An exhibit in Petco Park shows the History of the Ballpark Neighborhood, San Diego, California.
There’s a small but very cool exhibit at Petco Park that depicts the early history of East Village and nearby blocks in downtown San Diego. During the baseball stadium’s construction, a number of fascinating artifacts were recovered by archaeologists. Each object was carefully recorded in order to preserve aspects of our city’s diverse history.
Here are some of the old photographs and artifacts that are on public display. You can find this exhibit near the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame, just to the right of the north entrance to the Padres Team Store. I learned this exhibit used to be on the third floor of the Western Metal Supply building, at the top of the escalators. But the area was rather dark and so it was moved to its present location.
Please read the captions to learn more about what was unearthed during the grading of the ballpark, and what everyday life was like in San Diego over a century ago.
Photo taken during construction of Petco Park baseball stadium in East Village. Archaeologists excavate a feature discovered during grading activities at the ballpark.After researching the immediate area’s history, the grading of the future ballpark was environmentally monitored. Artifacts that were recovered reveal everyday life in San Diego’s past.Excavated objects include jars, bottles, glass stoppers and a bone toothbrush handle. Names of medical remedies on bottles include Hamlin’s Wizard Oil and Dr. J.H. McLean’s Volcanic Oil.1906 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map depicting Blocks 136 and 137, part of the footprint of today’s Petco Park, home of the baseball Padres.From the late 1800s to the 1930s, most residents of East Village appear to have been of moderate to lower economic status, employed at blue collar jobs downtown.Other artifacts recovered during Petco Park’s construction include dolls, toys, marbles and keys.Old photograph shows East Village as it was in 1914, looking west from the 10th Street terminal.Looking south down 5th Street (now Fifth Avenue) from the roof of the 1st National Bank, circa 1910. The area is heart of the Gaslamp Quarter.Two historical photos. To the left: Pacific Coast Steamship warehouse, circa 1913. To the right: looking north up 5th Street circa 1910.Old photo of Western Metal Supply building and foundry sometime prior to 1919. The preserved brick building is now a unique part Petco Park’s structure.Fragments of earthenware jars and Chinese and Japanese ceramic tableware show Asian culture thrived in the neighborhood’s past.
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Should you walk past the intersection of Ninth Avenue and Island Avenue in East Village, be certain to gaze upward. Because your eyes will be dazzled by Indigo Waters shining in the San Diego sky!
Indigo Waters is a 40-foot blue glass panel sculpture mounted near the roof of the Hotel Indigo San Diego Gaslamp Quarter. This very cool public artwork was designed and created for the hotel about ten years ago by local artist Lisa Schirmer. You’ve already seen her work on this blog, in the form of vibrant baseball windglyphs now flying at Lane Field Park!
Lisa Schirmer’s sculpture really takes life in San Diego’s sunshine. As the sunlight changes, Indigo Waters seems to ebb and flow. Light passing through and reflecting from the 33 hand-painted glass panels produces a variety of magical effects.
The photographs you see here were taken on a couple different days. The blue glass panels are most brilliant on cloudless days in the early afternoon, right around two o’clock.
UPDATE!
Here’s another photo that I took on a super sunny day!
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Abstract calligraphy panels on a wall facing E Street near 11th Avenue. This large mural was created by Brazilian multimedia artist Yomar Augusto for Design Forward San Diego.
There are two dynamic new murals in East Village. Actually one is a painted mural, and the other appears to be an enormous patchwork banner stretched upon a wall. Both face E Street in the vicinity of Park Boulevard.
The abstract calligraphy mural by Yomar Augusto was completed in October of 2017.
The dazzling artwork adorning the IDEA1 Apartments is brand new–the building had its Grand Opening in December.
Here are a couple of fun photos!
A large colorful banner stretched on the northeast corner of the new IDEA1 Apartments in East Village.
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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!
Crushing It. A cool new mural just completed in San Diego’s East Village at the corner of Park Boulevard and J Street.
Last week I noticed a new mural was being painted on a building wall in East Village. I glimpsed the preliminary outlines as I passed by on the trolley, which was heading along Park Boulevard just south of the Market Street station.
Well, today I observed that this very cool mural has been completed! You can find it at the intersection of Park Boulevard and J Street. Apparently titled Crushing It, this colorful spray paint art was created by Carly Ealey and Christopher Konecki of Cohort Collective, a group of local artists who have awesome urban artwork all over San Diego!
It appears to me the local artists Carly Ealey and Christopher Konecki of Cohort Collective have crushed it!Lots of old wrecked cars are piled up behind that Rant’s Demolition neon sign!A beautiful female face has materialized on a building wall in downtown San Diego!
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Female face spray painted on electrical box in East Village at F Street and Tenth Avenue.
Check out three cool street art faces I spotted while walking around downtown San Diego! They’re painted on electrical boxes at the intersection of F Street and Tenth Avenue in East Village.
I recognize two of the faces!
Funny Star Wars street art in San Diego. Jar Jar Binks says Meesa Lova Comic Con.Cool street art in East Village shows a colorful Jimi Hendrix.
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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!
A huge shark has appeared at the Quartyard in East Village!
Some cool new urban artwork has appeared at the Quartyard since my last visit. Some day I need to grab a bite here, or attend an event! Looks like a really fun place!
New urban artwork in the Quartyard gathering place at the corner of Park Boulevard and Market Street in San Diego.Impermanence is the only permanent in life. So embrace that nothing should be clung to as I, me, or mine.Picnic table in the Quartyard reads beer, next to a planter with fun artwork.Several planters have their sides painted with whimsical faces. These characters are eating food-like letters and pulling tongues.More happy, silly faces.Lots of tongue pulling going on.Tired tongues dangling.Just plain silly.A mural by the Quartyard stage attracts attention.Keep going! You got this! Yay!
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Many panels of street art can be seen on a construction site fence in East Village. They address diverse issues, promote civil rights, condemn social wrongs. They all speak to the human heart. They all concern love. Real love.
I don’t know who painted these panels. All are simple, but extremely powerful.
Most of the artwork opposes domestic violence, sexual exploitation and abuse.
Domestic violence is horrific. It’s a hidden crime that damages too many lives.
San Diego has a terrible sex trafficking problem. It’s an issue some of our city leaders are trying to address.
Here are a few photos.
There’s nothing super about domestic violence.Stop human trafficking.Not all monsters are in the dark.Sometimes people wipe away their tears so you can’t see them.
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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!
Painting of female face in window of a small shop in East Village containing odd bits of art and used items.
Enjoy these miscellaneous photos of interesting things I’ve spotted while walking around downtown. Examples of artistry and creativity can be seen almost everywhere. Even a bit of wisdom. One simply has to look.
A decorative bird cage dangles above the sidewalk beside Pappalecco, a popular Little Italy cafe.Wine bottles converted into human musicians in the window of Michael J Wolf Fine Arts in the Gaslamp.Beautiful relief panel at entrance to the Embarcadero’s now closed Anthony’s Fish Grotto. An underwater scene.Navy pinup artwork on a tattoo parlor’s entrance sign in the Gaslamp.Wisdom on a corner of a downtown building. Give love. Get love.This artistic metal gate definitely caught my eye as I walked around San Diego!The mosaic tilework of an eatery’s outdoor table in East Village.Colorful tiles beneath foliage above a garage door.Depiction of a city on the wall of Sixth Avenue Bistro.Fancy artwork painted on a column. Photo taken in the lobby courtyard of La Pensione Hotel.Interesting twisted iron gate and shadows on the wall behind it.Unusual bent lamppost along Broadway near Harbor Drive.Cool painting of male face found leaning up against a dumpster enclosure on Cortez Hill.
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Cool artwork on wall in the famous Donut Bar in downtown San Diego.
Another year. More opportunities for discovery!
Yesterday’s storm ended and the sun came out. So I decided to take a wander around my fair city on New Year’s Day.
I started mid-morning and went for hours, taking photos of everything and anything at my leisure. Mixed among more ordinary looks at life were a few cool discoveries.
I met two friendly street artists during my walk–Carlos and Juli–and meant to include a couple photos of their work here, but I’ve decided to write a special separate blog post tomorrow. Look for it!
My first stop this morning was the Donut Bar. One Boston Cream, please! Super yum!Walking past Symphony Towers, I noticed this graphic on their outdoor display. A free concert for the community next weekend!My feet this New Year’s Day took me through Horton Plaza Park. I recently posted a blog with photos of the Broadway Fountain lit for Christmas at night.An unexpected discovery! It appears Horton Plaza Park has a time capsule buried between the grass and the Starbucks! History happens here.And a few steps to the west I spotted another plaque at my feet. The Salvation Army held its first San Diego meeting here, March 31, 1888.Crossing an intersection in the Gaslamp, I spotted an odd thing at ground level. This tile showing a burglar has been cemented to the asphalt in the middle of the street!It appears Monkey King is a restaurant soon to open in the Gaslamp Quarter. I discovered a shining gold mural on their wall!No mural on this interesting wall. A lady in pink shoes walks her dog in downtown San Diego.Just a cool photo of light and shadow and architectural geometry. The tall glass building is the new corporate headquarters of Sempra Energy in East Village.In East Village, this brightly shining mosaic sculpture in a medical office window caught my eye!Look what I found! These must be new. Two huge baseballs at Petco Park near the Padres Hall of Fame.One huge baseball has the autographs of the 1984 National League Champion Padres!And, of course, the second baseball has the autographs of the 1998 National League Champion team!A car carrier freight train covered with graffiti has stopped along Harbor Drive.People crossing the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge seem to walk in the clouds.Tourists on Segways pass the Coming Together sculpture by artist Niki de Saint Phalle.The Holiday by the Bay ice rink near the Hilton San Diego Bayfront seems to be winding down. A few skaters were out on New Year’s Day morning.Folks with a dog walk along San Diego Bay, approaching the high masts of superyachts.Two superyachts behind the convention center have really, really, REALLY high masts!The futuristic black superyacht Ahimsa has been docked in San Diego for at least a year, it seems. According to one website it’s worth 80 million dollars. Passersby have referred to the sleek vessel as the Bat-boat!The San Diego International Car Show is taking place this weekend. Test drives can be taken in the parking lot behind the convention center.Looks like some folks will be test-driving a new Ford.I saw this guy walking along with a large flag. He seemed to be on a mission. I didn’t think to pursue him and ask why.Just beautiful yachts in the Marriott Marina.I am fortunate to live in such a beautiful city.I spied the new downtown San Diego Central Courthouse between the silvery Marriott Marquis buildings. I believe the courthouse’s construction is nearly finished.The Silvergate ferry heads toward Coronado beyond the Embarcadero Marina Park South fishing pier.Two pelicans hanging out at the pier. A good day to kick back and fish.People descend the San Diego Convention Center steps that lead to the Flame of Friendship sculpture.An art installation in the new passageway between the Marriott and Hyatt waterfront hotels titled Kelp, created by artists Katie MacDonald and Kyle Schumann of After Architecture.Dogs stretch and relax with a human near Seaport Village.Lots of cranes in the skyline lately! The two nearby are for fishing boats. The construction crane on the left is for the new InterContinental Hotel. On the right, a high crane rises by Pacific Gate by Bosa.On New Year’s Day lots of people are enjoying a walk by the water. I see what appear to be two Navy oilers docked at North Island.Uh, oh! Look what I spotted. The live bait-catching seiner Cachalot seems to be drifting away from the Tuna Harbor’s G Street Pier! Those ropes seem loose. Perhaps last night’s storm is the reason.In San Diego, walks are often accompanied by music.Very strange! Wisconsin’s Pulaski High School Red Raiders marching band is in San Diego today! Why? A little searching indicated that they will will perform tomorrow morning in the Tournament of Roses Parade, up north in Pasadena!That isn’t a cruise ship. It’s the MV World Odyssey, a floating classroom! Its Semester at Sea allows students to study abroad, while touring the world!Dozens of sailboats out on San Diego Bay during New Year’s Day. It’s a sailing regatta!Curious gulls analyze a bicyclist at the Embarcadero’s new observation deck, just north of the Broadway Pier. Life is full of surprises!
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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 fun photos for you to enjoy!
A bizarre, extremely rare animal was discovered yesterday at the old Jerome’s warehouse in San Diego’s East Village.
Look what I discovered! I was walking down the sidewalk near the old, dilapidated Jerome’s warehouse in East Village when something caught my astonished eye! A weird, bizarre animal jumped at me from the crumbling building!
This particular weird creature did not jump out of the Coliseum. I know the Colosseum in Rome is filled with feral cats.Look! On the Jerome’s warehouse wall! It’s a bizarre rat-like animal that farts green gas! Artist Adam Hathorn is Honkey Kong!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! Join in the fun! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
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