Tag: downtown

Art, creativity and wisdom downtown.

Painting of female face in window of a small shop in East Village containing odd bits of art and miscellaneous used items.
Painting of female face in window of a small shop in East Village containing odd bits of art and used items.

Enjoy these miscellaneous photos of interesting things I’ve spotted while walking around downtown. Examples of artistry and creativity can be seen almost everywhere. Even a bit of wisdom. One simply has to look.

A fancy bird cage dangles beside Pappalecco, a cool Little Italy cafe.
A decorative bird cage dangles above the sidewalk beside Pappalecco, a popular Little Italy cafe.
Wine bottles converted into interesting human characters in the window of Michael J Wolf Fine Arts in the Gaslamp.
Wine bottles converted into human musicians in the window of Michael J Wolf Fine Arts in the Gaslamp.
Beautiful relief panel at entrance to the Embarcadero’s now closed Anthony’s Fish Grotto. An underwater scene.
Beautiful relief panel at entrance to the Embarcadero’s now closed Anthony’s Fish Grotto. An underwater scene.
Navy pinup artwork on a tattoo parlor's entrance sign in the Gaslamp.
Navy pinup artwork on a tattoo parlor’s entrance sign in the Gaslamp.
Wisdom on a corner of a downtown building. Give love. Get love.
Wisdom on a corner of a downtown building. Give love. Get love.
This artistic metal gate definitely caught my eye as I walked around San Diego!
This artistic metal gate definitely caught my eye as I walked around San Diego!
The mosaic tilework of an eatery's outdoor table in East Village.
The mosaic tilework of an eatery’s outdoor table in East Village.
Colorful tiles beneath ivy above a garage door.
Colorful tiles beneath foliage above a garage door.
Depiction of a city on the wall of Sixth Avenue Bistro.
Depiction of a city on the wall of Sixth Avenue Bistro.
Fancy artwork on column inside interior courtyard of La Pensione Hotel.
Fancy artwork painted on a column.  Photo taken in the lobby courtyard of La Pensione Hotel.
Interesting twisty iron gate and shadows.
Interesting twisted iron gate and shadows on the wall behind it.
Fascinating lamppost along Broadway near Harbor Drive.
Unusual bent lamppost along Broadway near Harbor Drive.
Cool painting of male face found leaning up against a dumpster enclosure on Cortez Hill.
Cool painting of male face found leaning up against a dumpster enclosure on Cortez Hill.

…

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!

Volunteers paint lampposts in downtown San Diego!

Volunteers in downtown San Diego add a coat of paint to a metal post. A wonderful community project put together by the Downtown San Diego Partnership.
Volunteers in downtown San Diego add a coat of paint to a metal post. A wonderful community project put together by the Downtown San Diego Partnership.

A busy morning! I’ve got lots of fun photos coming! First, check out something really fantastic. The Downtown San Diego Partnership arranged for a bunch of generous volunteers to help beautify the city! The resident volunteers converged this morning at Eighth Avenue and B Street, were given paint and brushes, and were then shown lampposts in the area that need a coat of paint!

Thank you Downtown San Diego Partnership for working to keep the heart of our city in tip top shape! I was told this sort of event might occur in the future on a regular basis. Hopefully this blog post helps to raise awareness a bit!

Around 150 volunteers had signed up to paint lamp posts. Many had gathered at Eighth Avenue and B Street just after nine o'clock when I walked through the area.
Around 150 volunteers had signed up to paint lamp posts. Many had gathered at Eighth Avenue and B Street just after nine o’clock when I walked through the area.
Getting the paint ready at the center of the parking lot where all the volunteers gathered in downtown's Core district.
Getting the paint ready at the center of the parking lot where all the volunteers gathered in downtown’s Core district.
The base of a downtown lamp post has been primed and is ready to be painted by volunteers. Hundreds of posts would be painted today!
The base of a downtown lamppost has been primed and is ready to be painted by volunteers. Hundreds of posts would be painted today!
A worker for the Clean and Safe program beautifies downtown San Diego.
A worker for the Clean and Safe program beautifies downtown San Diego. As a resident, I thank you all.
These nice volunteers were painting their third lamp post as I walked back through the area later in the day!
These nice volunteers were painting their third lamppost as I walked back through the area later in the day!

…

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!

Chinese museum: Typing a language with no alphabet.

Outdoor display window near the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum asks: How do you type a language with no alphabet?
Outdoor display window near the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum asks: How do you type a language with no alphabet?

I was walking through San Diego’s small Chinatown yesterday morning when I spied something really interesting. In a window near the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum a special exhibit is being promoted. The exhibit is titled Radical Machines – Chinese in the Information Age.

How do you type a language with no alphabet? Good question!

I’ll probably check this exhibit out in the next couple months. It runs through April 16, 2017.

A special exhibit titled Radical Machines - Chinese in the Information Age is now running at the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum.
A special exhibit titled Radical Machines – Chinese in the Information Age can be seen at the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum.
Gazing past stone lions at the entrance of the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum.
Gazing past stone lions at the entrance of the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum.
A manual typewriter whose keys type Western Civilization's adopted Latin alphabet seems to magically produce sheets of paper containing Chinese characters.
A manual typewriter whose keys type Western Civilization’s adopted Latin alphabet seems to magically produce sheets of paper containing Chinese characters.

…

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!

More interesting, unusual doors in San Diego!

Mysterious door in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter reads: Law Office Eddie O'Hare, Esquire. It's actually the entrance to a sneaky speakeasy, containing the underground 1920's themed Prohibition Lounge!
Mysterious gold lettering on a door in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter reads: Law Office Eddie O’Hare, Esquire. It’s actually the sneaky entrance to a speakeasy, the underground, 1920’s themed Prohibition Lounge!

Here’s another batch of cool door photographs, taken during my walks around San Diego.

Some of these doors are rather odd, as you can plainly see! Others have interesting historical significance. Most are just plain fun!

To learn a bit more, read the captions!

Nautical-looking door of the American Tunaboat Association on the Embarcadero near Tuna Harbor.
Nautical-looking door of the American Tunaboat Association on the Embarcadero near Tuna Harbor.
Interesting detail above the door of the 1906 Hearne Surgical Hospital Building in downtown San Diego.
Interesting detail above the door of the 1906 Hearne Surgical Hospital Building in downtown San Diego.
These old wooden doors to the patio of Indigo Grill in Little Italy are enormous!
These old wooden doors to the patio of Indigo Grill in Little Italy are enormous!  I don’t know their origin.
A very odd metal door in Little Italy. Seems to me it would quite easy to step around it!
A very odd metal door in Little Italy. Seems to me it would quite easy to step around it!
Not sure I'd want to step through this door in the Gaslamp. Looks dangerous!
Not sure I’d want to follow the arrow and step through this door in the Gaslamp Quarter. Looks dangerous!
In San Diego's small Chinatown one can see a cool sight that traces back to early San Diego history. The door to Quin Produce!
In San Diego’s small Chinatown one can see a cool sight that traces back to early San Diego history. The door to Quin Produce!
The unusually tall stained glass door of the Philippine Library and Museum in the Gaslamp. I'll probably visit one day!
The unusually tall stained glass door of the Philippine Library and Museum in the Gaslamp. I’ll probably visit one day!
It's what meets you at the front door of Mexican Fiesta in Seaport Village that's out of the ordinary. A sculpture of a bandito sitting on a bench!
It’s what meets you at the front door of Mexican Fiesta in Seaport Village that’s out of the ordinary. A sculpture of a bandito sitting on a bench!
Step through the front door of Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills and you're met by Hollywood movie stars!
Step through the front door of Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills and you’re met by Hollywood movie stars!

…

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!

Dreamlike visions on a wet, drizzly morning.

img_0355z

It was drizzling very lightly this morning when I stepped out my door. I walked from Cortez Hill down to Broadway, then over to Santa Fe Depot. My camera was under my umbrella.

The light was dim and uncertain, causing many photographs to come out unfocused. A few strange photographs seem to contain mysterious phantoms from some half-remembered dream.  Haunting visions on a wet, drizzly morning.

img_1356z

img_2363z

img_3365z

img_3391z

img_3392z

img_3393z

img_3402z

img_9373z

…

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!

History inside the William Heath Davis House.

Gaslamp Museum at the William Heath Davis House and Park, 1850. Home of the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation.
Gaslamp Museum at the William Heath Davis House and Park, 1850. Home of the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation.

These photos inside the historic William Heath Davis House Museum were taken a few months ago. I toured the fascinating house during the Fall Back Festival, which is held every year in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.

Dated 1850, the William Heath Davis House, like a number of other structures in early San Diego, was built on the East Coast and shipped around Cape Horn. At the time San Diego simply didn’t have the resources and tools required to build a fine wooden house. Various rooms inside the museum show what life was like in New Town a century and a half ago. It was a much simpler time. The small museum now sits in the middle of a gigantic, bustling metropolis.

Please read the photo captions for more info, and click the signs to read them.

Photo of the William Heath Davis House Museum taken from across Island Avenue.
Photo of the William Heath Davis House Museum taken from across Island Avenue.
Tours of the historic house are available. A museum store contains fascinating gifts.
Tours of the historic house are available. A museum store contains fascinating gifts.
The William Heath Davis House is the oldest surviving structure from San Diego's New Town. It is a prefabricated salt-box style home, shipped from Portland, Maine around Cape Horn. Dated 1850.
The William Heath Davis House, built in 1850, is the oldest surviving structure from San Diego’s New Town. It is a prefabricated “salt-box” style home, shipped from Portland, Maine around Cape Horn.
The 1850 Davis-Horton House was used as a military barracks, county hospital, and was home to Alonzo Horton and several other families.
The 1850 Davis-Horton House was used as a military barracks, county hospital, and was home to New Town’s founder Alonzo Horton and several other families over the years.
Looking down the stairs from the second floor. A lady in Victorian attire welcomes visitors to the museum during the Fall Back Festival in November.
Looking down the stairs from the second floor. A lady in Victorian attire welcomes visitors to the museum during the Fall Back Festival in November.
A look at the first floor living room where family and guests would gather.
A look at the first floor living room where family and guests would gather.
A small piano, sheet music, teacup and candle. Entertainment in the olden days was simple.
A small piano, sheet music, teacup and candle. Entertainment in the olden days was simple.
The dining table is set for a grand meal in New Town San Diego.
The dining table is set for a grand meal in what was then a sparsely populated New Town San Diego.
An old sewing machine can be found by a window upstairs.
An old sewing machine can be found by a window upstairs.
The nursery, with crib and small bed.
The nursery, with crib, chest and small bed.
Three beds for the children have colorful quilts.
Three beds for the children have colorful quilts.
A desk in the study and a cabinet full of books.
A desk in the study, framed photos, and a cabinet full of books.  No internet back then!
An old-fashioned penny-farthing bicycle reminds visitors to the William Heath Davis House Museum of what life was like a century and a half ago in San Diego.
An old-fashioned penny-farthing bicycle reminds visitors to the William Heath Davis House Museum of what life was like a century and a half ago in San Diego.

…

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!

San Diego buildings, shining in a sunlit fog.

Early morning sunlight reflects from a building's windows in Mission Valley, casting heavenly beams of light through lifting fog.
Early morning sunlight reflects from a building’s shining windows in Mission Valley, casting heavenly beams of light through a slight fog.

It was very foggy this morning in downtown San Diego. I had my camera out as I walked from the top of Cortez Hill to the Civic Center trolley station. By the time I reached Mission Valley, the fog had mostly dissipated. I was very fortunate to capture that almost heavenly first photo!  Those slanting beams are exactly as they appeared to the eye!

A bird flies past Cortez Blu, which rises into a foggy downtown San Diego sky.
A bird flies past Cortez Blu, which rises into a foggy downtown San Diego sky.
Vantage Pointe in downtown San Diego rises into a fog illuminated by the rising sun.
Vantage Pointe in downtown San Diego rises into a fog illuminated by the rising sun.
Fog and sunlight create a magical morning photo of skyscrapers on B Street in the heart of San Diego.
Fog and sunlight create a magical morning photo of skyscrapers on B Street in the heart of San Diego.
Beautiful light on tall ghostly buildings.
Beautiful light on tall ghostly buildings.

…

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!

Life in downtown San Diego is dynamic!

A mural with a bold message. Be dynamic. Be downtown.
A mural promoting San Diego has a very bold message: Be dynamic. Be downtown.

I can’t argue with the new mural at Sixth Avenue and Ash Street. It was painted a month or two ago and states: Be dynamic. Be downtown.

I’ve made my home in downtown San Diego for about 16 years and I still enjoy the experience: the liveliness, the color, the convenience, and of course the ability to easily walk all over the place–to the Embarcadero, Little Italy, Balboa Park, Petco Park, a trolley station, the ferry to Coronado, wherever my mood directs me. Even after all these years, new discoveries await around every corner. Yes, street parking on Cortez Hill has become almost impossible, and the homeless problem downtown is getting really bad and depressing–at times even a bit scary. But I still love this place. I try to convey that feeling with my blog.

I’ve got several more posts concerning my weekend walk in National City coming up. Plus maybe some other stuff mixed in.  Stay tuned!

Young man in business suit rides a scooter to work early one morning in downtown San Diego.
Young man in a business suit rides a scooter to work in downtown San Diego.  A dynamic photograph taken early this morning as I walked to the Little Italy trolley station!
Mural at Sixth Avenue and Ash Street promotes living, working and playing in downtown San Diego.
Mural at Sixth Avenue and Ash Street promotes living, working and playing in downtown San Diego.

…

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 very strange San Diego sight!

A strange liquid falls from the sky in San Diego. What is it?
A strange liquid falls from the sky in San Diego. What is it?

Umbrellas! In San Diego! My eyes must be deceiving me!

Who said it never rains in Southern California? Whoever that was, they must not have been downtown this morning!

It's only water. Perhaps we can cope. Most of these smart convention center visitors brought umbrellas!
It’s only water. Perhaps those of us who live in sunny San Diego can cope. Most of these smart convention center visitors brought umbrellas!
Honest-to-goodness rain has returned this winter, hopefully putting an end to our ongoing drought.
Honest-to-goodness rain has returned this winter, hopefully putting an end to our ongoing drought.
Umbrellas have sprouted like colorful flowers in the rain!
Umbrellas have sprouted like colorful flowers in the rain!

…

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!

Golden morning light on downtown buildings.

Golden morning light near Horton Plaza creates a cool sight in downtown San Diego.
Golden morning light near Horton Plaza creates a cool sight in downtown San Diego.

It’s raining right now in downtown San Diego. I hear the patter outside my window.

The antidote to gloom? Some warm, beautiful photos of golden morning light!

I took these photographs a couple months ago during a pleasant walk to the Convention Center trolley station. The sky was clear. Slanting light touched high buildings.

Photo of early sunlight slanting onto a few Broadway buildings in the heart of San Diego.
Photo of early sunlight slanting onto a few Broadway buildings in the heart of San Diego.
The historic U.S. Grant Hotel with splashes of morning light.
The historic U.S. Grant Hotel with splashes of morning light.
Bright morning reflection in windows.
Bright morning reflection in windows.
Light shines on the Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter building.
Light shines on the Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter building.
Peering at reflections on the AT&T building and beyond.
Peering at reflections on the AT&T building and beyond.
Looking skyward along a path of light.
Looking skyward along a path of light.
Turning to look north along Front Street early one morning.
Turning to look north along Front Street early one clear morning.
East side of the New Children's Museum. Glass and interesting architecture in the morning light.
East side of the New Children’s Museum. Glass and interesting architecture in the morning light.
The beautiful Horizons Condos San Diego towers catch light from the rising sun.
The beautiful Horizons Condos San Diego towers catch light from the rising sun.
Palms along Harbor Drive and morning light on the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel.
Palms along Harbor Drive, and morning light and shadow on the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel.

…

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!