A new exhibition is on display in the windows of The Courthouse Gallery in downtown San Diego. It’s titled Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
I was walking down Broadway past the Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse when I spied the beautiful artwork this morning.
You can learn more about the exhibition and the talented local artists by clicking here!
These photos represent a fraction of the current exhibition.
When you go for a walk, there’s no telling what you might discover!
I need your help. As yet I haven’t figured out something. This appears to be new public art in downtown San Diego.
Tree sections that double as seats have been placed near circles on a sidewalk. The circles, of various sizes, each seem to indicate the past location of tree. The approximate age of each tree is written inside each ring.
The sidewalk in question is west of the new The Torrey high-rise, the same building where huge new murals were very recently painted. Walk along Union Street between B and A Streets and you’ll no doubt spot the art.
Were trees removed from these spots? My memory is foggy. Should you happen to know anything, please leave a comment. If I get more information, I’ll post an update!
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Huge, super colorful murals are being painted in downtown San Diego. Once completed, there will be four murals, one on each side of The Torrey’s new high-rise. The Torrey is located at 1200 Front Street, where the north part of the old downtown courthouse used to stand.
This morning during my walk I noticed two artists working on the east side mural. I’d stumbled upon Australian husband-and-wife visual artists who go by the name DABSMYLA. They’re out of Los Angeles. Here’s their website. That’s them in the above photograph!
Two murals are finished, they’re now working on the third, and I was told a fourth will be painted on the south side of the building, once the old courthouse bridge over B Street is demolished.
Super cool!
These first photos show the mural they’re working on presently, on the building’s east side. All of their artwork is full of bold imagery from nature, including San Diego’s beautiful coast.
On the north side…
And on the west side (where there’s some new, interesting stump art on the sidewalk which I’ll blog about)…
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Perhaps you’ve seen this old plaque in downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp Square, steps from the Gaslamp trolley station. It memorializes Christopher J. Mortenson, who was a pioneer in the 1980s revitalization of the Gaslamp Quarter, today a National Historic District.
Who was Christopher John Mortenson?
This link to his Find a Grave page describes a man who was an architect and developer in San Diego, where he was also known as a generous philanthropist. He was associated with many Gaslamp District landmarks including the Ingle Building (Golden Lion Tavern), the Krasne Building and the Pioneer Building at Fifth and K Street in San Diego. He also restored the Marston Building at Fifth and C, and the Abbey Restaurant.
He is also known for ferrying the 1887 Victorian house “Baby Del” by barge from Sherman Heights to Coronado. To see photos of the Baby Del, which resembles a small version of the Hotel del Coronado, click here.
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Top Secret: Inside the High-Stakes World of Naval Intelligence is a fantastic exhibit that opened on the USS Midway Museum last year. I finally checked it out a few days ago.
The exhibit takes visitors through the Carrier Intelligence Center, which is contained in a surprisingly large area (1,500 square feet) under the USS Midway aircraft carrier’s flight deck, spanning its entire width. During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the Carrier Intelligence Center served as the nerve center for intelligence gathering and analysis, mission planning, and strategic decision-making.
Today visitors can enjoy interactive displays that demonstrate how, years ago, in a less technologically advanced era, naval intelligence was gathered and analyzed, to aid combat operations, search and rescue, and humanitarian missions.
Walking through the exhibit, I observed how Intelligence Specialists worked like detectives. It was interesting to see how analog instruments were used to analyze gathered information. Imagine my surprise seeing an old-fashioned slide rule, which was used to calculate the size of structures in photos taken from a great distance! Some of the original, restored equipment includes teletypes and radio receivers.
I learned that specialists who gathered, analyzed and acted upon critical information included Air Intelligence Officers, Aerographer’s Mates, Photographers Mates, Cryptologic Technicians, Squadron Aviation Intelligence Officers… In combat, when every moment might mean life or death, everyone must work quickly and efficiently as a team to achieve success.
Top Secret: Inside the High-Stakes World of Naval Intelligence is so amazing it earned the MUSE Gold Award in the Experiential and Immersive Exhibition category!
If all this sounds interesting to you, head over the USS Midway Museum in downtown San Diego and check it out!
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In downtown San Diego, numerous scrolls of wisdom are waiting to be unrolled. If you step into the studio of artist James Watts (@jewattso), you can easily attain that wisdom!
James was at work in his studio this morning, and I said hello. He showed me one of the projects he’s now working on. There on one table were a bunch of new scrolls!
Last year I posted a blog about his ambitious scroll project. I explained his handmade scrolls are painted on fabric and utilize wood sticks he’s found, cut to size and sanded smooth. He loves philosophy, religion and literature, and bits of inspired thought make their way into his work.
Yes, indeed, it is what it is!
And more!
He accompanies the wise sayings with still life paintings. Such as an egg and swiss cheese. Interpret as you may!
I don’t know whether you had a chance to see James Watts’ exhibition at the Oceanside Museum of Art four years ago. If you didn’t, click here and check it out!
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Brilliant Lady has made her debut in San Diego!
The impressive 17 deck, 2770 passenger cruise ship, which launched in September last year, arrived in San Diego this month to begin operations on the West Coast. The adults only Virgin Voyages ship will be cruising down to Mexico and up to Alaska. It’s the fourth ship in the Virgin Voyages fleet.
I saw the new cruise ship this morning docked at San Diego’s Broadway Pier.
In 2019, about one week after its installation, I posted a blog concerning this amazing, stainless steel, sea snail sculpture, which is called Growing Home. It rises near Petco Park in East Village, in front of the Park 12 – The Collection luxury apartments.
You can read more about this phenomenal public art and see my original photographs by clicking here.
Last night I walked past Growing Home. Wow. I was so struck by its glowing brilliance that I had to take more photos.
And here they are!
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Perhaps, like me, you’ve wondered about the art gallery located next to San Diego’s downtown Fifth Avenue trolley station. Sometimes I’ll peer curiously at the windows when I walk past.
Today the door was wide open!
Inside, what did I find? Singer/songwriter/artist Shelbi Bennett and some of her beautiful artwork, which is being installed in the gallery for an exhibition that opens on April 1, 2026!
Brokers Building Art Gallery is the name of the place. According to its website, the gallery traces its roots to a grassroots artist collective that has existed in San Diego for over 40 years. Originally housed in the historic Brokers Building at Fourth Avenue and Market Street in the Gaslamp Quarter, the gallery functioned as a rare, artist-run cultural space embedded directly within the city’s commercial core.
I learned the Brokers Gallery as it exists today hosts many events, including the monthly Open Mic Night, culture nights, live music, and rotating art exhibitions. Check out their event page by clicking here.
It was a pleasure to briefly meet Shelbi Bennett, who I recognized from her past performance on KUSI television. Fine works of art she has created were going up on the gallery wall!
If you’d like to visit her Instagram page, here it is!
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Enjoy some fun photos taken early this afternoon at the East Village Opening Weekend Block Party! The 2026 MLB baseball season has begun and our San Diego Padres have high hopes.
Lots of fans were wandering up and down several blocks of J Street just north of Petco Park. There was live music, dogs dressed like Padres fans, cool lowriders in a row, food, kids making swag chains, a spray paint artist, and even a wiffleball derby!
Too much fun!
Cool San Diego Sights! 