Home Depot brought a bunch of colorful flowers to the Jacaranda Spring Thing community event on Cortez Hill.
On my way home from Balboa Park, I walked through the Jacaranda Spring Thing neighborhood event being held this afternoon on Cortez Hill. I saw a relaxed gathering of people out in the sunshine, enjoying some food, live music and other fun activities. Home Depot was on hand demonstrating some gardening and patio ideas for anyone interested. It’s still going on as I post this–until 4 o’clock!
I saw folks setting up the Jacaranda Spring Thing on Date Street this morning, as I set out on my walk.Purple blooms of jacaranda trees can be seen around downtown San Diego’s Cortez Hill neighborhood.A neighbor learns about outdoor and indoor gardening during the special Cortez Hill event.Someone tries their hand at a fun bean bag toss game.A colorful book truck operated by a Mexican publisher could be found at the Jacaranda Spring Thing.Live music, food and good times in the spring sunshine on a Saturday afternoon.
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One of San Diego’s oldest surviving landmarks, the 1910 Broadway Fountain, designed by Irving Gill, will be an iconic part of the new Horton Plaza Park.
I walked by the Horton Plaza Park construction site this morning. The huge project appears to be almost finished!
Horton Plaza Park’s Grand Opening Celebration will be held on May 4, 2016, from 6:30pm to 10:00pm. Located at the center of downtown San Diego, on the south side of Broadway between the historic U.S. Grant Hotel and the popular Westfield Horton Plaza shopping mall, the park will surely be jammed that evening with people wanting to check things out!
Cool features of the new urban park include a large amphitheater, three pavilions featuring food and beverages, an interactive fountain that folks are welcome to splash in, and some very unique 23-foot high luminaries–cool metal sculptures with lights that change colors!
There are plans to host hundreds of events at this large outdoor venue every year, including concerts, civic celebrations and gatherings, and even special movie screenings.
As a downtown resident, I can’t wait!
The elaborate Horton Plaza Park will celebrate its Grand Opening on the evening of May 4, 2016.Construction of this new downtown San Diego park has been ongoing for a couple years. The original public plaza on this city block dates from 1895.The cool 23-foot tall luminary sculptures are visible rising behind the construction fence. The NBC building reflects the morning sun in the background.Workers are getting the new park ready for its early May opening. There will be an amphitheater, food pavilions and an interactive water fountain that people can splash in!The walkway next to the Balboa Theatre leading from Fourth Avenue to the Westfield Horton Plaza shopping mall is also being improved, with many new trees and benches.Horton Plaza Park in downtown San Diego promises to be a fun and spectacular urban gathering place!
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Cheerful blooms cover Pink Trumpet Trees in Tweet Street Park. The neighborhood park is site of an upcoming spring festival!
This morning, when I saw a large temporary sign on the street outside my front door, I went to investigate. And look what I discovered! A neighborhood spring festival is going to take place on Cortez Hill!
It’s called Jacaranda Spring Thing! (Yes, there are lots of beautiful Jacaranda trees on Cortez Hill. Many can be found in Tweet Street Park where the festival will take place.)
The free outdoor event will feature food trucks, a special Home Depot workshop (about fixing up your outdoor patio), live music, a book truck, a photo booth . . . all sorts of fun stuff!
Okay, are you interested? It takes place on April 16 at Tweet Street Park, along Date Street between 8th and 9th Avenue, from noon to 4pm. Here’s a link with more info. (By registering at that link, the organizers at the Downtown San Diego Partnership can get an idea of how many people might show up.)
A special neighborhood event is coming to beautiful Cortez Hill. The Jacaranda Spring Thing takes place Saturday, April 16, from 12pm-4pm.I love walking along Date Street through sunny Tweet Street, a park dedicated to city birds.Spring is in the air on Cortez Hill. The gentle season brings new life and great natural beauty.
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Imagination. One work of art on a construction site fence in East Village.
One can find some colorful, imaginative artwork on a long construction site fence in East Village. In case you aren’t in San Diego, or simply can’t swing on by, I took some photographs!
The large city block bounded by the fence is the site of a new mixed-use development called IDEA1. The visionary urban project includes a combination of apartments, lofts, restaurants, retail and high-tech office space. At the center of it all will be a community gathering place, called The Hub. I can’t wait to see everything finished.
Meanwhile, we can enjoy this cool urban art!
A skyscraper fits right in with a vertical pencil, ruler and paint brush.A big construction crane in downtown San Diego rises over globs of color.A cloud containing llamas engulfs the upper stories of a very tall building. Okay, that’s just plain weird! But I like it!Discover Beyond. Beyond this construction fence, IDEA1 is rising. IDEA1 is a new mixed-use residential and business project in East Village.A noodle coming out of a basket spells Idea. Care for some sushi?Cool graphic shows lamp, street signs, a DecoBike station, traffic signal and San Diego trolley.Curious? I am.A psychedelic, tree-lined eyeball between colorful barren branches.Bright Idea at the corner of Park Boulevard and F Street in San Diego’s East Village.Top of one idea, with wires coming out.A couple, a red umbrella, and city lights.
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Have you seen my new blog yet? I think you might enjoy it! It’s called Beautiful Balboa Park! It contains lots of fun, interesting stuff!
A booth anticipating this year’s 2016 MLB All-Star Game sells official merchandise at Padres FanFest, the weekend before Opening Day.
I’ve taken more photos anticipating baseball’s Midsummer Classic!
San Diego will host the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in July, just one week separated from the internationally famous and wildly popular San Diego Comic-Con. Things are going to get crazy!
I live downtown, and I’ll be taking most of those two weeks off from work, so I promise to walk around and take loads of fun photos! Even though both events are several months away, I’m already getting excited!
2016 All-Star Game merchandise includes clothing, keychains, pins, commemorative baseballs and other collectible items. Major League Baseball will put on a big show this summer in San Diego!2016 San Diego All-Star Game logo at end of pedestrian ramp inside Petco Park, cool stadium home of the MLB Padres.This large sign at the top of Petco Park announces that San Diego is home of the 2016 All-Star Game.The upcoming All-Star Game appears on a street lamp near Petco Park. These banners can now be seen around East Village.Vintage baseball photo at entrance to DiamondView Tower overlooking Petco Park. More history will be made in San Diego this year.Guy attending 2016 Padres FanFest wears an old 1992 San Diego All-Star Game jacket, reminding everyone that the Midsummer Classic is returning this year!
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This year I’ll be covering some huge events! Stand by for excitement!
Padres fans have a ball at today’s big FanFest at Petco Park. An exhibition game was played in the afternoon against the Chicago White Sox.
This morning I walked across downtown to check out Padres FanFest! The big annual event is held at Petco Park just prior to baseball’s Opening Day. It provides fans a taste of the upcoming Padres season. This is the third year in a row I’ve attended, and I really enjoyed it! Here are some pics! Go Pads!
Thousands of fans turn out to get a preview of the Padres’ 2016 baseball season. There were many family activities throughout Petco Park.Young Padres fans test their batting ability at a special KidsFest area.Photo of the busy children’s baseball field, an awesome feature of the public park situated beyond Petco Park’s outfield.Young batter smashes a hit in the tiny ball field at Park at the Park. Baseball is fun for everyone!Kid infielders charge a batted wiffle ball at the miniature baseball field in Park at the Park.A friendly Coast Guard mascot attracts as much attention from kids as the nearby inflatable batting cage.The San Diego Padres pulled out all the stops for this year’s Fan Fest. It appeared that many people were buying tickets for the upcoming season.Phil’s BBQ is a local favorite. Lots of tasty stuff was available at concessions inside and outside the stadium, including old classics like hot dogs.Many popular Major League Baseball players were signing autographs for lined up fans.Sign on back of the huge videoboard highlights the team’s past accomplishments. This year Petco Park will host the 2016 MLB All-Star Game!Some graphics at Petco Park commemorate Padres Hall of Famers.2016 FanFest allowed people to watch batting practice for the afternoon’s exhibition game. Another sunny spring day in San Diego. The Pads will soon Play Ball!Fans watch and hope to catch a ball during White Sox batting practice. The field looks green and ready for the coming season!I hope lots of Padres batters hit this bullseye on the Western Metal Supply building during the 2016 season. Hope springs eternal!A lucky somebody in the stands gets an unexpected autograph from the Padres bullpen!Padres starting pitcher James Shields stretches and warms up in the bullpen.Padres FanFest is an exciting annual sports event at Petco Park!A player smashed a line drive over the wall during batting practice. If someone can catch the ball, they might possibly win a cool prize: tickets to the Homerun Derby before this year’s All-Star Game!A busy vendor walks about with drinks and snacks.Padres fans rest behind the Tony Gwynn statue atop the hill in the grassy Park at the Park.Padres faithful kick back in the stands and absorb the sights and sounds of San Diego baseball.Superstar pitcher James Shields signs autographs for lots of excited fans during 2016 FanFest at Petco Park.
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San Diego’s famous Star of India–the oldest active sailing ship in the world–is having its decks replaced. First up is the poop deck. Work has just begun.
Today I boarded the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s world-famous Star of India. The lady in the ticket booth informed me that the deck replacement began about a week or so ago!
You might remember I blogged about the Star of India’s deck replacement effort here. Click the link to check out that post, and you can see how the poop deck appeared before work began.
A nice docent allowed me to walk up the steps almost to the poop deck so I could get a good photograph. As you can see, the first section of the deck has been removed. I also noted that the saloon underneath has been carefully converted into a work area.
Do you love history or San Diego? Please click here to help with this very important project!
The historic ship’s elegant saloon has become a work area during the deck replacement.Gazing up through a big hole in the ceiling! The new, stronger deck will be built using sophisticated techniques and modern materials, but it will visually appear like the original.
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Today I saw a new canopy and sign at the ever-expanding Tuna Harbor Dockside Market. It’s a food tent called Loaf and Fish! They’ve got one of my favorite things!
I’m not really a food blogger, but I have a terrible weakness for fish sandwiches, fish tacos and fish burritos. So when I saw a new food vendor was selling fresh fish sandwiches this weekend at the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, of course I had to try one!
A bit down the pier you’ll find the sign that reads Loaf and Fish. Those are the nice folks you need to see. My grilled fish sandwich was really good! I was told they don’t have a website yet, but they’ll be there on the pier every Saturday morning, a tasty addition to the constantly growing Dockside Market!
(You can visit San Diego’s new outdoor fish market every Saturday morning on the pier just north of Seaport Village, next to Tuna Harbor.)
Loaf and Fish. Built, helmed and crewed by fishing families. The tasty yellowtail in my sandwich was caught by the fishing vessel Wild West!Oh, man! My fish sandwich is getting ready! Some tomatoes, avocado (yum), red onions, chipotle mayo, lettuce, all on a fresh bolillo roll. And, of course, grilled fresh fish!And here it is, with a smile! You know what? It was pretty darn good. I recommend devouring these!Everyone at Loaf and Fish was super nice to some strange blogger guy walking around with a camera. Good luck guys!
UPDATE!
Loaf and Fish has added a couple of items to their menu. You can now enjoy fish tacos and tasty fish soup!
The fish tacos are just as yummy as any you’ll find in San Diego. And keep in mind our city has the best fish tacos in the entire world.
I’ve also tried the fish soup and it’s really tasty! In addition to big chunks of freshly caught fish, there are fresh vegetables and slices of avocado floating on top! On chilly mornings this hot soup really hits the spot!
To top it all off, eating on the pier by the water–with the bustle of activity all around, including friendly fishermen and local fishing boats and the seagulls and playful sea lions barking nearby–it’s a feast for the senses that can’t be beat!
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A brand new sign is being installed at Petco Park, stadium home of Major League Baseball’s awesome San Diego Padres!
Just a quick couple pics. During my walk this morning, I happened to notice a big new Petco Park sign is being installed on the San Diego Padres’ downtown stadium. The new sign is a bright, cheerful red, and I’m sure it’s no coincidence that the lettering closely resembles the Petco logo. Workers are installing it from a crane just in time for Opening Day, which is a home game–April 4th against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Of course, the new sign will also be seen by millions of television viewers during the upcoming MLB All-Star game this summer. Go Pads!
Bicyclist heads down Park Boulevard past a new sight in East Village: a redesigned red sign for Petco Park, just in time for Opening Day and the upcoming 2016 MLB All-Star Game.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! 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 surprising photos for you to enjoy!
Photo of a unique downtown landmark. The shining lattice dome of the San Diego Central Library, as seen from the ninth floor’s outside deck.
Many old redundant photos are being purged from my computer this weekend. But I had to definitely share these!
I’ve blogged about San Diego’s relatively new downtown library several times. I’ve posted more than a few pics of its unique lattice dome. You might recall some weirdly halo-like photos I took in the darkness early one night last year.
Well, check these out! The curving lines of steel reflected in the building’s windows look like a lesson in complex geometry. You know, in a strange way the dome reminds me of a graph or diagram demonstrating how time and space can be warped by gravity! Am I crazy? What does it look like to you?
A collection of rare books is housed in a room on the ninth floor of San Diego’s public library.The visually impressive steel lattice dome tops an airy two-story high library reading room. An architectural marvel.Reflections in the windows create a fantastic, mysterious image.Looking upward at the metal dome and blue sky. Amazing views can be had of downtown from the library’s ninth floor.Lots of geometric complexity and dazzling light for my camera’s lens.Peering down into the spacious reading room on a bright sunshiny day.Filtered light and shadows form unusual grid-like patterns inside the reading room. The perfect place to study a math book, maybe.A three-dimensional delight. Intersecting lines fascinate the eye.One last cool photo. I feel like I’m floating through some sort of mathematical dreamscape.
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