The Birds and The Bees, a birdhouse by artist Joel Sotelo.
Looks what I noticed today. Most of the fun, artistic birdhouses that were installed for Tweet Street in 2008 have been restored! With new coats of paint and a little work, they once again appear like new!
You might remember my blog post a couple years ago concerning these fun birdhouses. At the time, weather had gotten the better of them. Well, check them out now!
If you want to see these very creative works of public art in person, Tweet Street is another name for the linear Cortez Hill Park, located on Date Street roughly between Seventh and Ninth Avenue.
Public art restoration in progress. The City of San Diego develops, exhibits, conserves and restores the Civic Art Collection to provide meaningful aesthetic and cultural experiences for San Diego’s residents and visitors.Tweet Street sign on Date Street in San Diego’s Cortez Hill neighborhood. Many artistic birdhouses line the narrow urban park.Boat House, a birdhouse by artist Kirk Crow.Anil’u, a birdhouse by artist Lilia Peji.Coexistence, a birdhouse by artist Bob Gromofsky.Cunae, a birdhouse by artist Miguel Salmeron.Mas Vale Pajaro en Mano, a birdhouse by artist Joel Sotelo.Bewick’s Bunker, a birdhouse by artists Rafael Lopez and Daniel Renner.Air Traffic Control, a birdhouse by artist Amy Ennis Achaibou.Birdinsky, a birdhouse by artist Amy Levine.
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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!
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A funny spotted creature of some kind decorates an electrical box on Fourth Avenue near the Quince Street Bridge.
I got off work early and wanted to enjoy the remaining daylight. So I took the 120 bus to Hillcrest and walked down Fourth Avenue from University Avenue to Elm Street.
I found some fun street art on electrical boxes in both Hillcrest and Bankers Hill!
A spray painted face lit by sunshine early one morning in Hillcrest, near Fourth Avenue and Robinson Avenue.
Okay, you caught me! The above photo was taken one morning a couple months ago. It was sitting in my computer. All the others are from late this afternoon.
A guitar and stars decorate a utility box.Colorful art shows a street scene! Copies, bread, coffee and outdoor diners come together under a blue sky near Fourth Avenue and Laurel Street.Ice cream, barber, eyes, dentist. A happy stick figure walks down an imaginary Bankers Hill sidewalk.A contented face on a utility box near the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Laurel Street.Lots of stars and some hearts.According to some writing on this transformer, these are space plants and moon flowers!
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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!
Some happy street art in National City. A high five, pink rabbit and heart.
I found even more cool street art while walking around National City! Check out these photos! Colorful utility boxes and transformers seemed to pop up wherever I turned!
Transinfinite Gems. Love Your Soul. Blessings and Love.A creatively painted utility box near a National City street corner. Is that a can of soda?Someone just let loose with many strokes of color on this transformer box!This cool street art definitely attracts the attention of people walking down the sidewalk!An abstract human figure that drips ink into a river. This fantastic image appears to be full of symbolism.More cool designs on a series of electrical boxes. National City, in San Diego’s South Bay, has lots of great street art!A contrast of real leaves and painted leaves.Barren trees in a purple-blue sky.Another side of the same box.Branches from sky and ground, like grasping, skeletal fingers.
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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!
These arches in National City’s Morgan Square Plaza delight the eye with their colorful tiles and designs.
Check out this cool public art in San Diego’s South Bay! These colorfully tiled arches can be found in Morgan Square Plaza right next to the National City Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. As you can see in one photo, the plaza isn’t far from Heritage Square and historic Brick Row, which I recently covered on this blog.
It appears these mosaic arches debuted along with the plaza itself in October 2007. I searched the small pocket park for a plaque, and later for information on the internet, but can find almost nothing about this unique public art. I did see that the bust of former National City mayor Kile Morgan was created by the talented San Diego sculptor Richard Becker. According to Becker’s website, he created the POW Monument at the US National Cemetery, busts for The Emmys in Hollywood, and a bronze sculpture of Homer Simpson for Fox Studios.
Cool art in the public square next to the National City Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.Visible beyond the brick arch is one end of Brick Row, one of several historic buildings in Heritage Square.Across Morgan Square Plaza is a monument to a former National City mayor.The bust of Honorable Kile Morgan, mayor of National City from 1966 to 1986. He established the Mile of Cars and Plaza Bonita. Sculpture created by San Diego artist Richard Becker.Another photo through the arches. The Southwestern College Higher Education Center stands across National City Boulevard.The beautiful patterns on this wall-like artwork are composed of many brightly colored tiles.The National City Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center is located near the public art arches.Fun photo of one arch within another.Cool public artwork in National City at Morgan Square Plaza!
UPDATE!
During a walk in 2019 I discovered a plaque describing this Streetscape Project, titled Portals in Time. The different arches are called Brick Row, Hispanic Portal, Filipino Water Wall, Kumeyaay Water Wall, Agriculture and Ship Building, and The Bay.
Click the following two photos and they will enlarge for easier reading:
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
A wide-eyed face on a building wall in North Park, surrounded by cosmic imagery.
Here’s even more North Park street art! Check out these photos!
This spray painted mural was signed by the artists DEXR, ARMOR, EYEMAX and SADE. Full of cosmic imagery, the panoply of swirling forms and symbols evokes wonder. The universe it seems to depict is vast and mysterious. All I know for sure is that the artwork is really cool!
You can find this colorful street art on El Cajon Boulevard, just east of 30th Street.
I first spied this street art from the intersection at 30th Street and El Cajon Boulevard.The mural on the Supercuts building contains many complex, colorful elements. Like a magnet it drew me in.Two fused female faces, or one seen in two glances. I get the impression that time, space and information are being affected by that shining object on the left.Whether that’s a black hole, the origin of the universe, a star, or something else–the theme seems to be the mystery of Creation. And I see a dragon at the fractured boundary, a symbol of Chaos.A face seems to gaze from another place behind a transparent window at the unspeakably vast and wonderful cosmos.
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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 fun photos for you to enjoy!
Vernell Jones III, also known as Machinecore, creates a very cool, completely new Star Wars character in Balboa Park.
I was walking through Balboa Park’s lively Plaza de Balboa, not far from the Bea Evenson Fountain, when my eyes suddenly fell upon a truly fantastic work of art.
I learned from the artist, Vernell Jones III, also known as Machinecore, that the unusual Star Wars character he’d created was some sort of futuristic Stormtrooper. My first thought was that the helmet kind of resembled General Grievous. My second thought was that this great artwork should be on the cover of a graphic novel. It’s that good.
A young lady is about to get a surprise during a fun magic show in Balboa Park.
I observed many emotions today. These emotions were expressed in the eyes and faces of people I encountered during a walk through wonderful Balboa Park.
Balboa Park is like a small slice of some ideal world: so many people coming together, sharing dreams and happy visions. A walk through the park is like all the good things in human life stirred into one potent elixir, with smiles, freedom, friendship, rampant creativity on every side, and much sunlight. And, of course, memories of special moments and of past loved ones–and, sometimes, sadness.
Kenny Shelton juggles in between magic acts. Today he tossed dizzy feelings of joy toward hundreds of people on El Prado.
Kenny seems like a great guy. He’s definitely funny and a crowd-pleaser! Need some entertainment in San Diego? Find him here!
The San Diego Harmony Ringers conjure bright, cheerful music in Balboa Park.Intense sadness near the Museum of Man, as people remember the Sewol ferry disaster in South Korea, which happened 1000 days ago. The victims’ families are still searching for answers.A belly dancer and musicians draw a large crowd near the Botanical Building. The audience is spellbound.A group prays under a beautiful tree. Human hope, pain, love . . . among the dropping leaves.Creating a labyrinth in Balboa Park’s Zoro Garden. This gentleman created a similar labyrinth which I photographed near the Botanical Building some time ago.I’m shown a notebook. A Native American basket on the left depicts a radiating labyrinth. Labyrinths are a very ancient human expression, filled with spiritual meaning.
To learn more about his fascinating labyrinths, please visit this Facebook page.
A canvas on El Prado asks random passersby to Paint On Me.Dogs and people mingle freely. Sheer happiness at Balboa Park’s busy Nate’s Point Dog Park.This musician was so positive and so alive, he lit up countless hearts in wonderful Balboa Park. Joy conquers.
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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 spacious Reading Room at downtown San Diego’s Central Library.
Do you love to read or write? I have a number of favorite locations in San Diego where I can pick up a book or pen while enjoying a pleasant view and relative peace. I find these places to be comfortable, inspiring and expansive for the mind. But, of course, my list is completely subjective. One can find countless benches, tables, parks and beaches in sunny San Diego.
Some readers and writers might like to place themselves in a coffee shop, or at the center of a bustling scene. Others might like to be surrounded by natural or artistic beauty. Others simply want solitude. Personally, I prefer the latter two–with a bustling scene in the quiet distance, perhaps.
Here are my 12 favorite spots, in no particular order:
San Diego Central Library’s amazing Reading Room. (See the above photo.)
Downtown San Diego’s large new Central Library is just a wonderful place all around. But perhaps its best feature is a gigantic eighth floor Reading Room, crowned by the building’s fantastic lattice dome. Comfortable sofas and easy chairs allow patrons to gaze through enormous windows out toward San Diego’s South Bay. And the Reading Room is so nice and quiet.
Benches can be found overlooking moored boats in San Diego Bay’s Crescent Area.
Any bench near the water in San Diego Bay’s Crescent Area.
If you don’t mind the occasional company of homeless people, San Diego Bay’s Crescent Area is a fine place to stretch one’s legs and mind. It’s a not-very-touristy stretch between the Grape Street Pier and the Coast Guard Station, with a number of comfortable wooden benches facing picturesque boats moored in the bay. Bicyclists and joggers pass by frequently and gulls and pigeons swing by for an occasional visit. The wide view, stretching across the bay to Point Loma, always puts me in a thoughtful mood.
Picnic tables at Embarcadero Marina Park North offer views of sparkling San Diego Bay.
Picnic tables near the water at Embarcadero Marina Park North.
When writing, I like mental peace. I find this state of mind can be most easily reached inside a happy, carefree atmosphere. So I often seek out an available picnic table near the water at Embarcadero Marina Park North. The blue bay sparkles, boats sail past serenely, families laugh on the grass, colorful kites glide overhead. Sometimes I just sit and do nothing.
Several tables are usually open on the deck of the Inamori Pavilion at the Japanese Friendship Garden.
The Inamori Pavilion at the Japanese Friendship Garden.
Would you like to sit at a table overlooking a tranquil koi pond and waterfall? I would! That’s why I have become a member of the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. I wrote two short stories recently while sitting at one table. They are titled An Old Man on a Bus and Waterfall Tears.
You’ll likely find solitude in the beautiful Administrative Courtyard in Balboa Park.
The little-known Administrative Courtyard in Balboa Park.
I discovered this perfect, blissful park a couple of years ago. It’s called the Balboa Park Administrative Building Courtyard and it’s located in the park’s Inspiration Point area, behind the Balboa Park Administration Building. Almost nobody goes there. You might have the entire beautiful place all to yourself. A perfect sunny place to really concentrate.
Shelter Island offers shade, grass, trees, and wide views of San Diego Bay and the downtown skyline.
A bench, a picnic table or the grass on Shelter Island.
I love Shelter Island–especially the southwest end. Few tourists, great views, grassy lawns, a wonderful pier. When I walk along the park-like paths I feel as though I’m on vacation. Many benches and picnic tables along the length of Shelter Island make ideal places to read or write. Or just bring a blanket and lie down on the grass. It’s so pleasant you might fall asleep!
The area around La Jolla Cove is so magnificent, you might do nothing but sit in one spot for a long while, taking in the scenery.
A spot near the ocean at Ellen Browning Scripps Park in La Jolla.
When you’re visiting one of the most beautiful locations in the world, of course you’ll feel inspired. After finding a spot to read or write for a bit, get up and walk along the cliffs. Breathe in the fresh sea air. Watch birds, seals and the endlessly crashing waves. You’ll feel so alive.
Many picnic tables are often unused at Silver Strand State Beach. An ideal spot to quietly read or write.
An isolated picnic table at Silver Strand State Beach.
Silver Strand State Beach can be lonely, especially off-season and on the San Diego Bay side. There are usually dozens and dozens of picnic tables that are empty. Walk or pedal down the Silver Strand bike path, perhaps, and rest for awhile at a table. Then take out a book or your laptop or notepad. If you’d like to get up and stretch your legs, walk under the highway to the Pacific Ocean side, take your shoes off, walk on the beach and watch kitesurfers.
Sit near the end of the OB Pier high above the swelling blue ocean and you’re certain to feel inspired and alive.
Any bench above the water on the Ocean Beach Pier.
Sit on a bench out on the long Ocean Beach Pier and you’ll feel that you’re far from land–in a magical place between airy blue heaven and the rolling, living blue water below. When you glance up from your book or laptop, you’ll see fishermen sharing the rail with patient pelicans, and surfers bobbing below waiting for their perfect wave. But bring a jacket. The ocean wind can be chilly, even in summer.
Many benches await thinkers, dreamers, readers and writers at Spanish Landing in San Diego.
A spot beside San Diego Bay at Spanish Landing.
This is another fine place to sit by the water. Spanish Landing is an uncrowded retreat from city life with a view of the marinas behind Harbor Island. You might hear aircraft taking off from nearby Lindbergh Field, but I seldom notice. There are many benches along the grassy park to choose from. Here you can also read interesting historical markers. With a little imagination, you might visualize Spanish explorers landing here many centuries ago.
One of the many beautiful, peaceful spots that can be found throughout Liberty Station.
Any bench at Liberty Station, particularly by the boat channel.
Liberty Station has many walking paths and benches where anyone can sit down to think or simply relax. My favorite spots overlook the boat channel. Light twinkles from the water, the breeze is pleasant, and paddleboarders and kayakers occasionally coast on by. There’s no hurry to do anything. If I write or read just a few words, I’m happy.
There are a couple of hidden benches not far from here in Balboa Park! Perfect for writers who like to observe people!
A hidden bench beside the Timken Museum of Art.
Against the north wall of the Timken Museum in Balboa Park, tucked behind a few trees, you’ll discover a couple of hard concrete benches. During a hot summer day they are so nice and cool! One can peer between foliage at the grassy area near the Botanical Building and reflecting pool, where people play, picnic and walk dogs. It’s like your own secret space in green heaven. But bring a seat cushion if you sit there for long!
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Where are your favorite places to read or write? Leave a comment!
All of these photos are from Cool San Diego Sights. To see thousands of images from all around San Diego, simply navigate about my website!
Do you enjoy reading philosophical short works of fiction? You might enjoy visiting Short Stories by Richard!
Cool female face on one side of a utility box on 30th Street in North Park.
In the past I’ve posted dozens of street art photos from San Diego’s hip North Park neighborhood. But here come even more!
I spotted these cool street art faces (mostly human faces, that is) along 30th Street, between University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard!
Enjoy!
(To see lots more North Park street art, look for the “Related” links at the bottom of this blog post. Or simply click the “street art” tag in my website’s sidebar to see hundreds of examples from all around San Diego! And, as always, feel free to use the share buttons! Have fun!)
Another face, same box.A third red face looks down the North Park sidewalk.A blue face with a faint smile. Minimalist street art by Alex Avila.A funny pink stretchy blob face covers its eyes and yells!Another side and another funny face.Street lamp banners along 30th Street in North Park feature imaginative faces. Explore Art.There is certainly a lot of urban art to explore throughout North Park!Funny graffiti faces on an electrical box.More multi-colored faces on the other side of the box. And some fun figures, too!Not a face here. Just a hand.A bare pink face on a painted mannequin. Abstract street art in North Park.The regal face of a tiger. Grand Prestoz.Yes, even flying pigs have faces.Jumbled eyes, lips and faces in this cool street art at the Thrift Trader in North Park.Two funky faces watch people walking down the sidewalk from a window above a bin of CD’s.The face of a Belching Beaver isn’t something you often see. Unless, perhaps, you drink lots of their beer!Not street art, but an artful face in a window on 30th Street. This is VIP Paints – San Diego, a special studio where the public can go to learn and create art!The head of a pink flamingo painted on a utility box!Artistic collage on a public telephone includes the printed word, and various stencil faces and figures.Creativity can be found up and down the streets of North Park!
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One of several small waterfalls at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park.
Today I went to the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. I’m a new member.
After walking along the beautiful stream in the garden’s canyon, and crossing a few bridges, I sat down at a table overlooking the moat and magnificent waterfall near the Inamori Pavilion. And I pulled out my notebook.
A story came to me at once. From where, I don’t know. Perhaps from the falling water. Perhaps from the water’s voice. I really don’t know.
The story is about grieving, the passage of time and release. It’s just a tiny, tiny little story, but I think it might strike deeply. You can read it very quickly on one of my other blogs, Short Stories by Richard, by simply clicking here. If you like it, there are ten other very short stories that you might also enjoy. Just click around.
I’ll be sitting at that table often this year. So I’m positive coming stories will also be filled with beauty, hope and joy. The garden inspires those things, most of all.
Oh–I recently provided a quick photo tour of the Japanese Friendship Garden on my blog Beautiful Balboa Park. You can check out those posts here and here.
Cool San Diego Sights! 