Oh my goodness! What is this impressive new structure being built in Balboa Park? With those elegant columns, is it some sort of ancient Greek temple?
No! It’s the new pergola that will stand west of the Botanical Building!
The Botanical Building Pergola recreates one of twelve pergolas that originally graced Balboa Park during the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. And you can tell already that it’s going to be amazing!
The historical pergola that’s being recreated in Balboa Park is making great progress! Just a quick post to show what I observed yesterday.
Trees have been planted behind the structure. Steps are being installed in front of it. Columns are appearing. Looks like other features are on the way, too!
This pergola recreates one built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition–but since long gone. The structure is rising near the west end of the Botanical Building, at the perimeter of the new Central Gardens, which are also now being developed.
When all is finished, it’s sure to be beautiful!
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
If you’ve recently traveled on the Green Line of the San Diego Trolley between the Morena/Linda Vista and Fashion Valley stations, you’ve seen renewed construction activity to the north of the tracks. That half of the old Riverwalk golf course is being replaced by Riverwalk San Diego, a massive project now under development!
I saw all this activity through the trolley window a couple days ago and took several photos.
If, like me, you’re curious about this project in the heart of Mission Valley, check out their website here and see a map of what is coming. Riverwalk San Diego will include 4,300 homes (including 430 affordable homes), 152,000 square feet of retail, one million square feet of office, and 97 acres of parks and open space, including a restored San Diego River and a 55-acre regional park.
You might notice there will be a new trolley station, too!
We might be in the middle of winter, but spring will be here before you know it, and birds will be looking to build their nests.
If you’d like to construct a nesting box for your yard or as a community project, how can you make one that bird’s will like, choose and use?
Some useful information is posted in downtown San Diego at the Tweet Street linear park atop Cortez Hill. If you’re into DIY and like to use saw, hammer and nails, here goes:
The wood should not be painted. If you use a nontoxic stain, use lighter colors–sun on dark colors might make the box too hot. Natural wood is excellent.
The entry hole must be sized for the bird you wish to attract, and raised from the nesting box floor to accommodate a nest. Small ventilation holes at the top keep the inside of the nesting box cool.
A slanted roof will allow water to run off, keeping the birds living inside the nesting box dry.
Have a side panel that opens for monitoring and cleaning when the box is not in use.
Put up your box before birds begin to look for suitable nesting sites. (And put it well above the ground somewhere the birds feel safe.)
After the nesting season, use the side panel to clean out the old nest. Ready your nesting box for birds to roost in during the fall and winter, or the following spring.
If you’d like to see photographs of the many cleverly designed birdhouses in Tweet Street Park (and they’re pretty amazing), click here!
As you build your own unique bird house, have fun and be safe!
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
Today I noted that progress is being made in creating Balboa Park’s Central Gardens. Work continues to be done around the Botanical Building and along one side of the Lily Pond!
The new pergola west of the Botanical Building is taking shape, the grassy area around the fountain to the east is all dug up (as you can see in the above photograph), and new grass and garden plants can be enjoyed by park visitors in various other places!
Today during a walk through downtown San Diego I noticed workers removing the individual letters spelling WELLS FARGO from the front of Wells Fargo Plaza! It was down to WE. That piqued my curiosity!
Security guards behind the front counter told me the building is undergoing a renovation. On display inside the Wells Fargo building’s lobby, several renderings visualize proposed changes coming to the 24-story office tower. Each shows an outdoor restaurant concept at the main entrance.
I was asked not to photograph the renderings. They do look interesting.
I found this article. It explains that the Conrad Prebys Foundation purchased the building in 2025 as the cornerstone of the foundation’s efforts to reimagine and enliven the city’s downtown business corridor as a vibrant civic and cultural center.
As a downtown resident, I’ll have to keep my eyes wide open during walks to see exactly what the future brings! If I happen to note anything interesting, I’ll post an update.
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
If you’ve walked past the USS Midway Museum lately, you might wonder about that construction activity on Navy Pier. What you’ve observed are workers reinforcing the old pier, site of future Freedom Park, which is scheduled to open in 2028.
The Navy Pier Freedom Park Structural Pier Reinforcement–as a nearby sign proclaims–is being undertaken by the Port of San Diego and the USS Midway Museum.
The old Navy headhouse on the pier’s east end was demolished about a year ago. Now the work is to reinforce the pier with concrete by jet grouting along approximately 380 linear feet of retaining wall. What, you ask, is jet grouting? Here’s the Wikipedia page that explains.
According to a press release from last summer, this reinforcement phase is scheduled to be completed by February 2026.
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
Balboa Park’s new Botanical Building Pergola is rapidly rising!
Three weeks ago I noticed the beginnings of construction. This newly created pergola, which will stand near the west end of the Botanical Building, recreates one of twelve pergolas that were originally in Balboa Park during the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.
You can see my previous photographs and learn more about the project by clicking here. Now compare!
Nearby, workers are continuing to install the Central Gardens that will surround the Botanical Building.
I must say the pergola structure appears larger–longer and taller–than I imagined it would be.
When finished, the shady, restful Botanical Building Pergola should be another beautiful and practical landmark in Balboa Park!
…
If you’d like to see San Diego through my lens, find the “Follow” box in the sidebar to receive new posts in your email, or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing Cool San Diego Sights on a phone, you can open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
Back in July, I posted a detailed blog about a chuckwagon that was being built at the Escondido History Center. Yesterday I saw the chuckwagon again, and it’s almost finished!
Here’s how it appeared a few months ago:
Yesterday, this is the chuckwagon displayed outside of the Penner Barn:
The vehicle, representative of the Old West, is mostly assembled now. I was told a few additional things must be done. The cloth covering is obviously one of those things.
What project is next at the history center’s Bandy Blacksmith & Wheelwright Shop? An old-fashioned buckboard!
…
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.
How exciting! I see that potted plants have arrived in Balboa Park, to be planted in the new garden areas by the Lily Pond and around the Botanical Building!
The nine new garden areas together are called the Central Gardens. It’s a major addition to the park we all love!
Creating the Central Gardens with their new walkways and new pergola is Phase Two of the Botanical Building and Gardens revitalization.
Cool San Diego Sights! 