Frida Kahlo hangs out in Escondido! You can find her among butterflies next to a Mexican restaurant!
Fridas Street Tacos on Valley Parkway is the perfect place for this great mural, painted by Michelle Ruby, aka Mr B Baby. The taco shop’s parked vehicles were blocking the mural when I walked by, so I had to take photos around and between them.
I happened to run across one of the drivers, and he indicated the mural was created a couple years ago.
Awesome!
I enjoyed a long walk around Escondido a few days ago and found lots of street art! So stay tuned for much more!
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Several murals with positive, life-affirming messages greet members of the community who recreate at Washington Park in Escondido. I noticed the murals during my recent walk in the area. I also found signs indicating that the two you see in the above photograph were created by local students.
Read the captions.
I’ve been told more murals are coming to Washington Park in the future.
During the same walk I photographed a new mural by renowned artist Mario Torero that was dedicated about a week ago on the other side of Escondido Creek. You can view those photos and read about it here.
Battle Scars, by Katie Daniels, Escondido Union High School Student College and Career Readiness Program. Painted by: Ashley, Ava, Daniel, Daisy, Jeidy, Joey, Johanna, Katie, Sofia, Vada and Zahhak.Wings of Life, by C. Garcia and Maria Medero, Escondido Union High School Students.A third beautiful mural. A painted hand reaches for splashes of color.
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Several days ago a fantastic new mural debuted in Escondido. Tortilla Tesoro is colorful 32′ x 8′ panel that greets customers on the east side Tortilleria Santacruz, to the left of the store’s front entrance. The mural, which celebrates the cultural heritage and diversity of Escondido’s population, was created by Mario Torero, one of the renowned co-founders of Chicano Park in San Diego.
Additional “Chicano Colorful walls” artwork has been finished on the building’s east and south side, featuring Michoacan inspired imagery. According to the project website: Participation in the creation of the murals included students of the Conway Academy of Expeditionary Learning Elementary School and “A Step Beyond”, an Escondido creative youth development organisation serving youth and their families living at or below the poverty line with free after-school dance classes, academic support, and social services.
Another very colorful mural on the building’s north side was completed earlier this year. It was painted by Charlie Mejia. I posted photos of it in late March here.
First, here’s the new artwork on the tortilleria’s south side…
The following sign provides an explanation of the Tortilla Tesoro (Tortilla Treasure) mural in front of the building.
It was designed by Mario Torero using acrylic on poly-aluminum material. The mural highlights the natural beauty of the Escondido Valley landscape, and includes notable landmarks like the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and Queen Califia’s Magical Circle. Figures in the mural portray students, athletes, musicians, laborers and dancers.
Tortilleria Santacruz was started around 1996 at a nearby location by Juan and Gaudencia Santacruz. It is a family run business. There was a shared dream that one day murals would be painted here.
Here’s Mario Torero’s beautiful Tortilla Tesoro mural…
And more new artwork, by the building’s front entrance…
Learn more about the inspirational project at this website!
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If you’re ever a passenger in a vehicle heading north on Interstate 15, between West Bernardo Drive and Via Rancho Parkway, look to your right and down. You might see the heads of nearby walkers and bicyclists!
A stretch of the Coast to Crest Trail follows the busy freeway right next to and about ten feet below it. On the opposite side of the trail, not far away, stand beautiful trees that line the San Dieguito River and Lake Hodges.
During the Spring these river trees turn bright green!
Today I walked from the trailhead at the south end of Sunset Drive to the place where the Coast to Crest Trail passes under Interstate 15. (And I continued on, as you’ll see in upcoming blog posts.)
The roar of freeway traffic above me to the right . . . tranquil trees, green grasses and wildflowers of the San Dieguito River Park to my left . . . and an occasional bike or two passing by . . .
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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A bold new mural recently debuted in Escondido. The colorful artwork, painted by local artist and teacher Charlie Mejia, depicts six ancient Aztec symbols: Malinalli, Atl, Ehecatl, Ollin, Xochitl and Quiahuitl.
You can find this public art on the north side of Tortilleria Santacruz, beside the Escondido Creek Trail bike path where it intersects with Rose Street, south of Washington Park.
When I was told about this new mural, I also learned internationally renowned muralist Mario Torero, one of the founders of Chicano Park, will soon be decorating a nearby wall!
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Walk down Mule Hill Trail at the south end of Escondido and you’ll find yourself stepping into history.
A while back I blogged about the forgotten town of Bernardo. A hundred years ago it was located in farmland near this trail, prior to the creation of Lake Hodges.
Down this same trail information signs mark the location of Mule Hill, where a skirmish took place during the Mexican-American War.
Seeking shelter among rocky outcroppings, General Kearny established a defensive position against pursuing Californios, as his U.S. Dragoons retreated toward San Diego after the Battle of San Pasqual.
The precise location of this skirmish was in debate for many years. Here are some interestingarticles.
Today, after a short, easy walk south down Mule Hill Trail, you’ll see the outcroppings rising above several signs. You can find the wide dirt trail just east of Interstate 15, off Bear Valley Parkway, before Beethoven Drive.
Beginning south down Mule Hill Trail, part of the San Dieguito River Park.
Off to the right near river trees, a solitary sign beckons.
Start of the Engagement, December 7, 1846
“Late in the evening, when we had arrived within about four hundred yards of the water where we intended to camp, they charged us, coming on in two bodies and compelling us to retreat to a pile of rocks about two hundred yards away on our left . . . ” source–Kit Carson’s Autobiography
Continuing our walk south. Jumbled boulders can be seen on the hill to our left.
We’ve arrived at three signs near a pair of rock outcroppings that figure in the early history of San Diego. The signs explain what happened here at Mule Hill.
Mule Hill Standoff
On December 7, the American soldiers, sailors and volunteers under command of Brigadier General Stephen Watts Kearny, were attacked from the rear by Mexican forces 250 yards northwest of this location…
The Mexican forces recruited for the defense of their homeland were led by Captain Andres Pico . . . The forces were primarily comprised of Californios, residents of California at that time who descended from Mexican and Spanish colonialists…
The Americans were short of food and resorted to eating their mules, hence the name “Mule Hill” for this site…
…Navy Lieutenant Edward Beale volunteered to sneak through the Mexican lines to seek help from San Diego, and he asked that army scout Kit Carson go with him.
Standoff Continues
On December 8, after the sun had set, Beale, Carson and a Native American (identity unknown to us) sneaked through three lines of Mexican sentries…Nearing San Diego, they separated…The Native American arrived in San Diego first…
On December 9, with little food, water or supplies and a number of wounded men, General Kearny made the decision to fight his way to San Diego…
On December 10, Sergeant John Cox died and was buried at Mule Hill…
On December 11… A relief column of 100 sailors and 80 marines, sent by Commodore Robert Stockton, had arrived. The Mexican force, now outnumbered, withdrew. Later that morning the Americans left Mule Hill and marched to what is now Old Town, San Diego, thus completing a 2,000 mile march from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
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Did you know there used to be a town named Bernardo in what is now San Diego’s North County?
Bernardo was a tiny town between Escondido and Rancho Bernardo, where Lake Hodges is located today.
The creation of Lake Hodges in 1918, accomplished by damming the Bernardo River (now called San Dieguito River), put a definite end to little Bernardo. But today people hiking the Mule Hill Trail can see several information signs that recall the history of the now vanished town.
If you’d like to walk down the Mule Hill Trail yourself, take Interstate 15 to Bear Valley Parkway at the south end of Escondido. The wide dirt trail can be found about a quarter mile east of the freeway, leading south. (You’ll see it right before Beethoven Drive.)
Before reaching the site of old Bernardo, this very easy trail passes Mule Hill, where a skirmish took place during the Mexican-American War. I’ll be blogging about that coming up.
Cart roads used by the Spanish and Mexicans before the appearance of Bernardo linked a number of Ranchos–San Bernardo, El Rincon, Del Diablo, Santa Maria, Santa Ysabel, Valle de San Jose and San Felipe–with the port of San Diego.
After the division of Rancho San Bernardo around 1870, a small village developed, known as the town of Bernardo. In addition to several houses, there was a store, post office, blacksmith shop, grange hall and public school. By 1887, the population in the surrounding farm area was approximately 400 people…
For a brief period, Bernardo was a stop for the stagecoaches between San Diego and Yuma.
The San Diego to Yuma Road was an overland trail in the mid-1800s. It was used by the Army of the West in 1846 and gold rush immigrants from 1848 through 1851. It passed through tiny Bernardo as it led northeast from Peñasquitos to Ramona, eventually connecting with the Butterfield Stage Route at Warner Springs.
The history of Rancho San Bernardo began in the late 18th century when the King of Spain took possession of all land in California. In 1823, when Mexico gained its independence, the land became Mexico’s property. Don Jose Francisco Snook, a former English sea captain, received land grants from the Mexican government, including Rancho San Bernardo…
With the passing of the Mexican rancho era came the beginning of the American era, which is represented by the nearby Sikes Adobe Farmhouse. The restored farmhouse is a historic site that one can visit a short distance down the Coast to Crest Trail. (The Mule Hill Trail is a segment of the Coast to Crest Trail.)
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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 Twitter!
Escondido’s 3rd Annual Veterans Day Parade was held this morning in downtown Escondido!
Marching bands, vintage cars, equestrian groups, dancers, fire engines, and smiling people of all ages, many of whom were Veterans, paraded down Grand Avenue. Then each group turned around and paraded on back! Which created a unique “double” parade, as you’ll see in some of the upcoming photographs!
Honoring Our Hometown Heroes is the theme of Escondido’s VestFest and its big Veterans Day Parade. Those who served many decades ago, or very recently, were thanked equally by flag-waving families lining the sidewalks.
A few preliminary photographs were taken as I walked down Grand Avenue waiting for the parade to begin. Several downtown Escondido buildings and storefronts were decorated with patriotic red, white and blue for Veterans Day.
The above nice lady noticed I was holding up a lamp post. Then she offered me a two-for-one coupon for the Patio Playhouse theater production of Prairie Lights. Go to their website here!
Here comes the parade!
The folks of Esco Alley Art (those many amazing murals in the Escondido alley I’ve blogged about previously) are having their 2022 Season Finale Art Party tomorrow, Saturday, at 3 pm. Go to their website here!
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Should you find yourself at Escondido’s Grape Day Park on a Saturday afternoon, be sure to walk over to that green corrugated metal building near the old train depot museum. You’ll be able to enjoy a look inside the Bandy Blacksmith & Wheelwright Shop and see instructors, students and Bandy Blacksmith Guild members at work!
I happened to be walking by a couple Saturdays ago, so I took these photographs.
Students were learning the basics of blacksmithing near one of the forges, and several friendly gentlemen were busy inside the woodworking shop building a dray wagon that will eventually hold a portable blacksmith shop for public demonstration.
You can learn much more about the Bandy Blacksmith Guild by clicking here. Perhaps sign up for a class!
The history of the Tom Bandy Blacksmith is complex and interesting. You can read about that history and learn how the present structure ended up in Grape Day Park by clicking here.
When I read the page concerning past projects of the Bandy Blacksmith Guild, I was surprised that guild members produced most of the metalwork for the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s replica Spanish galleon San Salvador. (Yes, the same ship that took part in Comic-Con last week! If you’d like to see photos of San Salvador being built, click here.)
Another past project of the Bandy Blacksmith Guild was the restoration of the San Diego Centennial Cannon, which I once photographed inside the Whaley House Museum. You can view a photograph of that historic cannon here!
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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!
In the past few weeks, three amazing new murals have been painted at California Center for the Arts, Escondido!
The colorful artwork was created in conjunction with the center’s new museum exhibit Street Legacy: SoCal Style Masters. I’ve already blogged about the exhibit here.
A large new mural covers the south wall of the museum. I was told it was painted last weekend. It’s by Kenny Scharf. The book In Absence of Myth concerning the artist’s life is available in the museum’s gift shop.
Two walls along the walkway that lead to the parking lot north of the museum have bold new murals, too!
I noticed the signatures of San Diego artists Carly Ealey and Christopher Konecki on the first mural, which depicts a mountain lion and the word UNTAMED…
On the opposite wall, a beautiful bird and flowers have been painted…
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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!
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