Tag: downtown

Tower of Ten Billion Stars stands in San Diego!

A very unique sculpture can now be approached by the public on San Diego’s waterfront. More construction fences have come down at the new Research and Development District (RaDD) complex!

The Tower of Ten Billion Stars is another work of monumental art on what is called the RaDD Artwalk. You can spy the narrow oblong sculpture standing strangely on one end, by looking south from Broadway, east of Harbor Drive.

The creator of this shimmering “tower” is Lindy Lee, a Chinese-Australian artist. As its official description states here, it stands as both a beacon and wayfinder.

Hundreds of small holes in the sculpture’s side allow the passage of bright daylight. The holes shine like visible stars in a silvery sky. They seem to form constellations. Stars–like the North Star–have been wayfinders since ancient times, right?

I’m not sure why it’s a Tower of Ten Billion Stars. There are 100 to 400 billion stars in our own Milky Way galaxy. And there are between 100 billion and 2 trillion galaxies in the Universe.

Perhaps this curving tower is like a tiny, tiny, infinitesimal sliver of the inconceivably vast and mysterious Cosmos.

I walked around the sculpture this evening and took some photographs. I love those reflections of palm trees and nearby tall buildings!

(I also love how “beyond boundaries” can be read nearby. Astronomers can only theorize. The words are actually in reference to a World Design Capital event being held at RaDD.)

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Broadway Pier activity during Fleet Week San Diego!

Broadway Pier in downtown San Diego will be bustling with activity all this weekend. That’s because it’s 2024 Fleet Week!

The public can walk out onto the pier Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Veterans Day) and view a variety of displays by the United States military, in particular the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. The event began Friday afternoon, and I arrived in time to check it out.

The first thing one notices are United States Marine Corps combat vehicles and a gigantic howitzer. As I watched, active service members demonstrated the operation of the howitzer. Funny how operators must physically swab the bore after every shot, just as soldiers and sailors did with cannons in olden days.

Wandering about Broadway Pier, one can find a military working dog demonstration from Camp Pendleton, a robot demonstration, organizations that assist Veterans, and a multitude of food trucks near an outdoor entertainment stage.

The public can also tour a Coast Guard cutter and the USS Germantown, a huge amphibious dock landing ship.

I enjoyed exploring the Fleet Week Innovation Zone inside the pier’s Port Pavilion, where a bunch of booths were set up that promote STEM education. When I arrived, the day was drawing to a close and many of the booths were empty, which was a bit disappointing.

I did enjoy a very cool virtual reality simulation of operations aboard an aircraft carrier! Five visitors don VR headsets and become team members, landing and launching aircraft!

I also enjoyed speaking to friendly folks at the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration table, and viewing graphics concerning Naval history in California.

To learn all about the public ship tours and Fleet Week San Diego activities, which will include a Veterans Day Boat Parade on Monday, click 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 X.

Christmas tree auction helps San Diego homeless!

Would you like to have a uniquely beautiful Christmas Tree this holiday season? Would you like to help San Diego’s homeless at the same time?

Seventeen wonderfully decorated Christmas Trees are now on display in the lobby of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel. They are being auctioned to help the homeless. The event is called 1st Annual Holiday Village at the Bayfront: A Cause to Celebrate!

Each one-of-a-kind Christmas Tree has its own fun theme. All were decorated by folks who help our city’s homeless at Father Joe’s Villages. One very special Christmas Tree features ornaments created using the imprints of the hands and feet of children who attend Father Joe’s Therapeutic Childcare Center!

Complete information can be found on this web page. Funds raised go to helping thousands of San Diegans have safe shelter, hot meals, and hope during the holidays. The auction ends on November 24, 2024.

Visit the auction page and see photos of each amazing tree by clicking here!

I really like the kids-made tree: Santa’s Whimsical Workshop!

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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 X.

Day of the Dead altars on car hoods.

I arrived late yesterday to the Gaslamp Quarter’s Día de los Muertos celebration. The classic cars and lowriders were already departing, so I couldn’t photograph their colorful Day of the Dead hood and trunk altars.

Fortunately the event continued today, so I made sure to arrive early!

Enjoy these photos of touching Day of the Dead altars. They remember and honor loved ones who’ve passed away. The traditional altars attain a unique quality when combined with Mexican American lowrider culture, which thrives in San Diego.

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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 X.

A colorful Día de los Muertos in the Gaslamp!

Is that the Ghostbusters cool ECTO-1 car . . . with a skeleton and a señorita? I wasn’t expecting to see this when I walked up Fifth Avenue during San Diego Gaslamp Quarter’s annual Día de los Muertos celebration!

I arrived around 5 o’clock, just as all the classic and lowrider cars were starting to depart. Unfortunately I was too late and missed their unique hood ofrendas.

I did observe several static Day of the Dead altars around what is essentially a big street festival. And elaborately face-painted Catrinas. And live music on a stage, and lots of food and vendors and people in a late Saturday party mood.

The very colorful, family-friendly event continues this evening until 9 pm. It returns tomorrow, Sunday, November 3, from 11 am to 6 pm. You can learn more about the Gaslamp’s Día de los Muertos Festival by clicking here.

(I’ll probably swing by again tomorrow, when I go to the nearby Fall Back Festival!)

Enjoy a few photos!

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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 X.

Creative Halloween pumpkins at Hard Rock Hotel!

The Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter has an awesome Halloween display inside their lobby!

The hotel’s different departments have each “carved” a pumpkin. Their creative efforts fill a large table, and guests are invited to vote for their favorite. The winning department receives a trophy!

I checked out all the great pumpkins this morning. Some are really scary. Some are pure fun. (I like the pumpkin with a spa facial.)

Here come the photos…

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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 X.

Halloween creeps into San Diego’s Gaslamp!

Should we be frightened? Halloween has crept into San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter!

I took these spooky (and fun) photographs early this morning in dim light, then in the late afternoon as restaurants and bars prepared for a terrifying onslaught of evening partiers.

Trick or treat!

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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 X.

San Diego Symphony’s beautiful community ofrenda.

The San Diego Symphony has placed a community ofrenda in their box office lobby for Día de los Muertos. The beautiful Day of the Dead altar can be found inside the front entrance of downtown’s Symphony Towers. Step inside, turn left and you’ll see it.

The community ofrenda was designed by local Mexican-American artist Maricruz Alvarado. She has been creating beautiful ofrendas for 25 years.

(By the way, I recently posted photos of a gigantic skull that Maricruz made! See it by clicking here!)

Members of the community are invited to contribute photographs and other momentos to the San Diego Symphony ofrenda in memory of deceased loved ones.

I swung by for a look early this morning…

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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 X.

Italian Digital History Initiative in San Diego.

Over the weekend, as I walked through the Bella Vita Fest in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood, I noticed a large display of fascinating old photographs.

Convivio, a cultural organization that works to preserve the Italian community’s history in San Diego, was showing images from our city’s past!

There were photographs of tuna fishermen and boats and cannery workers, old restaurants and businesses on India Street, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Washington Elementary School, families, neighbors playing bocce…

It was pointed out to me that many of the houses and buildings that were photographed generations ago can still be recognized on the present-day streets of Little Italy!

Checking out the Convivio website, I see they are undertaking an important history preservation project. Their Italian Digital History Initiative hopes that residents of San Diego will contribute to a growing archives full of memories. The current cornerstone of Convivio’s preservation focus is the Italian Digital History Initiative, established in 2006, which preserves the local Italian community’s heritage through photographs, documents, oral histories, and other new-media resources.

If you have interesting material that helps tell the story of Italian immigrants in San Diego, you can bring it down to the AMICIBAR (the historical Amici House) next to the Little Italy Dog Park on Sundays, between 10 am and 2 pm. They’ll digitize photos, documents (marriage, birth certificates), awards/certificates of recognition, personal letters, permits and licenses (fishing or retail industries, for example), and whatever tells THE STORY OF YOUR FAMILY HERITAGE!

Learn more about this important project by clicking here.

View the historical archives 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 X.

Chalk art at Little Italy’s Bella Vita Fest!

Enjoy this collection of photographs. I took them late this afternoon in Little Italy at the inaugural Bella Vita Fest event, along India Street.

The Italian-themed event is produced by ArtWalk San Diego. Appropriately, it’s taking place during a sunny weekend in October, which is Italian American Heritage Month.

In addition to the work of some 30 chalk artists, visitors to the festival can enjoy live entertainment, wine tastings, great Italian food and lots of unique vendor booths. Bella Vita Fest continues tomorrow, Sunday, from 11 am to 5 pm. Learn more here!

These photographs include many of the chalk art works. Ones that were just begun or badly disrupted by shadows I might have skipped. Most chalk artists will continue their work during Bella Vita Fest on Sunday!

Chalk art by Tonya Neilson.

Chalk art by Cecelia Linayao.

Chalk art by Pappricci.

Chalk art by Dawn Wagner.

Chalk art by Meg Beverly Canilang.

Chalk art by NIKIMEG.

Chalk art by Joyce Hatzidakis.

Chalk art by Gutierrez Family.

Chalk art by Team Zamora.

Chalk art by Isaiah Hernandez.

Chalk art by Raziah Roushan.

Kids create fun chalk art at Bella Vita Fest in San Diego’s Little Italy.

Chalk art by Steele Canyon High School.

Chalk art by Shawndell Smith Art.

Chalk art by Kim sisters.

Chalk art by Maddalena and Rogalski.

Chalk art by Michelle Lubin.

Chalk art by Jen Swain.

Chalk art by Monika Petroczy.

Chalk art by Canyon Crest Academy.

Chalk art by Jose Noe Hernandez.

Chalk art by Fia Soisson.

Chalk art by Gloria Ing.

Chalk art by Sarah Conley.

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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 X.