Tag: city life

Dogs of Downtown gather in San Diego!

Another fun Dogs of Downtown event was held today in San Diego! Canines were the furry superstars on the outdoor WeWork Terrace at 600 B Street!

Downtown residents and four-footed best friends enjoyed free live music, a pup fashion show, dog-centered art, crafts and goods, and the opportunity for dog adoption. There were even VIP tickets available if you wanted your pet to be drawn by a caricature artist, have its tag engraved and more!

It was a great way for people and dogs who live at the center of San Diego to make new friends. And take a pic or two!

The tail-wagging annual event is courtesy of various supporters and the Downtown San Diego Partnership.

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Clean and Safe program beautifies San Diego!

This morning I noticed somebody freshening one of the hanging planters in downtown San Diego’s Cortez Hill neighborhood. On a ladder above the sidewalk, he was adding geraniums and other flowering plants!

It was a friendly worker from Downtown San Diego Partnership’s Clean & Safe program!

Thank you!

Lucky Lane street sign in North Park.

At either end of the 3800 block of Grim Avenue in North Park you might see a street sign. Honorary Lucky Lane.

A couple days ago I photographed the sign while walking down University Avenue. And I wondered: What makes this lane so lucky?

Well, this article provides an explanation. The block was renamed Lucky Lane last year after “Lucky” Wong, who opened Lucky’s Golden Phenix Restaurant on the corner of North Park Way and Grim Avenue in 1975.

Lucky was known and beloved by many in the community. He ran his restaurant for an incredible fifty years, kindly greeting and serving everyone, never changing his prices. Lucky died in December at 90 years old, in the restaurant where he lived.

A petition to change the block’s name to Lucky Lane quickly gathered signatures. Within weeks, more than 4,200 people signed.

North Park residents who traveled down this lane for half a century were indeed lucky. They were fortunate to have Lucky call the place home.

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Construction of Pride Promenade in Hillcrest.

The construction of Pride Promenade in Hillcrest is making great progress. I spoke to a worker and he indicated the pedestrian promenade and its new bikeways should be completed this summer.

Yesterday I took several photographs over a construction fence, north of University Avenue. The finished promenade will stretch from this location, near the base of the Pride flag, up to Washington Street.

According to this webpage of the Hillcrest Business Association: The northern anchor of the Promenade will be a restored streetcar. In recognition of the streetcars that once traveled on Normal Street, this facility will serve as a concession stand, gathering point, and information booth. There will also be a playground north of the streetcar. Check out the above webpage to see a map and learn more.

You can also purchase a custom paver to be installed in the Pride Promenade. Funds will help create the Friends of the Promenade nonprofit. Learn more about this program here.

If you’re curious about the new Eastern Hillcrest Bikeways that are being created in and around the Pride Promenade, check out this descriptive SANDAG webpage.

In the above photo you can glimpse a colorful mural that faces the promenade. I’ll be blogging about that next!

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Beautiful face replaces old City Heights mural.

Look at this beautiful, smiling face. It was painted on a wall beside University Avenue in City Heights. Back in 2019 I photographed another long mural along this wall, but little of that faded, vandalized mural remains visible.

You can find this colorful street art near 50th Street. I didn’t see a signature when I walked past it this afternoon.

When old street art passes away, inspired artists leap into action. New life springs up!

I enjoyed a big adventure today. My long walk along University Avenue included Hillcrest, North Park, City Heights . . . and continued all the way to College Avenue!

I took oodles of photographs, so lots of fun blog posts are coming up!

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Improvements coming to Escondido Creek Trail.

Yesterday, as I walked to the new Escondido Creek Trail Outdoor Art Gallery, I noticed a lot of construction.

Many improvements are currently being made to the Escondido Creek Trail!

An effort is being made to make the trail more inviting to pedestrians, bicyclists, and lovers of the outdoors.

New landscaping is coming, as evidenced by many flags in bare dirt. There are new shade structures and seating, and winding side paths. There is new paving, signage, bridge-spanning art, an exercise area, and even attractive brickwork that is being installed at one intersection!

Here’s a City of Escondido webpage that describes what I saw. It explains: This project aims to encourage safe and healthy lifestyles through an improved sense of security, enhanced street crossings, fitness and play amenities, native and CA-friendly landscaping, and further opportunities for walking and jogging in addition to improvements to the bike path. The goal is to revitalize the Creek Trail Corridor through enhanced activities and partnerships with local businesses, artists, schools, and other organizations.

My photographs were taken along a relatively short section of the Escondido Creek Trail, between Juniper Street and Fig Street…

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Painting huge murals downtown on The Torrey!

Huge, super colorful murals are being painted in downtown San Diego. Once completed, there will be four murals, one on each side of The Torrey’s new high-rise. The Torrey is located at 1200 Front Street, where the north part of the old downtown courthouse used to stand.

This morning during my walk I noticed two artists working on the east side mural. I’d stumbled upon Australian husband-and-wife visual artists who go by the name DABSMYLA. They’re out of Los Angeles. Here’s their website. That’s them in the above photograph!

Two murals are finished, they’re now working on the third, and I was told a fourth will be painted on the south side of the building, once the old courthouse bridge over B Street is demolished.

Super cool!

These first photos show the mural they’re working on presently, on the building’s east side. All of their artwork is full of bold imagery from nature, including San Diego’s beautiful coast.

On the north side…

And on the west side (where there’s some new, interesting stump art on the sidewalk which I’ll blog about)…

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Balboa Park art exhibit celebrates Logan Heights.

This weekend you have one last chance to experience a very special exhibition of art in Balboa Park. Members of the San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild are exhibiting work that celebrates the history and culture of Logan Heights and other neighborhoods along Imperial Avenue east of downtown San Diego.

One Day in the Life on Imperial is the title of the exhibition, now on display in Gallery 21 of Balboa Park’s Village Arts Center (still known widely as Spanish Village).

Last month, at the TULAROSA gallery, I visited the first version of this exhibition. It has greatly expanded and moved since then, and many more diverse artworks are now collected together for visitors to enjoy!

The art you’ll encounter shows what life is like along historic Imperial Avenue. Families and shopkeepers, happiness and struggles–every aspect of a community is the subject matter of local artists who walked the street, absorbing all they experienced. Many of the resulting pieces are energetic and colorful.

One Day in the Live on Imperial continues through Monday, April 20th, 2026. If you’re heading to Balboa Park this weekend, you ought to swing by!

A few examples…

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Join the Arbor Day Tree Planting in Balboa Park!

Join friends, neighbors and others in the San Diego community this Arbor Day for a tree planting in Balboa Park!

On Friday, April 24th, between 9 and 11 am, volunteers will help plant new trees in Balboa Park.

Help the environment and add even more beauty to our beloved park! Have a fun time! No experience necessary!

You can learn more about this event and sign up (by April 19) by clicking this link.

A sunny Easter walk through Balboa Park!

Today is Easter. It’s spring. The sun is out in San Diego. A perfect day for a leisurely walk through Balboa Park!

What did I encounter?

Second day of the Makers Arcade on Balboa Park’s West Mesa.
People enjoying yoga near the lawn bowling green.
Flowers are in full bloom at the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden.
Vendors at the San Diego Turtle and Tortoise Society’s Annual Show and Plant Sale.
A tortoise in Room 101 of the Casa del Prado.
The Spring Exhibition of Art inside the Village Arts Outreach Gallery.
Here comes the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad!
Many native flowers are showing color along the San Diego Natural History Museum’s Nature Trail.
Beautiful butterflies and a ladybug inside the San Diego Sculptors Guild courtyard.
A small bird enjoys the green grass growing near the Botanical Building.
It’s busy inside the Botanical Building on a sunny Easter day.
The new pergola west of the Botanical Building is looking good!
Uh, oh! Somebody forgot their bunny ears!
Free roses made of corn husks offered by a street performer.
Happy Easter in a window at the International Cottages.
Looks like Quinceañera photos are being taken at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.
Some cool cars and lowriders have arrived in the park.
Spring beauty at the Alcazar Garden in Balboa Park.

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