Tag: california

Love endures at old Oceanside cemetery.

Beloved Wife and Mother

Beloved Husband and Father

In Loving Memory

Gone, But Not Forgotten

In Memory, From Daughters & Sons

Our Little Angel

Her Love Lingers

These are a few of the loving inscriptions on stone that linger in Oceanside’s old Oceanview Cemetery.

During a recent walk down South Coast Highway, I redirected my feet and wandered through the 3-acre resting place, originally called the I.O.O.F. Cemetery, established in 1895.

As a blogger who’s always searching for interesting sights, I was wondering if some “famous” person might be buried here.

Shame on me for thinking that way. I had missed the central message of a cemetery. It’s that we all might be mortal, but loves lives on.

Are you curious about the history of this old cemetery? A State of California resource document includes:

From its inception in 1895 until about 1950, when Eternal Hills Memorial Park opened in Oceanside, Oceanview was the primary non-denominational cemetery in Oceanside. During its heyday in the 1920s, 30s and 40s there were well over 1000 burials at Oceanview… over 1100 obituaries have been compiled, by the Oceanside Historical Society, of people interred at Oceanview… Oceanview contains the remains of veterans involved in every war or conflict from the Civil War to World War II, inclusive. Those interred at Oceanview range in age from just a few hours old to Agapita Soliz whose family claimed she was 110 years old at the time of her death in 1941. Many of Oceanside’s pioneers and merchants, dating back to the 1880s, are interred at Oceanview.

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Plaque honors creative genius of Balboa Park.

Have you seen this plaque in Balboa Park and wondered about it? Located on the west wall of the California Quadrangle near the Museum of Us, it honors David Charles Collier, the prime mover behind San Diego’s 1915-1916 Panama–California Exposition.

The plaque reads:

DAVID CHARLES COLLIER

A Man of Vision–A Dynamic Leader–A Developer and Builder

A Great and Lovable Character

The Creative Genius of the Panama-California Exposition of 1915

An Inspiration to the Citizens of Today

The plaque was installed on October 11, 1936, in the second year of the California Pacific International Exposition.

David Charles Collier, often called D. C. Collier, was a real estate developer and philanthropist. He is considered the founder of Ocean Beach, where he built his home and lived for many years. He also helped to develop Point Loma, Pacific Beach, University Heights, Normal Heights, North Park, East San Diego, and Encanto.

He made many of the decisions concerning the Panama-California Exposition, including its location and style of architecture. He served as Director General of the Panama California Exposition from 1909 to 1912, and president of the Exposition from 1912 to 1914… He also chose “human progress” to be the Exposition’s cultural theme. The theme exhibit, particularly focused on the anthropology of the Southwestern United States, later became the San Diego Museum of Man, of which he was a founder.

The Museum of Man is now called the Museum of Us. It’s appropriate the plaque is located nearby.

Here’s a public domain photo of D. C. Collier from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division:

If you’d like to learn more about David Charles Collier, here’s an extensive article about the life of this fascinating man, published in The Journal Of San Diego History.

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A San Diego Milestone in Horton Square.

A plaque in downtown San Diego relates a bit of our city’s early history. It’s titled A San Diego Milestone.

You can find the bronze plaque in Horton Square, an outdoor area north of the old Horton Plaza shopping mall. (Not to be confused with larger Horton Plaza Park.)

The plaque states:

San Diego bay is a natural harbor. First sighted in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the bay was originally named San Miguel. Next visited in 1602, Sebastian Vizcaino renamed the bay after a canonized priest, San Diego, from Alcala, Spain. Seldom visited for the next 150 years, Father Junipero Sera came overland from Mexico and founded the first of the California missions in San Diego (Old Town) in 1769. The mission grew and officially became an American town in 1846.

The bay was too shallow for ships to come close in, so passengers were taken to shore by rowboat to the water’s edge and then carried to dry land on the backs of sailors or Indians. Then they were taken by wagon to town…a few miles north to Old Town. In 1867, Alonzo E. Horton first came to San Diego and was immediately convinced that “the town should be down by the wharf.”

This plaque is one of several in Horton Square. Two bronze statues stand among them.

Apparently, according to one corner of the plaque, all together these make up the Horton Walk.

Twelve years ago, back when Cool San Diego Sight was brand new, I photographed the other statues and plaques. See those by clicking here.

The old statue of Ernest Hahn has since been moved–I don’t know where. If you know, please leave a comment!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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2025 California Firefighter Summer Games in San Diego!

Fourteen basketball teams from around California are competing in San Diego. It’s the 2025 Firefighter Summer Games, and the hoops action is taking place in Balboa Park at the Municipal Gymnasium!

There are teams from San Diego, Oakland, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco, Bakersfield, Redding, Fresno, Orange County and elsewhere in California.

I’m pleased to report that today San Diego in their first game beat Orange County Fire Authority 45-41. That was the situation when I peeked into the gymnasium during my Balboa Park walk.

The Firefighter Summer Games are being held in venues around San Diego. See the event website here.

Thank you to all firefighting heroes. You are very much appreciated by everyone.

May you also be heroes on the basketball court!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Remember California mural adds beauty to Leucadia.

This very beautiful mural was painted in Leucadia by local artist Skye Walker in 2023. It’s called Remember California.

The artwork, gracing the 101 Wine Company building at 1496 North Coast Highway 101, is the result of the Paint Encinitas Mural Arts Program.

The mural is absolutely gorgeous. Notice that even the posts near the wall were painted so they fit the image.

A plaque to one side provides description.

Skye Walker’s “Remember California” mural is a visual ode to the state and its natural surroundings, amongst them being the Pacific Ocean, endless sunsets, and golden poppies. The woman figure represents Mother Nature in all her beauty, reminding us that we are responsible for protecting and nurturing her delicate, life-giving abundance. Walker hopes people are inspired by the mural not just to appreciate the natural, but also to witness the need for humans to be in balance with nature, each other, and ourselves.

…The building, originally called Ruby’s Bar, was once part of Leucadia’s early, colorful business district. Owner Ruby Nelson was known for staging dancing girls without a license, selling hamburgers to Marines, and smoking cigars soaked in Cook’s Rum. The property where the mural is located las been owned by the Georges family since 1987…

You can see an earlier version of this mural on the same building by checking out a blog post from 2019 here. That older mural is very similar, but noticeably different.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

San Diego Library’s new book bicycles!

Two very unique bicycle-driven libraries debuted in San Diego this weekend!

The San Diego Public Library was demonstrating their new “libraries on wheels” for the first time at the San Diego Lunar New Year Festival in City Heights!

Is ice cream in there? No, something better! Books!

I learned these bikes that transport books will be utilized for increased community engagement. All those cool books will also encourage people to sign up for a free library card.

This “Access in Motion” project has been supported by the California State Library, and their statewide Stronger Together: Improving Library Access program.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Presidents of the United States visit Balboa Park.

What do Woodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt have in common? These eight former, future and sitting presidents visited Balboa Park in San Diego!

A timely exhibit at the San Diego History Center celebrates the fact that our city’s crown jewel, Balboa Park, since its development for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, has acted as a magnet for United States Presidents.

The exhibit recalls how Woodrow Wilson’s speech at Balboa Stadium was the first time a president’s voice had been electronically amplified, and how FDR was the first person to ride in a car across Cabrillo Bridge.

While these different presidents might have disagreed on politics, it seems they agreed that Balboa Park was a special and very beautiful place.

Yesterday the 47th President of the United States was inaugurated. In the 21st century, how many more presidents will enjoy a visit to amazing Balboa Park?

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Visit San Diego’s great outdoors for FREE!

A library card is more valuable than you might realize! You can use your San Diego Public Library card to check out a free vehicle day-use pass for over 200 California State Parks!

I noticed this valuable information last weekend during my visit to the Rancho Bernardo Library. To receive a free pass, head over to your nearest San Diego Public Library branch and speak to the library staff.

The free pass will admit you into so many amazing State Parks, including beautiful Torrey Pines State Nature Preserve, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Silver Strand State Beach…

You don’t have a library card? Get one at your local library! Then grab a free State Parks pass!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Official tall ship of California begins Sunday sail!

Californian, official tall ship of the State of California, set out today from the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Passengers aboard the schooner, a replica of a Gold Rush era revenue cutter, began another four hour Sunday sailing adventure!

I stood on the museum’s barge out on San Diego Bay as Californian’s volunteer crew prepared the tall ship to get underway. Once well out on the water, the sails would be employed, so necessary actions were performed beforehand.

At noon, when all was ready, lines were cast off and the ship moved away from the dock by using its motor.

I don’t pretend to understand the details of sailing a traditionally rigged tall ship, but I do enjoy watching the action!

If you’d like to go on one of these Tall Ship Adventures, visit the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s website here!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

National City installs Historic U.S. Route 101 signs!

Earlier this month, National City installed seven new Historic California US 101 Route street signs. They were placed where old Highway 101, the source of many fond memories, once ran. These seven new signs join thirteen others that were installed in Chula Vista and San Ysidro near the beginning of the year.

This very cool project, which commemorates an important part of history in San Diego’s South Bay, was spearheaded by Jack Gechter of the South Bay Historical Society.

Jack indicated these new signs are located along National City Boulevard, from a spot just north of Chula Vista to a spot just south of Division Street. Here are the exact addresses:

North Bound – National City Blvd. north of C Street (just north of Chula Vista)
North Bound – 2501 National City Blvd.
North Bound – 701 National City Blvd.
North Bound – 141 National City Blvd.
South Bound – 128 National City Blvd.
South Bound – 700 National City Blvd.
South Bound – 2340 National City Blvd.

Learning this, I had to check these new signs out! I spotted six of them and took the upcoming photographs during a walk on Sunday.

Are you curious where US 101 ran south of San Diego?

This 1947 Chevron Map shows the Historic California US 101 Route starting near the US/Mexico Border in San Ysidro, and continuing north along Beyer Blvd toward Chula Vista, along National Avenue (Broadway in Chula Vista and National City Blvd in National City) to 8th Street, along 8th Street to Harbor Drive, then along Harbor Drive to Pacific Highway.

This 1933 AA Map shows a slightly different Historic California US 101 Route at the northerly end of National Avenue (National City Blvd) to 1st Street, then along Main Street.

Should you drive along National City Boulevard, keep an eye out for these new signs!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!