My walk early this morning was a real treat. Magical, mysterious fog had crept during the night into the very heart of downtown San Diego, where I live. High skyscrapers disappeared into the gray. Please enjoy a few photos…
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Here are some fun images I photographed during my recent walk through North Park. A number of murals decorate the multi-level parking garage located just south of University Avenue, between 29th and 30th Streets.
I performed all sorts of internet searches to learn more about this artwork, but have come up with nothing. Perhaps someone out there knows something.
Anyway, I really like these simple, light-hearted graphics! They definitely add to the cool vibe of North Park. It looks to me like a very imaginative artist had lots of fun creating them!
Because these photos were taken from a bit of a distance (and some were faint), I had to adjust their brightness and contrast quite a bit.
UPDATE!
Silly me. The artist’s name is on one of the images.
These were created by Blair Thornley. Sponsored by the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego.
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If everything goes according to plan, ground will be broken in 2016 at the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages. Nine new international cottages are going to be built in Balboa Park!
The nations looking forward to having new cottages are Mexico, India, Colombia, Lebanon, Palestine, Peru, Panama, Turkey and the Philippines. While Palestine today is a community of people rather than a recognized nation with borders, like Scotland they’ll share their culture with Balboa Park’s visitors in their own unique cottage.
Nineteen cottages exist today. Nine more cottages will soon be built. But that still leaves many nations on a waiting list. Each member “House” must raise their own funds for construction, as no taxpayer money is used.
During December Nights, I took a photo of a map showing where the structures will be built. It appears to me there’s room for even more cottages in the future!
UPDATE!
I learned in July 2016 that nearly all the bureaucratic hoops have now been jumped through in order to begin construction. All that remains is approval from the San Diego City Council. It’s hoped the new cottages will be completed in 2017, just in time for the December Nights celebration!
ANOTHER UPDATE!
Now it is hoped the cottages will be completed in 2018. Apparently the construction costs have increased dramatically. And each nation must raise money to build their own cottage.
FINALLY!
Construction began in 2019! You can see one photo of the very early construction here!
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From time to time I walk through San Diego’s historic Chinatown, which is located in what is officially called the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District. The area is bounded by Market Street, 2nd Avenue, 6th Avenue and J Street. You’ll find it downtown right next to the Gaslamp Quarter.
Over the years, I’ve learned a bit about San Diego’s early history during these walks. And I’ve accumulated a few photographs. Here are some cool sights that you might enjoy. I’ve provided interesting information in the captions.
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I was pleasantly surprised this morning to see some new public artwork at one end of the Little Italy trolley station. It’s part of the new parking structure that’s being built right next to the station.
I had to peer over and through a chain link fence, but the super colorful leaf-like art immediately tickled my fancy. Upon closer examination, the multi-colored ovals that form a dazzling mosaic appear to be impressed with different tire tracks. I guess that would be appropriate for a parking garage!
UPDATE!
I’ve noticed that a small plaque installed by the artwork reads:
David Adey
Inspiration/Expiration
2015
Ceramic
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The Mason Street School was San Diego’s very first schoolhouse. It was built in 1865. In 2015, 150 years later, it’s one of the most interesting sights in Old Town San Diego Historic State Park.
The one room schoolhouse museum isn’t always open to the public. So whenever I walk through Old Town, I eagerly wander past to see if the front door is swung wide. If it is, I amble inside and look about, trying to absorb what life was like in the early days of San Diego.
I remember how the Mason Street School used to contain numerous desks. But they’ve been replaced by plain benches, to more accurately portray where a small number of students from Spanish, American and other diverse backgrounds, grade one to eight, sat together and learned how to read, write and do arithmetic.
Back in the early years of San Diego, school was held twelve months a year. Hours were 9 to 4, but many students would skip school to watch bull fights, fiestas and other exciting town doings. Many children were held out of school by their parents to help on a ranch or farm, or to work in a family store.
San Diego in 1865 was a small, isolated, somewhat ramshackle town. Mary Chase Walker, Mason Street School’s first teacher, wrote when she arrived in San Diego by steamship: “I arrived in the bay of San Diego on the morning of July 5, 1865. It was a most desolate looking landscape. The hills were brown and barren; not a tree or green thing was to be seen. Of all the dilapidated, miserable looking places I had ever seen, this was the worst. The buildings were nearly all of adobe, one story in height, with no chimneys. Some of the roofs were covered with tile and some with earth…”
Mary Chase Walker originally traveled from Massachusetts to California, in search of greater opportunity. While in San Francisco, she learned of a teaching opening in San Diego. After less than a year at the Mason Street School, however, she became embroiled in a local controversy. One day she made a kind gesture to a lady who was part African-American, but many early San Diegans had arrived from the Confederate South and voiced their disapproval. A number of students were removed from the small school in anger. To allow the scandal to pass over, Mary quit teaching and married the president of the school board, early San Diego settler and prominent merchant Ephraim Morse.
It’s hard in modern times to imagine the life and culture of San Diego long ago. But one can get a flavor of that fascinating history by stepping inside the old Mason Street School.
The nearby plaque reads:
MASON STREET SCHOOL
FIRST PUBLIC SCHOOLHOUSE IN THIS COUNTY.
ERECTED AT THIS SITE IN 1865 AND KNOWN AS
“MASON STREET SCHOOL – – DISTRICT NO. 1”
WHEN SAN DIEGO COUNTY COVERED AN AREA
LARGER THAN THREE NEW ENGLAND STATES.
RESTORED BY POPULAR SUBSCRIPTION IN 1955.
STATE REGISTERED LANDMARK NO. 538
MARKER PLACED BY SAN DIEGO COUNTY BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AND THE HISTORICAL MARKERS COMMITTEE
ERECTED 1955
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Early yesterday morning I walked down Eighth Avenue, from the top of Cortez Hill to Petco Park. Here are a few random, interesting photos…
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There are many amazing hotels around San Diego, especially downtown. Several of the hotels are located in historic old buildings. For several months, the San Diego Trust and Savings Bank Building (1928), now occupied by Courtyard by Marriott, has been undergoing outside restoration. A few days ago I noticed that much of the work has been completed, so I decided to go inside the lobby to ask a question or two. And wow!
This was my first time inside the truly eye-popping lobby. Look at the ceiling! The old bank hall, which now welcomes hotel guests, appears almost like the interior of some medieval church, with its arches, vaulted doors, medallions, bronze window grilles and a 32-foot high colorfully painted coffered ceiling. Also reflecting the building’s Italian Romanesque Revival architectural style, the grand interior contains 35 decorative columns with Corinthian capitals, chiseled from 19 different types of marble from around the world. Additionally, the walls, counters, pilasters and floor all feature rich imported marble.
The elegant building, which was constructed with the finest materials available at the time, was designed by notable architect William Templeton Johnson, who is also credited for 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 also one of the architects responsible for the San Diego County Administration Center.
I was told by a friendly front desk clerk that the restoration involved patching cracks in the building’s exterior. Looks to me like somebody did a good job!
UPDATE!
When I stepped into the hotel during the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s OPEN HOUSE 2017, I learned from a friendly event volunteer that I could head down to see the old bank’s vaults, which are now meeting rooms! Here are some photos!
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In downtown San Diego, one can enter a highly secure jail cell, then turn around and easily walk right out! How? Simply visit the old police headquarters!
The Headquarters at Seaport is the official name of a relatively new shopping center on Harbor Drive, located right next to Seaport Village. The unique complex features several fine restaurants and specialty shops, housed in a restored building that was originally built in 1939. For almost half a century–until its closure in 1987–the fortress-like building with its large courtyard was home to San Diego’s police headquarters.
Anyone visiting The Headquarters can enjoy a free glimpse of San Diego history by checking out a modest exhibit in a corridor that leads to the old cell block and some restrooms. I took photographs during one walk that you might find interesting.
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Anyone in San Diego who loves art must visit Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park. Some of the region’s finest local artists occupy its 38 working studios. By strolling around the large, colorful courtyard and poking a nose here and there, the public can see (and purchase) finished artwork of every kind, watch the creative process, and talk to the friendly artists themselves.
While at Spanish Village–if you’re the curious sort–you might also check out a small but fascinating history exhibit. Just step into Gallery 21.
Earlier this summer I was graciously given a tour of the exhibit by one of the resident artists. Here are a few photos and captions describing what I saw. Of course, it’s much better to experience Spanish Village and these memories of its history firsthand. So I encourage everyone to head on over.
The exhibit reviews how, a century ago, Balboa Park (originally called City Park) was developed and transformed into a dreamlike landscape for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. Many fantastic buildings were created, using a variety of influences from Spanish, Mexican, European Renaissance and Moorish origins. This unique mixture became what is known as Spanish Colonial Revival architecture.
Later, the successful California Pacific International Exposition of 1935 was promoted to boost San Diego during the Great Depression. It used existing buildings from the Panama-California Exposition and exhibits from the recent Chicago Century of Progress Expo. New construction designed by master architect Richard Smith Requa added a variety of buildings to Balboa Park, including those of Spanish Village. Spanish Village, as its name implied, originally recreated life in Spain, with “shops that sold art, curios, flowers, music and wine. It had a children’s theater, a Chinese Bazaar, a cocktail lounge called Cafe Granada and other restaurants. The Village was at the entrance to the Fun Zone which contained a Midway, a midget zoo, and an Indian Village.”
Today, this exhibit’s historical photographs, newspaper articles and ephemera relating to Spanish Village help visitors understand and appreciate the cultural contributions over many decades of hundreds of participating artists.
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Cool San Diego Sights! 