San Diego Loyal SC soccer player Collin Martin has been honored with a mural in Hillcrest’s colorful Art Alley. The midfielder is proudly kicking it among other alley murals, which you can find by clicking here.
I spotted this new mural during a bus ride down University Avenue east of Fourth Avenue, and I had to jump off at the next stop for a photograph. Turns out the mural was completed just a day or two ago!
The talented young artists behind this cool street art call themselves Ground Floor Murals. You’ve possibly seen their many awesome San Diego Padres murals all around the city!
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An absolutely amazing 270-foot mural has been completed in San Diego’s diverse City Heights neighborhood!
The colorful mural, titled Unity in the Community, has been painted along the long wall at the south end of Teralta Neighborhood Park.
This epic mural was begun by San Diego graffiti artist Sake, then very beautifully finished by artists Melody De Los Cobos (@chicanalilly) and GMONIK (@gmonikart)!
Melody explains her experience painting the mural:
The mural has been 6 or 7 years in the making. I only joined the project the last 6 months. In that time we ran into many challenges. The biggest was about a month in. I had a stroke while painting the end section of the wall in early October. In trying to find why I had a stroke so young, doctors found also a hole in my heart. So after a few procedures I was able to get back to the wall. I was out about 3 weeks. It could have been much much worst but I’m grateful to be alive and am able to walk and talk… While I was out, GMONIK had to move forward with the mural which in turn put a lot of pressure on him. In the end, we completed the mural December 23rd, 2022.
This mural, as you can see, is extra special.
Today I walked through Teralta Neighborhood Park and took these photographs. I began on the left end of the long mural and worked my way right.
There are many outstanding murals all around San Diego, but in my opinion this ranks right up there as one of the very best. And one of the most inspirational!
A big Mural Dedication and Celebration event is coming up on March 25th at 1:00 pm in Teralta Neighborhood Park. Speakers will give the history of this mural and explain how the City Heights community contributed to its creation. The neighborhood’s diversity and progress will also be celebrated!
Check it out!
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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!
An inspirational event was enjoyed by many today in San Diego. It was the first ever African American Heritage Celebration in Balboa Park!
The House of USA hosted this program at the International Cottages for Black History Month. Starting at 2 o’clock, the celebration was jam-packed with history, culture, education and optimism.
Community organizations had booths around the lawn, and some tasty food was served up on the patio in front of the House of USA cottage.
I thought the highlight of the event were the young speakers and dancers who took to the stage. They were like bright stars shining for all to see.
The House of USA royal court read inspiring words from Kwame Alexander’s “The Undefeated.”
A local artist professor spoke about African American creators and how they connect and inspire the community.
A skit performed by young people reenacted the historic bravery of civil rights hero Rosa Parks on that segregated bus.
And there was much more!
Enjoy these photographs and be sure to go to this great event next year.
(And please read about several organizations in attendance that are working to make a positive impact…)
The above smiling young people are future leaders who are participating in the Dr. JAM Program! Click this link to visit the website.
Their motto is: In the depths of Wisdom abounds Knowledge!!! Knowledge is divine!! So I lend my ear to Listen, my heart to the Respect of my People and my soul to the Preservation of my Culture!
What’s the Uplift Institute? Just what it sounds like!
They are working to improve lives in the community, particularly when it comes to our shared environment. They have an event coming up called Sustainable ‘Hood Education and Career Expo ’23. It will be taking place May 6 at UC San Diego’s downtown Park and Market.
This organization empowers underserved, unemployed men, including Veterans and the unsheltered. They provide support for men who face challenges while attempting to transition back into the workplace to achieve self-sufficiency.
Have you ever wondered why there’s a Roseville in Point Loma, and a Rose Creek and Rose Canyon?
Well, during a recent walk I discovered an old plaque that provides an explanation. It stands at Liberty Station beside the boat channel. That’s it in the above photograph. In the distance is Nimitz Bridge and the North Harbor Drive bridge.
Several San Diego places were named after Louis Rose.
LOUIS ROSE POINT
Louis Rose (1807-1888)
San Diego’s first Jewish settler, arrived in 1850.
He was a civic-minded businessman who developed Roseville, the oldest planned development on the Point Loma Peninsula.
Rose served as County Supervisor, City Trustee, Postmaster and School Board Member.
He was a member of San Diego’s first Grand Jury.
Rose Canyon is named in his honor.
Placed by the Louis Rose Society for the Preservation of Jewish History
Here’s a photo I once posted of an exhibit inside the Robinson-Rose Visitor Center at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park:
Louis Rose was a prominent citizen of Old Town San Diego. He was born near Hanover, Germany in 1807 and became a citizen of the United States in 1846. He moved to San Diego in 1850, becoming the first Jewish person to settle in the city. Rose was an active member of the Jewish community in San Diego. He helped to organize the first Jewish congregation, which became Congregation Beth Israel. He also hosted High Holy Day services in his house and gave 5 acres of land for a sacred burial ground in what is now Point Loma.
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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!
Today the City Heights Multi-Cultural Festival of Love was held in Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park. The annual event roughly coincides with Valentine’s Day.
City Heights is one of San Diego’s most culturally diverse neighborhoods, and the heart-filled festival celebrates all the many people who make this community so vibrant!
Not only was there a diversity of entertainment on the main stage, but one could see in the crowd so many unique lives, backgrounds and stories.
During the festival everyone came together, making new friends, enjoying the unity that is found in community.
The parade through City Heights that preceded the festival ended with the Hoover High School marching band taking the stage. Then, at eleven o’clock, the festival officially began with opening comments by those who’ve made this wonderful event possible.
I stayed for a good while, looking at cool cars, exploring the booths of local organizations, and enjoying performances by Majesty in Motion, the Vietnamese Youth Dance Group and the Fern Street Circus.
Drummers Without Borders then invited kids in the crowd up onto the stage to learn how to drum and play tambourine! Then, with the help of the San Diego Guild of Puppetry, many participated in a small parade through the festival!
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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!
Before the start of today’s City Heights Multi-Cultural Festival of Love, there was a parade!
Smiling faces headed west down University Avenue, starting from The Neighborhood Cafe and Youth Print Shop. They arrived at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park near the City Heights Library just in time for the Festival of Love to begin!
The parade was a celebration of the City Heights community’s rich cultural diversity. And, of course, a celebration of love!
Surprised onlookers, standing on the sidewalk and in front yards, were urged to follow the parade to the fun Valentine’s Day themed Festival of Love!
I first spied the parade as it headed along University Avenue. I saw the Hoover High School marching band, lowriders and classic cars, the Fern Street Circus, and other local organizations from around the neighborhood.
My camera captured the excitement!
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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!
An exhibit is now being readied at the San Diego History Center for Black History Month. Two museum walls will feature photographs selected from the History Center’s archives.
When I asked about this installation today, I learned that the centerpiece will be Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to San Diego back in 1964. Many additional photographs concern citizens in our community who dared to advocate for equal rights.
About a third of the photos were up this afternoon. The exhibit should be completed sometime this week!
Protesting racial segregation in front of Woolworth’s storefront in downtown San Diego in 1960.Racial equality sit-in at SDG&E in 1963.Board of Education racial integration proponents disrupt meeting in 1968. A group of parents fought against inequalities for students of all ethnic backgrounds.
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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!
This afternoon youth were speaking truths at the San Diego Central Library. An event presented by DREAMS+DUCATS brought together young people for a discussion panel. The subject was Journey To Impact.
Speakers told inspirational stories, sharing their personal dreams and efforts to influence a world that is largely managed by older people. The frustrations of idealistic youth were evident, as they confronted a world that often seems cold and hopelessly unchangeable.
One speaker shared her practical idea of how to make schools safer from potential shooters, and explained how that very simple idea (locking classroom doors on the inside rather than the outside) was resisted and dismissed by the powers that be. Another spoke of her experience of being homeless, and how it was very difficult to have basic needs met.
The young speakers sought to have a greater voice in government and decision-making, but felt they were ignored and not respected. To this I would say, don’t give up. Keep speaking. Hopeful idealism still lurks in the minds of many who are older.
Greet this complex world with a smile. Don’t frown upon all “grown-ups” as hostile adversaries. Life goes by very quickly. Too quickly. You’ll be one of those grown-up humans in the blink of an eye.
I happened to run across the event today as I walked into San Diego’s downtown Central Library. It made me think. Wasn’t that the purpose, really?
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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!
A wall in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood encourages creative people to Use Your Voice. Four small murals dedicated to artivism can be viewed on the west side of Nomad Donuts. Look north up Illinois Street from University Avenue and you’ll spot these artworks.
Use Your Voice is a project of Sounding Boards. Learn more about their past projects and mission by clicking here.
This special wall will host rotating murals. The first artists, whose work you see above, are Josue Baltezar, Kenda Francis, Mary Jhun, and Jon Pucci.
Previously, a very different mural decorated this space! See it 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!
City Heights is possibly San Diego’s most diverse neighborhood. So it isn’t surprising that people from many walks of life have converged in City Heights for the 2023 SD Lunar New Year Festival!
Today I headed to east San Diego to experience the weekend event. This celebration of Tết is presented by Little Saigon San Diego. It’s free to the public at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park.
I wandered about looking at traditional displays. I sat down to watch several excellent cultural performances on the big stage. The audience applauded energetically and often.
I read that this popular event is helping to raise funds for the creation of a Boat People Garden mini park, to be built somewhere near the festival site. I attempted to gather information about the coming mini park, but all I could ascertain is a groundbreaking ceremony will take place this Wednesday.
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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! 