Tag: east village

Padres bobblehead collection at San Diego library!

A new exhibit was recently introduced to the Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center on the 8th floor of San Diego’s Central Library. Filling two display cases are a bunch of Padres player bobbleheads!

How cool is this?

There are Padres past and present, including Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn, Ozzie Smith, Rickey Henderson, Manny Machado, Juan Soto, Jackson Merrill and many more. The one exception I noticed is a bobblehead of Hamilton (Ham) Porter from the classic baseball movie The Sandlot.

The figures on display, I was told by a librarian, are only a small part of the extensive bobblehead collection owned by Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) member Oscar Murrieta.

Head up to the 8th floor of the Central Library for a better look!

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San Diego readies for 2026 Padres season!

Anyone walking in downtown San Diego can see how the city is preparing for another Major League Baseball season. With signs, banners, loads of merchandise in shop windows–everyone is getting ready to enjoy exciting Padres games at Petco Park!

Can you believe it? Last year, the San Diego Padres had the second highest ballpark attendance in all of Major League Baseball. Not only do we have the best ballpark, we have the best fans!

I took these photos in East Village and the Gaslamp Quarter yesterday morning. With a month to go until Opening Day (March 26), more fun downtown sights will certainly materialize.

It looks to be another great season! Let’s make the playoffs and fight for a World Series appearance!

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San Diego Library’s local author exhibit.

The annual Local Author Showcase of the San Diego Library is now on display on the first floor of downtown’s Central Library!

It’s exciting to see dozens of newly published books every year by diverse authors. Our city has so many creative and talented people! The Central Library is an ideal place to showcase their achievements.

Today I moseyed past the glass display cases and peered at different titles and covers.

A few examples…

At one end of the exhibit, I found a colorful work of art by Judith Parenio! It’s titled Words.

Books are portals to open minds…

The art of Mike McCarley at the Central Library.

I really like this fun artwork. It’s now on public display at San Diego’s downtown Central Library. The five original paintings and the digital illustration prints were created by Mike McCarley (aka Mike Mike), who resides in Ocean Beach and imbues his work with a playful, laid-back beach vibe.

As a sign explains, his work has roots in skateboard art, cartoons, and an enduring love for the color blue. To see these in person, head up to the Central Library’s second floor near the escalators and look for the glass display cases. I believe the exhibit continues through December, so there isn’t much time left.

If you dig Mike Mike’s stuff, check out his Instagram page here. He works professionally in architecture, but his creative heart belongs to painting and illustration.

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To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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Zoo animals memorialized in San Diego mural.

This beautiful mural was completed earlier this year in San Diego’s downtown East Village neighborhood. It memorializes three San Diego Zoo animals that passed away in 2025. It was painted by Ground Floor Murals.

I had a nearby errand this afternoon, so I swung by to see it. You can view the mural near the corner of Market Street and 16th Street, behind the Brikho Fuels gas station, on the south side of the Ace Uniforms building.

The zoo animals remembered are Kalluk the polar bear, Nicky the Masai giraffe, and Maka the Western lowland gorilla.

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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.

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Photos of Padres Postseason watch party at Petco!

Padres win! Padres win!

The crowd in Petco Park’s Gallagher Square went nuts when the San Diego Padres recorded the final out in Game 2 of the MLB Wild Card Series against the Cubs in Chicago. When Manny Machado hit his 2 run homer, imagine how excited everyone was!

What awesome fans: waving rally towels, dancing between innings, tossing balls with excited kids, focusing on every pitch and swing on the big Gallagher Square videoboard.

What a great team win! The Padres pitchers in particular were practically unhittable.

There will be another Padres Postseason Watch Party tomorrow. At the time of my writing, the start time is undetermined. Proceeds from the five dollar tickets go to the Padres Foundation. Get your tickets online.

Win or lose, the San Diego Padres organization always provides a really good time.

Enjoy some fun pics taken before and during the big game…

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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.

Feel free to share!

As playoffs begin, downtown roots for Padres!

Hard to believe it’s almost October. Major League Baseball Postseason 2025 begins tomorrow!

The San Diego Padres will be playing in Chicago against the Cubs in their MLB Wild Card Series matchup. Our hometown team ended up with another 90 win season. Let’s go Pads!

I walked around the Gaslamp Quarter, Petco Park and East Village this afternoon, and found indications that small businesses, restaurants and many others in downtown are rooting for the Padres!

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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.

Feel free to share!

Painting the Merrill Madness mural downtown!

San Diego artist Christopher Konecki was working on painting the new Merrill Madness mural in downtown this morning. The artwork will depict Padres baseball star Jackson Merrill, and will greet fans coming west down Market Street at Eighth Avenue.

The grassroots, fan-funded mural is a collaboration that includes the Merrill Madness Foundation and artist team Christopher Konecki (@konecki_art) and Carly Ealey (@carlyealey). Amazing murals by these artists appear throughout the city. You might recall how they painted two cool Padres murals in North Park. See those photos here and here.

Chris told me this is the fourth day of working on the Merrill Madness mural. It’s huge: four stories high! The mural should be done in a couple of weeks or so.

I’ll provide an update when the artwork is completed.

Looks like it’s gonna be awesome!

UPDATE!

Three days later, much progress has been made!

ANOTHER UPDATE!

And in another three days…

AND FOUR DAYS AFTER THAT…

ONE MORE UPDATE!

It was finally completed!

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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.

Feel free to share!

Savannah Bananas arrive in San Diego!

The Savannah Bananas have arrived in San Diego. They will be playing their wacky Banana Ball today and tomorrow at Petco Park. I’m told the wildly popular event is sold out!

A crew was setting up a row of canopies north of Petco Park’s Gallagher Square, where there will be fun activities for fans. I see there will be loads of yellow Savannah Banana merchandise for sale.

I happened to walk this morning down J Street. I took these photos. Lots of smiles!

So, what, you wonder is Banana Ball and how is it different than baseball? Check out the website here.

Among a bunch of strange rules are: batters can steal first base, batters are out if a fan catches a foul ball in the stands, no walks are allowed, no bunts are allowed, there’s a two hour time limit . . . and other peculiar, exciting stuff.

I hear players at Savannah Banana games do choreographed dances and engage in trick plays.

The Savannah Bananas are sort of like the Harlem Globetrotters–but baseball.

Get ready to Go Bananas!

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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.

Feel free to share!

Fun activities at Comic-Con’s Interactive Zone!

As it turned out, the Comic-Con Interactive Zone at Petco Park has a fair number of cool activities for 2025. When I looked down at the parking lot yesterday, I was wondering what all might appear.

Well, apart from the great food trucks and a first aid station (where you can get free water), there are several activations that will thrill kids (and adults) and those who love collectibles.

I visited the free to the public Interactive Zone in the afternoon, and there was no wait to get in. Lining up in the morning and waiting in my opinion is a waste of time. Once that initial line goes away, it’s a breeze to walk in.

So what did I see?

I had camera, phone, keys, etc. and I passed right through the metal detectors without removing them, no problem…

The various sides of this activation promote video games by ARC System Works…

People at the ARC System Works activation loved playing Hunter × Hunter: Nen × Impact. It appeared one could grab cool swag, too…

I see Marge Simpson at one picnic bench!

(I bought a pulled pork dish but found nowhere to sit, so I took it outside and sat in some shade at nearby quiet Petco Park.)

Check out this awesome Winx Club chalk art!

Pose with cabbages for a fun photo at the Magic: The Gathering x Avatar activation! I believe I saw those who participated getting a swag bag…

Kids will love this Winx Club photo op…

eBay has a large activation with different activities and winnable stuff…

eBay Live podcast concerning collectibles was drawing a lot of attention…

This photo op aimed to get people across the street to The Labu’Tique Pop-Up Shop…

Food, fun and fascination for your family!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

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.

Feel free to share!