The Old Town Market is one very popular destination.
Little shops selling all sorts of colorful souvenirs, curios and crafts can be found everywhere in Old Town, both in the State Park and in the touristy area just to the south. Many of the items for sale are Mexican in origin or style. You can find pottery, painted tiles, jewelry, maracas, pinatas, lucha libre masks, and all sorts of unique leather and wood-carved crafts. A few stores have a Western theme and sell cowboy hats, boots, Native American art and other stuff related to the American frontier experience. It’s fun just to browse and soak it all in!
Kid checks out a bunch of Mexican Lucha Libre masks.Tourists take a stroll through the colorful Old Town Market.Very colorful pottery can be found everywhere.Painted tiles for sale hang on an orange wall.Vendor at Old Town Market at work with a power drill.Painted plates for sale in a corner of Old Town.Many Western items on display in an Old Town shop.Hundreds of Mexican ornaments and trinkets.Colorfully painted gourds and posters.A guitarist performs for shoppers.
Last Sunday in Balboa Park, after checking out the free organ concert, I ventured across the street to the International Cottages. The House of Pacific Relations International Cottages were built for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition and represent 32 member countries. The little houses, situated in a picturesque cluster, are decorated and furnished in a way that recreates the unique culture of each nation.
Every Sunday (except during winter) one of the member nations features food and entertainment in the central grassy area. Last weekend it was the House of Turkey.
As I arrived, a Turkish fiddler was on stage fiddling away a merry tune while the audience clapped in rhythm. Here he is!
Turkey is one of several nations waiting to build their own cottage in Balboa Park. Here’s a pic of the nearby United Nations Building…
The United Nations Building among the International Cottages.
Robert Plimpton at the Spreckels Organ in Balboa Park.
Who’s that person at the microphone in the Spreckels Organ Pavilion? It looks like Robert Plimpton, San Diego’s Civic Organist Emeritus! Most of the time he uses his amazing musical talent as resident Organist of the First United Methodist Church.
Robert Plimpton was San Diego’s official Civic Organist from 1984 to 2000, when Dr. Carol Williams (first woman in the United States to be appointed Civic Organist) took his place. She happened to be out of town, so he returned for last Sunday’s free public concert in Balboa Park . . . and played magnificently, of course!
I tried to get a good photo of the organ’s enormous pipes, but the images turned out too shadowy. I’ll try again at some future time!
A plaque at the historic Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Dedicated to the people of San Diego and all the world, by the philanthropist Spreckels brothers in 1915.View of Spreckels Organ Pavilion from a spot near the Japanese Friendship Garden.Bust of John D. Spreckels watches organ concerts behind benches.
Here’s a photo I took in late 2015, during Balboa Park’s yearlong centennial celebration.
Patricia McAfee, mezzo soprano, and Robert Plimpton, San Diego Civic Organist Emeritus, entertain a Sunday afternoon audience during “A Tribute to Kate Sessions, The Mother of Balboa Park” concert on November 8, 2015.
It must be around two o’clock on a Sunday afternoon. Time for the weekly free concert at Balboa Park’s Spreckels Organ Pavilion!
Crowds gather in the sun under colorful umbrellas to listen to the majestic sound of the Spreckels Organ, one of the largest outdoor organs in the world. The city of San Diego employs an official Civic Organist, none other than Dr. Carol Williams, one of the top performing organists in the world! Each Sunday she plays classical music, jazz, marches . . . and occasionally one of her excellent original compositions. The Spreckels Organ Society helps to raise funds to keep the tradition of free public concerts alive. It’s a tradition that has lasted a hundred years!
The beautiful Spreckels Organ Pavilion is used for various concerts and events throughout the year, including the yearly December Nights festival around Christmas. It’s also a favorite venue for wedding photography. The ornate, elegant architecture makes it interesting to visit even when the stage and benches are empty.
Here we are strolling eastward across the Cabrillo Bridge into Balboa Park as the sun rises. To the left we see the California Tower, directly adjacent to the domed Museum of Man. During the day, the tower’s carrilon can be heard throughout the park marking time every 15 minutes. At noon the electronic chimes play a medley of beautiful music.
Many walkers and joggers love the peaceful morning atmosphere of wonderful Balboa Park.
Several days ago while out on a walk I took this photo of chalk writing on Columbia Street. It appears games of stickball have recently taken place.
Occasionally over the years I’ve wandered into people in Little Italy playing this classic American game. While the game is most popular in the Northeastern United States, organized games are played in San Diego, with a handful of teams and a few laid-back spectators on lawn chairs.
UPDATE!
I caught some live stickball action on a Saturday morning in late summer, and here are a couple pics!
Players gather for some fun on a Saturday in downtown’s Little Italy.Stickball action in front of the San Diego Firehouse Museum.
This is a part of a very long mural decorating the north side of Interstate 8 in Mission Valley. It’s called Kids being Kids.
I took this photograph from across Camino de la Reina, not far from the Union Tribune building. I got a bunch of pics, but this is the only one that captures the artwork’s color and energy. Perhaps I’ll try again some other day.
UPDATE!
I took some more pics…
Beach balls bounce beside a busy San Diego freeway.Flying with arms wide across a lively public mural.Girl jumps on beloved mural beside Interstate 8.It seems that kids will simply be kids.Little girl is a delightful image in public art.Two young friends are one element in a fun mural.
When descending Cortez Hill, I often walk south down 8th Avenue past the big colorful banner on the Copley Symphony Hall building. I enjoy the huge, energetic image of Jahja Ling conducting the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
The above photograph was taken from the City College gymnasium on Park Boulevard. It’s a perfect spot to snap pics of downtown skyscrapers looking west.
Different San Diego Symphony banner on west side of building.
Here’s another photo of the fantastic mural shown in my previous post. It provides a wider view. This outstanding example of super cool street art can be found on the outside wall of Pokez, an artsy vegetarian Mexican restaurant in downtown San Diego.
The mural’s design is jam-packed with brilliant color, urban style and symbolism, and feels both organic and futuristic. It reminds me somewhat of the spray-painted “space art” you see occasionally being created by street performers in Seaport Village, the Gaslamp, or Balboa Park.
Cool San Diego Sights! 