We are now in the middle of San Diego City Clerk’s 6th Annual Archives Month!
Through October 18th, 2024, the public can experience a fascinating San Diego City Clerk Archives exhibit concerning the history of Barrio Logan. Extensive displays can be viewed just inside the front entrance of San Diego’s downtown City Administration Building, at 202 C Street.
The exhibit is titled Telling Our Stories–Preserving Our Histories: The Chicano Movement in San Diego. It features photographs, articles and City Clerk documents that pertain to the culturally rich Barrio Logan neighborhood and how it has changed over time. There is an emphasis on the creation of Chicano Park, the work of Chicano activists, the origin and influence of Neighborhood House, and the tuna canning industry that once thrived in Barrio Logan down by the water.
In addition, there’s a video that visitors to the exhibit are invited to watch. It shows how residents were adversely affected by the construction of Interstate 5 and the Coronado Bay Bridge, and how they worked together to help preserve the community’s identity and establish Chicano Park.
The exhibit is curated by the San Diego City Clerk Archives in partnership with the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center.
I enjoyed looking at the displays and learning important facets of San Diego history. I encourage anyone who travels downtown to check it out. The City Administration Building is open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Here are a few photographs that I took…
…
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 X.
The public was invited to paint color into a community mural in San Diego’s Balboa Park today. Just before noon, paintbrushes were busy in the Plaza de Panama at the Exchange Pavilion!
We are now in the middle of San Diego Design Week (September 19th to 25th), and this Community Mural Project is a creative activity inspired by San Diego/Tijuana’s selection as World Design Capital 2024!
The mural intends to bring diverse communities together–to interact and collaborate. Plus adding all those vibrant colors is fun!
As the mural was painted, an art workshop was also held inside the Exchange Pavilion. Brush & Letter, Painting With Words was a World Design Experience.
According to the event website. students could discover the art of typography and mural creation under the guidance of typographer and mural artist, Itzel Islas… During this workshop, you’ll use the iconic San Diego Tijuana Grafiko logotype to create your own 8×10 art piece.
…
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 X.
I believe these murals are fairly new. I saw them the other day at Civic Center Plaza, near the front entrance of San Diego’s City Administration Building. The half dozen images greet visitors to City Hall.
By searching the internet, I can find out nothing about this installation of photographic art. So I need the help of Cool San Diego Sights readers! I hope someone out there might provide more information with a comment.
I’m afraid the only individual I recognize of the six is San Diego’s renowned muralist Mario Torero–he’s in the final photograph.
I captured these photos in somewhat dim light, so I’ve increased the contrast quite a bit…
…
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 X.
This very beautiful new mural was painted in April near the main entrance to the Lemon Grove Library. It’s titled Today for Tomorrow.
Positive messages conveyed by the mural include a love for family, the natural environment and reading. The extraordinary mural is the product of a partnership between the ArtReach Mural Program and the Lemon Grove Public Library. The lead mural artist was Mexican-American artist and designer Josué Baltézar.
A handout available inside the library explains: The ArtReach Mural Program Team led over 50 community members in design ideation and painting through out design-input workshops and Community Paint Day…This piece highlights the library as an uplifting and beautiful community space, welcoming and accepting of all people. Books are featured predominantly to mark the importance of learning, reading, curiosity, and imagination. The focal point of the lemon tree represents the community of Lemon Grove while also signifying growth and new beginnings. The figures placed in the books show that we all have our own stories to tell and create while also touching on family resilience, hope, kindness, caregiving and neighborhood unity…
…
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 X.
The residents of Sherman Heights are very fortunate. They have a community center that radiates positive energy with loads of incredible art!
The Sherman Heights Community Center welcomes visitors with its many colorful outdoor murals and mosaics. Low walls, planters, columns . . . even an electrical box has been decorated! Yesterday, when I walked up Island Avenue and saw all the artwork, my camera became very busy!
The center’s website explains: The community we serve is predominantly Mexican- American with many families facing economic hardship. This community has preserved itself by using art as an avenue towards empowerment & collaboration. For many years the community has supported and participated in creating, preserving, and cultivating a culture of rich history through the arts here at our center.
Sherman Heights, just east of downtown San Diego, is famous for its Día de los Muertos celebrations. That’s reflected in some of the artwork.
…
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 X.
The North County Cinco de Mayo Festival brought exuberant life to Grape Day Park in Escondido today. The annual event, produced by USA Multicultural, was said to be bigger than ever. And I believe it!
Those arriving from around San Diego’s North County enjoyed Mariachis, different groups of colorful folklórico dancers, great singers, and other (mostly) Mexican cultural entertainment.
And tons of food, of every description, everywhere! (I succumbed to the temptation of a scrumptious carne asada quesadilla.)
Nonprofit community organizations were also on hand, and more than a few artists were showing their work. Beautify Escondido was present, too. I’ll be blogging about their efforts next.
Enjoy this collection of photographs!
The 2024 North County Cinco de Mayo Festival gets started on a late Sunday afternoon at Escondido’s Grape Day Park.The National Anthems of both Mexico and the United States begin the Cinco de Mayo program.Mariachi Del Mar/Rio kick off the main stage entertainment.Mariachis perform at a second, smaller stage across the grass.The crowd grows as the Cinco de Mayo event continues.The House of Mexico had a smiling representative at the festival!Colorful art from Mexico’s state of Nayarit.Ms. USA Multicultural poses for a photo.Lots of cool art could be enjoyed courtesy of Beautify Escondido.Irma Gogova (@irmagogovatattoo_art) smiles near a cosmic work of art she created!Lots of diverse food to eat at the event.Loteria aprons! Awesome!Young people perform up on the festive stage.Young vaqueros dance on the main stage.
…
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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Four beautiful murals are part of a fence at the Second Chance Youth Garden in San Diego’s Encanto neighborhood. I spotted the artwork about a week ago during my walk down Imperial Avenue.
Second Chance Youth Garden describes itself as an 8-week program combining hands-on urban farming & classroom learning for low-income youth in San Diego.
These colorful murals are amazing! If you have more information concerning them, please leave a comment.
Enjoy a few photographs…
…
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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
A good sized crowd came out today to Balboa Park’s WorldBeat Cultural Center. The public was invited to take part in the 32nd Annual Multi-Cultural Earth Day!
Visitors to this unique Earth Day festival were not only treated to colorful multi-cultural entertainment, but had the opportunity to learn about two issues in particular: the changing climate and food accessibility. Visitors could also support organizations and local businesses that are trying in their own unique way to improve education, sustainability, and protect the environment. Artists and more ordinary vendors were present, too.
Special activities included a seed swap, a lesson on how to create and maintain a worm farm, and compost workshops. Kids could color fun artwork, too!
For the hungry crowd gathered outside in the San Diego sunshine, ethnic and vegetarian food vendors offered their special menus to choose from.
As you can see from my photos, I watched Azteca dancers perform for the crowd. They followed an impassioned speech by a holy man who once met the Dalai Lama. We need to raise our consciousness was his message.
Inside the WorldBeat Cultural Center I watched and listened to the joyful music of San Diego Taiko. I personally love energetic taiko drumming!
Other performances during the event would include Middle Eastern belly dance, West African drum and dance, Brazilian samba, and Native American drumming.
There were also tours of the center’s lush garden. I’ll have to do that next time.
I loved these Hopi Kachina dolls, made of cottonwood. They were hand carved by Arizona-based artist Elroy Kewanyama…
The following two ladies explained how Green Pocket Forest has partnered with the WorldBeat Cultural Center to create a 320 square meters Children’s Nature Zone, designed with the innovative Miyawaki method to spotlight 1000 native plants, providing habitat for 20+ species of birds and insects. Wow!
The San Diego Audubon Society table had tons of information about their current activities, plus beautiful bird artwork and a mural coloring station. (I learned their Bird Festival this year was a big success!)
…
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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Old art panels along the median of Imperial Avenue in Encanto have been replaced! I noticed the vivid, new panels a couple days ago while riding the Orange Line trolley.
This artwork originated over 30 years ago as part of what was then called the Streetscape Art Project. Local artist Eddie L. Edwards contributed 24 colorful images that depict life and culture in diverse Encanto. When I took photographs of the aged panels four years ago, they were in very poor condition.
Look how sharp the restored artwork now appears! These colorful new panels, I was told, were put up in the latter part of 2023.
Here are half a dozen examples. Notice the overarching rainbows!
…
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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!