Tony Gwynn street art in East Village!

San Diego Padres hero Tony Gwynn, painted as street art not far from Petco Park.
San Diego Padres hero Tony Gwynn. This fantastic street art is not far from Petco Park.

San Diego loves Tony Gwynn. Look at his face as depicted in this recently painted street art and you can sense why. It’s all in his smile. He was a friend to everybody. He was simply a great human being.

And, of course, Mr. Padre was one of the best Major League Baseball hitters of all time!

I spotted this amazing electrical box today while walking near the intersection of Park Boulevard and Market Street in East Village. It stands near another box painted with legendary musicians. I shared those photographs in my previous blog post.

The artist’s signature is identical on both boxes, but I’m not a hundred percent sure who it might be. If you know, leave a comment!

Remember these two things--play hard and have fun. Tony Gwynn.
Remember these two things–play hard and have fun. Tony Gwynn.
If you work hard, good things will happen. Tony Gwynn.
If you work hard, good things will happen. Tony Gwynn.
The smiling face of Tony Gwynn, a Hall of Fame baseball legend.
The smiling face of Tony Gwynn, a Hall of Fame baseball legend.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! 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 photos for you to enjoy!

Street art celebrates legendary musicians!

Talk to me so you can see what's going on.
Talk to me so you can see what’s going on.

Check out this extraordinary street art in East Village! All four sides of an electrical box have been colorfully painted with the images of legendary musicians. And the accompanying messages are inspirational.

The artwork includes legends of Motown, jazz, blues, pop music, hip-hop, reggae, and rock and roll. You can see them at the corner of Park Boulevard and Market Street.

How many of these famous musicians can you identify?

Legendary musicians are celebrated with inspirational street art in San Diego's East Village.
Legendary musicians are celebrated with inspirational street art in San Diego’s East Village.
Music can change the world.
Music can change the world.
Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.
Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! 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 photos for you to enjoy!

Another colorful walk down Tenth Avenue.

One morning last week, I went on a walk through San Diego’s East Village. I headed south along Tenth Avenue from A Street to Petco Park.

I simply took photos of anything that delighted my eye. I believe all these sights are new to my blog, with the exception of the one above. I remember taking pictures of that fantastic tile mosaic years ago, but not up close.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Watch a Padres preseason game at Petco Park!

This afternoon I watched a couple innings of a Padres preseason Summer Camp game at Petco Park!

I and a few dozen other fans watched Padres team players get ready for the season in an intrasquad game. We sat on the grassy hill of Gallagher Square, the area beyond the outfield that until December last year was called Park at the Park.

Unless you had binoculars, you couldn’t really tell who was up at bat, because the ballpark video board is unfortunately out of sight. But you could see some sharply hit balls, and some smooth fielding, and one really bad throw to first base by an infielder! The hurriedly thrown ball hit the ground and the hustling runner was safe!

It was fun to sit in the sun for a while with other excited, cheering Padres fans.

Most watching the game in Gallagher Square kept socially distanced and wore a face mask. That’s the new normal during the coronavirus pandemic.

Unfortunately, nobody will sit in the stands this pandemic-shortened 2020 season. But we can still watch some great baseball action on television, or perhaps from afar!

During Padres Summer Camp and upcoming preseason games, bring a picnic and watch your team in action!

Go Pads!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Petco Park readies for a strange season!

Images of baseball stars Fernando Tatís Jr. and Manny Machado anticipate the 2020 season at Petco Park.
Images of Padres stars Fernando Tatís Jr. and Manny Machado anticipate the 2020 baseball season at Petco Park.

Major League Baseball will indeed have a season in 2020. The news was announced yesterday.

There will be 60 games this year, and teams will travel less and observe complicated new safety rules because of the coronavirus pandemic. There will be no roar of the crowd. No fans will fill the stands.

It’s going to be really strange.

This morning I walked by Petco Park, the home field of the San Diego Padres, to see if there are any preparations underway for the shortened season.

From atop the hill in the Park at the Park, I saw the ball field being groomed. As I passed the main box office and neared the trolley tracks, I looked up at workers on a crane who were applying the second of two huge wraps to Petco Park.

The very unusual 2020 season will begin on July 23rd or 24th.

Go Pads!

Petco Park is newly painted and empty as the grounds crew prepares the field for Padres baseball. No fans will be in attendance this shortened season.
Petco Park is newly painted and appears pristine. The grounds crew is preparing the field for Padres baseball. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, no fans will be in attendance this shortened season.
Large wrap on Petco Park celebrates Jackie Robinson. Diversity. Equality. Unity.
Large new wrap on Petco Park celebrates baseball legend and civil rights hero Jackie Robinson. Diversity. Equality. Unity.
Workers on a crane at Petco Park prepare for the unusual 2020 Major League Baseball season--which begins in July!
Workers at Petco Park prepare for a very strange Major League Baseball season–which will begin in July!

UPDATE!

I snapped this photo several days later…

Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn, Johnny Ritchey and current Padres stars. Together As One.
Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn, Johnny Ritchey and current Padres stars. We Are San Diego. Together As One.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Ladies Who Paint and a wall on F Street.

Last year amazing local artists who together go by the name Ladies Who Paint created two more murals on a wall on F Street, just east of 14th Street. Their artwork is part of the Ladies Who Paint Mural Walk in East Village. Last weekend I finally got around to taking photos!

These two murals were created on a blank space of wall left of the blue “HI hello HOLA” mural that I photographed here.

Other cool Ladies Who Paint murals that I’ve photographed can be seen here, here and 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 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 photos for you to enjoy!

Memories of summers, the Padres, Petco Park.

Padres fans enter the stands before Tony Gwynn memorial begins.

What would Memorial Day weekend be without baseball? Unfortunately, it would be this Memorial Day weekend.

The worldwide coronavirus pandemic has put a temporary hold on sports in San Diego.

For those of you who miss heading down to East Village for baseball games, I thought now would be a good time to relive some memories of baseball in San Diego, the Padres and Petco Park.

I’ve looked through my blog and found posts that might interest Padres fans and rekindle strong memories. Over the past half dozen years there have been many emotional moments, including the passing of beloved Padres players and broadcasters.

I haven’t included posts concerning past FanFests, Opening Day block parties, the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and various other events at Petco Park like the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering, but more stuff can be found by surfing about Cool San Diego Sights or performing a search.

Click the following links to see lots of photographs!

A very cool tour of Petco Park in San Diego!

Padres military heroes honored at Petco Park.

San Diego Padres Hall of Fame players at Petco Park.

Baseball history at San Diego Padres Hall of Fame.

Trevor Time returns to Petco Park!

Petco’s “San Diego Section” honors local teams!

The San Diego Padres happy mascot, the Swinging Friar, greets visitors to the big local sports teams event.

Fans celebrate local sports teams in San Diego!

Fun pics from World Baseball Classic in San Diego!

USS Midway model in Petco Park’s Power Alley.

Model of Lane Field stadium at Petco Park.

Local history excavated, displayed at Petco Park.

Biggest baseball library west of Cooperstown in San Diego!

Padres fans check out lots of photos and cool artifacts which recall the history of baseball in San Diego. On the left are photos of the first Padres team in 1936, and Lane Field.

Baseball flags debut at historic Lane Field Park!

Celebrating Dick Enberg at his final Padres home game.

Photos of Jerry Coleman public memorial service.

Photos of Tony Gwynn statue at Lake Poway.

Tony Gwynn’s Memorial Tribute at Petco Park.

Quotes from the Tony Gwynn public memorial.

Tony Gwynn is remembered as a great player and great man.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! 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 photos for you to enjoy!

Pandemic heroes thanked at Petco Park.

A large building wrap thanking heroes during the coronavirus pandemic has appeared on Petco Park in San Diego.
A large building wrap thanking heroes during the coronavirus pandemic has appeared on Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres.

A large building wrap has appeared on Petco Park thanking heroes during the coronavirus pandemic. The huge graphic expresses gratitude to essential workers, firefighters, healthcare professionals and law enforcement who sacrifice to keep the public fed and safe.

It’s a wonderful sight.

We in San Diego are accustomed to seeing huge, colorful building wraps affixed to Petco Park and buildings surrounding the convention center during Comic-Con. But this wrap doesn’t promote popular entertainment. It’s simply a heartfelt Thank You.

Know what would be really cool? If Comic-Con followed suit with their own Thank You wrap! Having multiple wraps around downtown would be a little like Comic-Con, even though the world-famous pop culture event has been cancelled this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

San Diego could have a visual Thank-You-Con for the real superheroes.

We need you. We thank you.
We need you. We thank you.
San Diego frontline heroes... Thank You.
San Diego frontline heroes… Thank You.

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Love and peace in an East Village mural!

Check out this fantastic mural which was painted earlier this year on a wall in East Village!

I’ve been able to ascertain it was created by artist John Bukaty, whose website is here, but I don’t know the mural’s title–if indeed it has any. The symmetric design features bright psychedelic splashes of color including a heart, two birds, a peace sign and the phrase: Run to the rescue with love…and peace will follow.

I’d say this mural certainly qualifies as cool!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! 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 photos for you to enjoy!

Yoda spotted in East Village!

During my afternoon walk through East Village I had to do a double take. Had I stepped into a galaxy far, far away?

Across the wide Space 4 Art parking lot I spotted Yoda!

I took the above photo from a distant sidewalk, then greatly enlarged the image and sharpened it. Hopefully you can see how cool this mural appears in person!

Yoda is spray painted on a nondescript building whose other sides are home to a variety of murals. Check out an awesome Mechanical Shark here, and other works of super creative street art 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 Twitter!