I snapped this pic of the San Diego Trolley Yard at the 12th and Imperial Transit Center from the bridge above Harbor Drive. This new pedestrian bridge is a great spot for views of gleaming downtown skyscrapers, the Convention Center, Petco Park, the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, and the trolley and train yards.
This cool photograph was taken through a fence, giving the image a cluttered, layered, weirdly tangled appearance. The red trolleys seem to snake their way through a gray complex jumble of curving rails, vertical electrical poles and the grid of the blurred fence. It’s an image that fascinates the eye!
Here’s a less fascinating photo taken another day…
A less tangled photo from the bridge of the nearby train rail yard and tracks.
This photo turned out pretty good! Wish I could say it was the result of incredible photographic skill! But I must admit to being lucky once in a while…
This dazzling downtown skyscraper, not far from the Santa Fe Depot, reflects the deep blue summer sky and broken white clouds in a truly spectacular way! Look closely, and you can also see the reflection of the One America Plaza building which stands directly across Broadway.
I love that most of the newer skyscrapers in San Diego are a shiny silver or blue or green–like gleaming ocean waves rising above the sandy tan-colored buildings at their feet. The color scheme gives the skyline a watery cool, light and inviting appearance.
Here come two fun pics I took of the same building on a later date…
Reflection on shiny glass skyscraper of One America Plaza across Broadway.Three tall buildings near Santa Fe Depot reflect from downtown San Diego window.
Sunday afternoon brought a gigantic crowd to San Diego’s sunny waterfront. The 2013 Festival of Sail appears to be a resounding success! This photo was taken at the annual event’s busy entrance just south of the Star of India.
A huge mass of humanity also surged along the Embarcadero in the vicinity of the sand sculpture event on the cruise ship pier, and by the USS Midway and Seaport Village. Lines were long everywhere, and street vendors and performers were raking in the money!
One often hears that America’s Finest City is a top destination for tourists on Labor Day weekend…I certainly believe it!
UPDATE!
It’s almost a year later and the 2014 Festival of Sail is a couple days away! This year I’ll actually attend, brave the huge crowds and take a bunch of pics!
Banner is up on Star of India a few days before the 2014 Festival of Sail!
I live very close to the historic Ginty House on Cortez Hill. I noticed today they’ve put holiday red, white and blue bunting on their porch rails, to celebrate Labor Day.
The beautiful old Victorian house, in the Stick Eastlake style, was built in 1886 by businessman John Ginty at the very highest point on affluent Cortez Hill. In 1999 the house was saved from demolition and moved to its present location. Registered as an official Historical Landmark, it was recently named one of the top ten “Dream Homes” by San Diego Magazine.
Cool features include the “Fairhead Stone” horse carriage step jutting up beside the sidewalk, a four-way fireplace, and a two-car garage with a hydraulic lift!
UPDATE! I took this pic on Memorial Day 2014…
Flag appears instead of bunting on Memorial Day.The historic house as seen from the north on a typical day.
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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.
This might be the most awesome street art in downtown San Diego…at least, that I’ve seen. This fantastic, super vibrant mural adorns the east wall of Pokez, a popular vegetarian Mexican restaurant on E Street at 10th Avenue. The riot of neon bright colors is so crisp and exciting one just stands transfixed on the sidewalk, immersed in the rampant creativity.
As I photographed the spray-painted mural, a young lady walked by and commented that she really liked it, too!
A closer view of the colorful street art on Pokez.
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Here’s the right side of a tile bench painted by San Diego school kids. Check out my previous post for the left side and a brief explanation.
I love to sit on these fun tile benches near the Maritime Museum of San Diego and gaze out at the water. I have a weakness for this sort of inexcusable, lazy inactivity. Oh, well. Loafing wide-eyed on a sunshiny day is my personal definition of exciting urban living!
One of twelve benches featuring tiles painted by school children.
Here are more photos of the colorful benches along this stretch of the Embarcadero…
Celebrating the Big Bay, June 2004. Funded by The Port of San Diego.Lots of sun, beach and happiness.Kid artists contributed to tile benches along San Diego’s waterfront.Many young students chose to paint sailboats out on the Pacific Ocean.One of many tiles, painted by one of many hands.Some young artist made a silly fishy face that I really like!That big green fish is longer than that sailboat!Globs of color add a bit of variety to many fun images.Cool artwork produced by a young local student.Two happy figures seem to jump above flowers.Unique face of warm sun is appropriate in beautiful San Diego.
Along the Embarcadero near the Maritime Museum of San Diego you’ll discover a great walkway at the edge of the bay.
One can look straight down at gentle water lapping wood pilings, see small fish darting below like silver points of light, watch least terns wheeling in the sky and diving, see black cormorants hunting underwater like feathered submarines…and gracefully soaring pelicans, and sailboats racing, and a blue sky, and huge ships coming in carrying cars from Asia, and airplanes landing at Lindbergh Field, and a glittering downtown skyline nearby, and the distant lighthouse on Point Loma…
You get the idea. It’s an extremely interesting stroll at any time of the year!
Along the walkway, twelve colorfully tiled benches await those who’d like to sit. The tiles were painted by many local K-6 student artists in 2004, Celebrating the Big Bay, in partnership with the Port of San Diego and the San Diego Children’s Museum.
The benches contain pictures of the ocean, fish, fantastic sea creatures, gulls, whales, ships, mermaids, palm trees, and happy, smiling stick figure people, as envisioned by artistic children with a paint brush.
The above photograph shows the left end of one bench.
Below, someone fishes nearby…
Fishing on San Diego’s Embarcadero.A painted tile in a bench on San Diego’s Embarcadero.A red fish just swimming along in blue bubbles.A tropical fish with long spotted green fins.A very nicely rendered seahorse and colorful flowers.Beautiful work of art created by a local child.Creativity is splashed all over these tile benches.Eye-catching abstract design painted by youth.Fantastic tile artwork produced with many colorful painted dots.Here’s a green mermaid jumping rope atop the blue ocean!
The Greek muse Euterpe graces the bow of San Diego’s historic Star of India.
Here’s the oft-photographed figurehead of San Diego’s famous tall ship Star of India. I learned from a Maritime Museum of San Diego docent that the figurehead represents Euterpe, one of the Muses from Greek mythology. Euterpe was the muse of music. Euterpe was also the original name of the Star of India, when it was built at Ramsey in the Isle of Man in 1863. Her name was changed from Euterpe to Star of India in 1906 by the Alaska Packers’ Association, which had purchased the ship in 1901.
Closer look at Star of India’s classic figurehead.
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