One of the most wonderful aspects of Balboa Park is its dynamism. Every day, with every walk, new discoveries come into view.
This evening, as the sun cast lengthening shadows, I wandered about photographing a park that is always in transition, forever new.
A new exhibition of Korean art is coming to the San Diego Museum of Art.One end of the Botanical Building’s steel structure has been renovated.New love, perhaps?Inflating the huge screen at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion for Silent Movie Night.What’s coming next at the Casa Del Prado Theater?Painting patio tiles at Spanish Village Art Center.Flowers fall away as new flowers appear..Walking into the light through one wonderful park.
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A variety of antique wagons that have survived for over a century are being restored in Escondido!
During my walk late this morning through Grape Day Park, I noticed several gentlemen hovering about the wagonworks and wheelwright shop, which is located on the Escondido History Center’s Heritage Walk. They were working with the restored undercarriage of an old delivery wagon, and painting its wagon wheels.
I was informed that, over the years, many different carts and wagons have been restored by skilled volunteers at the Bandy Blacksmith & Wheelwright Shop. Brought in from many places, these horse-drawn vehicles from the Old West have been saved from the decay caused by time and weather.
A friendly gentleman showed me photos of wagons that have been restored. He then opened the nearby Penner Barn to show me the rebuilt body of the old delivery wagon, that will be fitted with the red undercarriage and wheels.
A year ago I peered into the working blacksmith and wheelwright shop and posted that blog here.
As I regarded the interesting operations around me, a pick-up truck approached, hauling an antique spring wagon! The spring wagon will become a new outdoor exhibit, to be enjoyed by visitors exploring the Heritage Walk.
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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 Twitter!
The Serpent Tree has vanished from Waterfront Park! The big, colorful sculpture by famous artist Niki de Saint Phalle has been put into storage, I’ve been told.
The north half of Waterfront Park is being redeveloped. A dog park, basketball and pickleball courts, and other recreational facilities will soon be built. Will the amazing Serpent Tree reappear in the park? I haven’t yet heard what its fate will be.
Today I noticed a banner on the construction fence describing the project. It shows how this part of Waterfront Park will eventually appear.
If you’d like to view photos of Serpent Tree shortly after it was installed in 2015, click 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 Twitter!
Enjoy lots of photographs taken today around the San Diego Convention Center and Gaslamp Quarter. It’s Monday, three days before the official start of Comic-Con 2023!
Offsite activations are rising all over the place, new building wraps continue to appear, and there’s a definite sense of excitement and anticipation in the air!
Read the photo captions!
The Jurassic Park offsite is now setting up in East Village. I wasn’t allowed to take a photo through the front door, but it looks like this might be epic!Abbott Elementary wraps are going up on the exterior of Petco Park.Some shade is ready for fans waiting in line outside the San Diego Convention Center. It should be quite warm this week!The FX offsite is now fenced with graphics promoting many shows.Is this guy screaming in anticipation of huge crowds?Outside the FX site during my midday Monday walk.Peeking into the FX offsite.The huge building wrap on the Hilton San Diego Bayfront promotes FX mini-series Shōgun.Now walking down the bayside boardwalk toward Adult Swim on the Green.Another Comic-Con, another ride on the Adult Swim hotdog!The way I felt after a vigorous summer walk in the San Diego sunshine.Now I’ve reached the Hulu Animayhem offsite. Looks like a lot of hot air.Who are all these people just standing around?You can get your selfie with a favorite character.Workers are setting up the Dragon Ball offsite behind the Marriott. Looks like the layout is much like last year.They’ve got a couple days to get ready!The Wheel of Time building wrap on a Marriott Marquis tower looks pretty cool!I believe Hero House will sell pop culture collectibles and cool stuff. They were setting up beside Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade.Walking along MLK Promenade.Looks like Camp Snoopy is getting ready! The Peanuts offsites are always fun.Spooky black waiting area for the recently announced Interview With the Vampire activation at the Hilton Gaslamp.A recreation of a New Orleans street will await fans of Interview With the Vampire.Check this out! It’s the Quantum Leap activation under construction. I’ll bet fans walk in through that circular entrance…When visitors walk through here, will they travel through spacetime?NBC show banners at Baja Rick’s Cantina, which used to be the Tin Fish.Watch out! Here’s Chucky!The huge Yellowjackets wraps on the Hard Rock Hotel are finished.Yellowjackets video wall inside the Hard Rock Hotel.Putting up Yellowjackets banners along Fifth Avenue sidewalk.Paramount’s offsite The Lodge is looking great.A sneaky peek into The Lodge.Hasbro boxes in the windows of Sparks Gallery at 530 Sixth Avenue. This will be The VAULT: A Hasbro Pulse Store!National Geographic joins the Comic-Con fun with a big wrap on the Margaritaville Hotel. It promotes Arctic Ascent.
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I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
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!
With four days to go until Comic-Con 2023 Preview Night, preparation for a massive crowd of pop culture fans descending on downtown San Diego is now in high gear!
Many Comic-Con offsites are in the early stages of construction. More buildings wraps are appearing in the Gaslamp Quarter and by the San Diego Convention Center.
Enjoy these photos from my long, very fun walk late this Friday afternoon!
Twisted Metal banners line Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade.A meaty wrap on one side of the Hilton Gaslamp.The big Fox Animation Domination wrap on the Omni appears over half finished.The stylish Interview With The Vampire graphics on the Hilton Gaslamp are among my favorites.
The following structure that has been erected in Gaslamp Square will promote NBC’s classic show Quantum Leap…
More fun FOX animation graphics on the Omni…
FX has begun building their Comic-Con offsite in their usual spot–the grass in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel.
Looks like FX will have a big stage or video screen.
I suspect the big wrap on the Hilton will promote a show on FX.
Adult Swim has returned to their usual spot behind the San Diego Convention Center after their absence last year. They were just beginning to set up their offsite on the green.
A cool new offsite by Hulu, promoting Ani-mayhem, is setting up in the parking lot behind the convention center.
I climbed the stairs behind the convention center…
Look at all the trucks behind the San Diego Convention Center. They’re here for the big Morgan Wallen concerts at nearby Petco Park.Getting things ready under the sails of the convention center.
I got some great views from the convention center…
Back on Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp, I checked out more Amazon Prime Video wraps…
Oops! Well, maybe that’s a new superpower.
And finally a look toward the Marriott Marquis hotel, as a big ESRI building wrap comes down and one promoting Star Trek goes up!
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I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
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!
Have you seen the Old Adobe Wall inside the Del Mar Fairgrounds?
Wander through the outdoor Garden Show during the San Diego County Fair and you’re likely to stumble upon this bit of history:
In January of 1936, final approval from all department officials in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. was received for a new fairgrounds facility to be built in Del Mar… It was estimated that 500,000 hours of labor would be required for completion of the project… Each building was designed to represent one of the missions of California…
All of the buildings were made of native adobe, which was mixed and dried on the grounds. The eight-foot-high wall stretched along Jimmy Durante Boulevard, bordering the fairgrounds from the San Dieguito River on the south to Via de la Valle on the north. It was constructed of thousands of adobe bricks…A very small portion of the original wall still stands near the Exhibits offices…
This adobe brick is one of the original bricks made here on the Del Mar Fairgrounds in 1936 using local clay and straw…
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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 Twitter!
The five buildings of RaDD (Research And Development District) have risen on San Diego’s waterfront. I walked along the Embarcadero yesterday and could now visualize how our city’s skyline will appear once these buildings are completed.
I photographed this project of IQHQ about a year ago when the construction was in a much earlier stage. See those photos here.
RaDD will include retail and office space, dining, green space, destination event space, public art, and, most importantly, research facilities that focus on biotech and life sciences.
I see new walkways are being created so that pedestrians may safely cross Harbor Drive. Crosswalks will connect the 10 acre development to the Embarcadero’s bayside boardwalk.
During my walk I also noted that Manchester Financial Group’s One Broadway Hotel and Plaza project, which will occupy property between RaDD and Broadway, is now in the early stages of construction. You can get a glimpse of that in my final photograph.
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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 Twitter!
The restoration of the 1910 Balboa Park Carousel is now in high gear! I saw workers refurbishing the old building’s exterior today during a walk through Balboa Park. The historic carousel is scheduled to reopen next month!
Over the past several years, there have been various efforts to help preserve the beloved merry-go-round. I’ve posted several blogs concerning it. Carousel animals have been newly painted. LED lighting has been installed. The roof has been altered, removing the triangular overhangs at each corner.
More recently, according to the Forever Balboa Park website, the restoration project has proceeded with structure stabilization and the installation of a fire-safety sprinkler system.
The comprehensive restoration should be completed in July in time for National Carousel Day!
There will be a big celebration that day! There will be free carousel rides and family entertainment! When? July 25th, from 11 AM – 5:30 PM.
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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 Twitter!
I’ve learned NBCUniversal will be returning to San Diego next month for Comic-Con 2023!
During my walk through Gaslamp Square this morning, I observed some guys measuring off an area where NBC has traditionally held their Comic-Con offsites. I spoke with one gentleman, and he told me the entertainment powerhouse is indeed returning. He mentioned the pop-up will include Syfy and Chucky, and will be more elaborate than the NBCUniversal photo-op walk-through that was built here in 2022.
I’m excited to see what this will be! There have been some really creative and engaging NBC Comic-Con offsites in past years.
Yes, I intend to cover Comic-Con again in 2023. I live downtown and I’m taking several days off from work. The San Diego Trolley wraps should be debuting soon. Stay tuned for lots of pop culture fun!
To enjoy all of my Comic-Con related photos over the course of many years (including hundreds of cosplay pics), click here and scroll down!
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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 Twitter!
When many think of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, the iconic Gaslamp Quarter Archway at the south end of Fifth Avenue comes to mind. The landmark sign welcomes one and all to downtown’s popular historic district.
This morning I noticed the old archway is being refurbished! Workers on two cherry pickers had finished painting the structure and were beginning to apply new graphics.
According to this web page, the last time the Gaslamp Quarter Archway was refurbished was 2012. The arch was originally installed back in 1990.
Here’s a pic I took a few years ago…
And here’s what I saw this morning…
I’ll head back to the Gaslamp this afternoon and see what progress has been made. I’ll post an update with more photos!
UPDATE!
This is what I saw mid-afternoon…
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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 Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 