, San Diego, California.
There’s a small but very cool exhibit at Petco Park that depicts the early history of East Village and nearby blocks in downtown San Diego. During the baseball stadium’s construction, a number of fascinating artifacts were recovered by archaeologists. Each object was carefully recorded in order to preserve aspects of our city’s diverse history.
Here are some of the old photographs and artifacts that are on public display. You can find this exhibit near the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame, just to the right of the north entrance to the Padres Team Store. I learned this exhibit used to be on the third floor of the Western Metal Supply building, at the top of the escalators. But the area was rather dark and so it was moved to its present location.
Please read the captions to learn more about what was unearthed during the grading of the ballpark, and what everyday life was like in San Diego over a century ago.
Photo taken during construction of Petco Park baseball stadium in East Village. Archaeologists excavate a feature discovered during grading activities at the ballpark.After researching the immediate area’s history, the grading of the future ballpark was environmentally monitored. Artifacts that were recovered reveal everyday life in San Diego’s past.Excavated objects include jars, bottles, glass stoppers and a bone toothbrush handle. Names of medical remedies on bottles include Hamlin’s Wizard Oil and Dr. J.H. McLean’s Volcanic Oil.1906 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map depicting Blocks 136 and 137, part of the footprint of today’s Petco Park, home of the baseball Padres.From the late 1800s to the 1930s, most residents of East Village appear to have been of moderate to lower economic status, employed at blue collar jobs downtown.Other artifacts recovered during Petco Park’s construction include dolls, toys, marbles and keys.Old photograph shows East Village as it was in 1914, looking west from the 10th Street terminal.Looking south down 5th Street (now Fifth Avenue) from the roof of the 1st National Bank, circa 1910. The area is heart of the Gaslamp Quarter.Two historical photos. To the left: Pacific Coast Steamship warehouse, circa 1913. To the right: looking north up 5th Street circa 1910.Old photo of Western Metal Supply building and foundry sometime prior to 1919. The preserved brick building is now a unique part Petco Park’s structure.Fragments of earthenware jars and Chinese and Japanese ceramic tableware show Asian culture thrived in the neighborhood’s past.
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Should you walk past the intersection of Ninth Avenue and Island Avenue in East Village, be certain to gaze upward. Because your eyes will be dazzled by Indigo Waters shining in the San Diego sky!
Indigo Waters is a 40-foot blue glass panel sculpture mounted near the roof of the Hotel Indigo San Diego Gaslamp Quarter. This very cool public artwork was designed and created for the hotel about ten years ago by local artist Lisa Schirmer. You’ve already seen her work on this blog, in the form of vibrant baseball windglyphs now flying at Lane Field Park!
Lisa Schirmer’s sculpture really takes life in San Diego’s sunshine. As the sunlight changes, Indigo Waters seems to ebb and flow. Light passing through and reflecting from the 33 hand-painted glass panels produces a variety of magical effects.
The photographs you see here were taken on a couple different days. The blue glass panels are most brilliant on cloudless days in the early afternoon, right around two o’clock.
UPDATE!
Here’s another photo that I took on a super sunny day!
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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 1924 Army-Navy YMCA building in downtown San Diego, designed by architects Lincoln Rogers and Frank W. Stevenson.
The grand entrance of the historic Army-Navy YMCA building in downtown San Diego is presently shuttered from view. That’s because the structure, built in 1924 for the recreational activities of San Diego’s many enlisted military men, is being converted into an elegant new hotel on Broadway. The Guild San Diego will open in spring 2018 and promises to offer a variety of unique features, including a ballroom inside what was once the old YMCA basketball court.
Before the present construction began, I took some photos of the columns and artwork around the building’s amazing front entrance. These images have been sitting idle in my computer. Here they are for your enjoyment.
When I took this photo, the 500 West Hotel had closed. Today a new luxury destination, The Guild Hotel, is under construction. Much of the historic building will be preserved.Some beautiful sculptural work around the elegant front entrance.I believe this represents Cabrillo’s ship San Salvador, which entered San Diego Bay in 1542.Part of the very ornate front entrance to the Army-Navy YMCA building in San Diego.
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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!
Elvis and cow in front of MooTime Creamery are decked out for Christmas.
I love to walk around Coronado. It’s like taking a small vacation.
In the past I’ve posted all sorts of cool sights around the island. My adventure yesterday along Orange Avenue yielded even more fun photos!
Enjoy!
A funny Roman warrior stands guard outside Village Pizzeria.A zoom photo of the north side of the Hotel del Coronado from a block or two up Orange Avenue.A view of the elegant Spreckels Building which was erected in 1917. It’s now home to the Bank of Coronado.Fancy gold ornamentation around front entrance of the Bank of Coronado, an historical landmark.Inside the front door of the Coronado Museum of History and Art one can see a Model T Laundry Truck once used at the Hotel del Coronado.Santa Elvis at MooTime Creamery is sporting a wreath around his neck.SEAL gifts and memorabilia for sale in the window of Bullshirt. Nearby Naval Amphibious Base Coronado is home to several SEAL teams.A fun tiki-style bamboo bike in front of Holland’s Bicycles. You can rent it for a ride around the beautiful island.Beautiful autumn trees and grass in Spreckels Park.The small June Miller Garden at the base of a tall palm tree in Spreckels Park. The gazebo in the background is the setting of Concerts in the Park during the summer.A joyful Victorian house on Orange Avenue reminds those passing by that it’s the holiday season in Coronado.
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Cool San Diego Sights! 