A segment of Fifth Avenue in downtown San Diego will soon have a dedicated bike lane. I paused to watch work on the separate new lane as I walked to a trolley station this morning.
This particular project is on the north edge of downtown. The segment you see in my photos will connect with the already finished bike lane in Bankers Hill, which is a short distance farther north.
Once everything is completed, bicyclists will be able to safely head up Fifth Avenue, from downtown through Bankers Hill to Hillcrest.
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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!
Colorful art painted high on a building on Chula Vista’s Third Avenue.
Two years ago I walked along Third Avenue in downtown Chula Vista during the annual Lemon Festival. At the time I took a few photos of murals and public art that I happened to notice. To see those photographs, click here.
Last weekend I walked along Third Avenue again and discovered all sorts of cool sights that are either new or that I hadn’t seen previously. (Or, in the case of the street clock and big landmark sign, that I hadn’t thought to photograph.)
As you can see, downtown Chula Vista has a very friendly vibe. And the village appears to be getting even more inviting. I noticed that improvements along Third Avenue’s median are underway.
Forgive me if I don’t know who created much of the artwork. All of it is very cool, however!
Inspiring mural painted by Jorge Mendoza in Chula Vista. This is a message of strength and love.Cool sculpture that I spotted in front of an office occupied by attorneys.Chula Vista mural on Davidson Street with the names of local businesses and residents. I believe this was also created by Jorge Mendoza.This tasteful little mural is at the entrance to Groundswell Brewing Co.Abstract paintings by Rich Walker in the window of Art on Third.Beneath a window at Art on Third. I see a red door and I want to paint it black.A large colorful mural at the Third and F office and retail complex.A street clock near the intersection of Third Avenue and F Street in Chula Vista.The street clock was dedicated on April 28, 1984.The arching Third Avenue landmark sign welcomes visitors to Chula Vista’s historic downtown.According to a plaque on its base, downtown Chula Vista’s Third Avenue landmark sign debuted on September 5, 2003.Fun graphic in the window of Teriyaki Grill.Check out the unique, attractive architecture of the El Primero Boutique Hotel!Old photo on AT&T building shows a scene from Chula Vista’s early history.I spotted this graffiti wall a block east of Third Avenue at Alvarado Street.Cool sculpture near intersection of Third Avenue and H Street in Chula Vista.
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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!
Volunteers for a community clean-up gather in City Heights for the Global Day of Caring.
I’m honored to know an unsung hero in City Heights. Carlos Quezada, co-founder of Love City Heights, has been named by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez an Unsung Hero for the 80th Assembly District!
Carlos has been working diligently for years to celebrate and revitalize the diverse east San Diego neighborhood of City Heights. He’s the driving force behind the “drive-through art gallery” on University Avenue between I-805 and I-15 that I’ve blogged about for a couple of years now.
Carlos has brought many great artists and muralists together with school students and community businesses and organizations to paint a picture in City Heights of a bright now and even brighter future. It’s amazing how one positive, energetic person can have a tremendous impact on their community!
And you know what true unselfishness is? I was going to take Carlos’ photo once and he modestly rebuffed my attempt. The only photograph of Carlos that I’ve posted until now is the one you see above. See the guy in the very back wearing a Love City Heights T-shirt? That’s him!
Congratulations to Carlos Quezada!
Yet another mural is being painted today, and I’m about to head out my door to see it!
UPDATE!
I finally got a photo of Carlos! That’s him on the left. To the right is Melody De Los Cobos, the Artistic Director of Love City Heights. She’s a super cool artist who is well known in the local arts community!
Carlos Quezada and Melody De Los Cobos of Love City Heights.
I was looking at the website of the San Diego History Center yesterday when I noticed a cool project they’ve undertaken.
The History Center is looking for San Diego residents to document their personal stories regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
The recorded experiences–in writing, video or audio–will be preserved by the San Diego History Center and become part of their permanent collection. Years from now, when people want to understand what this unusual moment in history was like, they’ll be able to refer back to your own unique story.
Questions you might answer include “How has COVID-19 changed your daily life?” and “How is your neighborhood/social circle responding to the crisis?” and “Has COVID-19 changed your perspective about living in San Diego?”
If this project piques your interest and you have something to say, go to the History Happening Now! website and Share Your Story by clicking here!
This morning, as I walked through downtown along Kettner Boulevard, I had to pause for a few moments in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.
Right smack dab in front of my eyes was some of the most amazing contemporary art.
What I saw was fantastic, complex, perplexing, sublime. The artwork contained numberless potential meanings, contrasts, mysteries. And it was created by the thoughts, longings and creative hands of thousands.
As clouds moved and the sun rose and a truck turned in front of me, I realized it was living art. And dangerous.
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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!
Face painted on temporary outdoor seating at Pokez Restaurant.
I went on a random zigzagging walk through East Village late this afternoon and found some artwork that I don’t believe I’ve already shared, even though some of the street art is obviously years old and faded.
I walked south from Broadway down Tenth Avenue, east on F Street, and south again along Park Boulevard to Market Street, where the last photo was taken. And there’s a good reason to be excited by that last photo!
I then proceeded to the Quartyard, where I photographed a bunch of cool new murals, but those will be in the next blog post!
Colorful parrot in window of Seven Seas Tattoo.
East Village painted on a sidewalk electrical box.
Cool street art face on F Street in San Diego’s East Village neighborhood.
Your Fate is in Your Hands. Palmistry is illustrated at East Village Psychic Healing Center.
This street art is really old and faded, so I increased the photo’s contrast.
This mural is amazing but a couple of years old, by Gloria Muriel and Dave Persue. For some reason I’ve never taken a photo until today.
Another very cool (and colorful) mural by the same two artists was on the above wall years ago. See it here!
I only got a glimpse of the above mural, because a construction fence won’t let the public into a courtyard area between the big, soon-to-open downtown UC San Diego Extension building and its adjacent residential tower.
Does this mural’s style look familiar? It’s by world-renowned illustrator and muralist Rafael López! His studio is just down the street!
Once the public gets access, I’ll try to get good photos. Plus there appear to be other murals in that courtyard!
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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!
Can your spirits be lifted by an old faded mural in a city alley?
Of course!
I spied a smiling sun and moon near the intersection of University Avenue and 46th Street in City Heights. The enduring message: WE RISE BY LIFTIN.
And I smiled, too!
UPDATE!
I received a comment by Amber M Jahn that provides information concerning this great mural:
You forgot the beauty painted on the alley side of building at 47th and University. The entire wall was first painted by Amber Jahn in about 2017 in which she writes the message “We Rise by Lifting Others” then 2 years ago half the wall was covered, erasing the word Others, and adding a noon to the existing sun…so now it says “we rise by Lifting”….I’d love to see a community day of free hot dogs and get a few local bands to play while the mural is updated, refurbishing the sunshine and adding the word Others to complete the project right. I personally funded the first mural, it would be cool if a lift could be procured for the tallest areas of the building since my 12 ft scaffold only reached 17 feet of the 21ft wall and has been left unfinished as a result. (I’m only 5’2” and did all the work alone one summer while living in a minivan on University Ave. It was a good way to keep my mind distracted from the crisis I was currently enduring. I like that I’ve received messages from local parents thanking me for giving their children something positive to look at on their way to and from school everyday. My pleasure!!
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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!
The East Village restaurant Neighborhood closed for renovations earlier this year. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, they have yet to reopen.
I walked past their boarded-up windows this afternoon and saw a mural had been painted on them. After a little searching on the internet, I see that artists Joshua and Ezra Andrade created the artwork last month.
Positive messages in the mural, which includes images of fighting, a knife and brass knuckles, include Ego is not Your Amigo, Better is Possible, Regulate Impulses, and Hood Must be Born Again!
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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!
Last year in December I walked around San Ysidro and took photos of street art near the Mexican border. See those images by clicking here.
During a walk in the same area this morning I headed farther up San Ysidro Boulevard and found even more colorful art. All of the following photos were taken between Willow Road and Cottonwood Road.
Except for the very first photo above! That fun artwork was painted some time after my earlier walk. It’s beside the Burger King near the intersection of San Ysidro Boulevard and Camino de la Plaza.
These images capture the life and spirit of San Diego’s bustling border community!
Colorful artwork in San Ysidro by renowned muralist Victor Ochoa, known for his work in Chicano Park. I’ve been told this small mural depicts the artist’s family.
Mural in San Ysidro by Los Angeles artist Sand 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!
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!
A couple weekends ago I walked a very short segment of the Sweetwater River Bikeway, from Hoover Avenue west to the Pier 32 Marina. You can revisit those photos here.
Today I returned to the Sweetwater River and walked east along the bikeway from Hoover Avenue all the way to Plaza Bonita.
I was struck by the contrasts.
The rocky-sided river channel, as seen looking down from Interstate 5, appears almost barren, but when you walk along the bike path you notice many plants among the broken rocks, and the ones that are deep-rooted were very green in the summer sunlight.
During the day bicyclists and runners passed me by as I slowly walked, and the nearby busy westbound lanes of U.S. Route 54 sometimes came into view. But late at night, the scene is obviously very different. There was graffiti which increased as I progressed east to Interstate 805. There was trash and frequent evidence of homelessness. As I came into the vicinity of Interstate 805, I passed several active homeless encampments. And the graffiti spoke of gang activity, with references to drugs and death.
But as I headed east, the river also became more alive. A marshy wetland appeared with discarded shopping carts and happily paddling ducks. Trees began to flourish along the banks, and eventually grew so thick they concealed a river full of reeds and lush greenery.
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 