Hand and shoe prints in concrete of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
If you’re heading to San Diego Comic-Con this week, heads up! Did you know you can see the actual hand and shoe prints of major movie stars and celebrities in a Gaslamp Quarter restaurant?
The prints of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Downey Jr., William Shatner, the actors who played R2-D2 and C-3PO, and even Michael Jackson can be viewed on the floor when you step into Mr. Tempo Gaslamp San Diego at 701 Fifth Avenue!
The building formerly was home to the Theatre Box movie theater. They had these hand prints brought in from Los Angeles, and they remain here to this day. Sadly, Mr. Tempo has dropped the Hollywood theme and many of the prints are now covered by tables. But it’s well worth stepping inside for a quick look!
By the way, the Shatner prints, if you can find them, were created here in San Diego, a couple years ago during Comic-Con!
Hand and shoe prints of The Hunger Games actors.Hand and feet prints of Shirley Temple.Hand and shoe prints of Humphrey Bogart.Hand and shoe prints of Robert Downey Jr.
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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!
The Bride of Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s monster.
A terrifying group of classic movie monsters has appeared outside the San Diego Convention Center for Comic-Con 2024!
Check out today’s photos!
These characters from classic horror films are all considered Universal Monsters–they appeared in Universal Pictures movies from the 1930s to 1950s (if you include Abbott and Costello comedies).
I remember as a kid watching these dark, atmospheric movies for the suspense, chills and occasional thrills. I’m afraid the old Universal classics appear pretty tame by today’s ultra-realistic, slashing, bloody standards.
The Universal Monsters have been painted for fans of Comic-Con, and you can see the artwork on the windows of Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt, located at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. The artist responsible is Shirish Villaseñor. (By the way, she’s one of the local artists renovating many of the historic murals in world-famous Chicano Park!)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.The Invisible Man and the Werewolf.Dracula.The Creature From the Black Lagoon.
UPDATE!
Shirish has been adding color to her images as we approach the start of Comic-Con…
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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!
Betty Boop has arrived in San Diego! The iconic cartoon character is now making her home at the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park!
Last week the one-of-a-kind exhibition Becoming Betty Boop opened at the Comic-Con Museum. Thanks to a collaboration with Fleischer Studios, museum visitors can explore a large gallery filled with historic artwork and cultural artifacts found nowhere else.
Visitors can learn about the evolution of strongly independent and flirty, jazzy flapper Betty Boop, from her debut in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes in 1930 to modern characterizations. After nearly a century it seems her popularity has only grown. BOOP! The Musical will debut on Broadway in 2025!
Those who are curious about the history of cartoons will see how animators created the Betty Boop short films using a rotoscope, which had been invented by the Fleischer brothers using an old film projector, car parts and a wooden plank! They’ll learn that in the early 1930s, the creation of a six or seven minute cartoon involved about 90 artists and took about two months!
Visitors will also learn how Betty Boop was voiced by half a dozen women over the years, and that Lillian Friedman, who worked at Fleischer Studios, was the very first American female commercial animator.
Exhibition visitors can watch several fun cartoons in the museum auditorium, and those with a creative urge can learn how to draw Betty Boop!
Boop–oop–a–doop!
If you plan to attend Comic-Con this year, make time to check out Becoming Betty Boop, one of many great exhibitions now showing at the Comic-Con Museum!
Mae Questel (voice actress) and Max Fleischer (animator), with characters Betty Boop and Bimbo!Mae Questel has the voice most associated with Betty Boop. She also provided voices for cartoon characters Olive Oyl, Casper the Friendly Ghost–and even Popeye! She voiced Betty Boop in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.Betty Boop for President, 1932.Lillian Friedman made history as the very first female professional animator.A more modern take on Betty Boop. These two dresses were designed by global fashion designer Zac Posen. Pantone has officially designated Betty Boop Red.Sparkly costume worn by actress Jasmine Amy Rogers, playing Betty Boop in the musical BOOP! at Chicago’s CIBC Theatre.An Evening with Betty, by Myron Waldman.
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Weather and the elements are damaging to any ship. That’s especially true when the ship is made of wood.
If you’ve been by the Maritime Museum of San Diego lately, you’ve probably seen how one side of their tall ship HMS Surprise is being repaired. The starboard side, which for many years faced south toward the harsh sun, had seriously deteriorated.
Fortunately, the world-famous Maritime Museum of San Diego has the expertise required to undertake complicated projects such as this, as shown by the beautiful deck restoration of HMS Surprise. But funds are also required, which can be a challenge for any nonprofit organization.
Would you like to help?
Perhaps you love the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, which starred Russell Crowe and beautiful HMS Surprise. As I did a little research this morning, I noticed that author Michael Eging, who also loves the critically acclaimed movie and the Patrick O’Brian novels it’s based on, has created a GoFundMe fundraiser for the restoration of HMS Surprise. A fair amount of money has already been raised, but there’s more to go.
To learn about this effort, and perhaps make a contribution, click here!
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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.
The 31st San Diego Latino Film Festival promises to be bigger and better than ever!
The increasingly popular film festival will be taking place from March 14 to March 24, 2024, at the AMC Theatres at Mission Valley mall. You can check out the event website, which includes the full film schedule, by clicking here.
I’ve learned film lovers will have plenty to sink their teeth into. Among 56 features and 79 shorts there is comedy and tragedy, fantasy and realism, and everything in between. Many diverse stories emerge from Latinx experience.
Established and emerging artists are represented. There is animation and there are documentaries. There are films concerning music, and films about dance. Some films are in English, while others have subtitles. There’s so much that audiences can enjoy!
This year there’s a special emphasis on Argentinian cinema, with ten award-winning films featured. In Argentina the film industry faces various challenges, including censorship.
Each curated film is celebrated for its creativity, authenticity and excellence.
There will be a closing night award ceremony and concert, where ticket holders can mingle with guest filmmakers and actors. There is also the opportunity during two closing night films to meet Cheech Marin!
You want to check this out! Go to the San Diego Latino Film Festival website for everything you need to know by clicking here.
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Tigers, Unicorns, & Puppy Dog Tales is the latest exhibit that the public can enjoy in the La Jolla Historical Society‘s Wisteria Cottage museum.
Colorful displays recall the years when the Green Tiger Press, the Unicorn Cinema and the Mithras Bookstore were much loved La Jolla institutions. The local publisher, theater and bookstore were all established by Harold and Sandra Darling in the 1960s. The Darlings were a visionary couple who loved art, literature and the magic of imagination.
The exhibit contains printed material–postcards, stationery, children’s books, and more–bursting with unicorns and dragons and rainbow dreams and talking animals. Step into the museum and you might feel as if you stepped into a fairy tale. Or traveled through time back to your own childhood.
Bring kids to the exhibit and they will be enchanted. There’s a table where they can pore through picture books and create their own art!
Adults will be intrigued by Green Tiger printed posters that promote the eclectic, often independent films that screened inside the Unicorn Cinema. The dark theater was located through the back door of the Mithras Bookstore. The docent with whom I spoke loved the tiny theater and its popcorn machine. It sounds like a place I would have loved, too.
The Green Tiger Press relocated to Seattle, but they have lent their wonderful “carousel tiger” for this exhibition.
If you want to see all this magic for yourself, make sure to visit the Wisteria Cottage museum by January 21, 2024.
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Harold Lloyd, star of silent movies a century ago, returned to his home in San Diego this evening!
The famous comic actor appeared on a big screen in Balboa Park’s outdoor Spreckels Organ Pavilion. He was starring in one of his most popular silent movies, The Freshman, accompanied by renowned organist Clark Wilson playing the Spreckels Organ!
Harold Lloyd is considered one the three great comedians from Hollywood’s era of silent movies. He stands with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
Did you know he also lived for a time in San Diego, attending San Diego High School?
So, in a sense, Harold Lloyd returned home this evening!
And thousands in the audience laughed at his all-too-human, silly antics. A century later, he still brings smiles into the world.
This was the second-to-last performance for this year’s free 35th San Diego International Summer Organ Festival. Next Monday–Labor Day–San Diego’s Civic Organist and rock and roll musicians together conclude the festival with a blast!
If you want to watch another silent movie accompanied by organ in San Diego, your opportunity is coming up on Tuesday, September 19 at noon at downtown’s Balboa Theatre. The performance is also free! Buster Keaton stars in the silent film One Week. Click here for more info!
Public domain image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
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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!
Promotional banners are popping up near the San Diego Convention Center as Comic-Con 2023 rapidly approaches!
I spotted a huge ONE PIECE banner attached to the Hilton San Diego Bayfront parking garage. ONE PIECE is an American-Japanese streaming television series developed by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda for Netflix. It’s scheduled to premiere on August 31, 2023.
I also spotted many street lamp banners that have been hung across Harbor Drive from the convention center. They include the Comic-Con logo and promote The Creator, an upcoming 2023 science fiction action movie about humankind’s fight against artificial intelligence. Sounds a bit like the Terminator films. The Director, Gareth Edwards, is known for directing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The Creator is scheduled to be released in the United States on September 29, 2023.
UPDATE!
Dozens of new The Creator banners were seen along Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter during a Fourth of July walk!
UPDATE!
Here’s a pic of the ONE PIECE banner more brightly illuminated…
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I’ll be covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
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!
Not far from the front entrance to the Hotel del Coronado grows a tree you might have seen in a classic movie.
It’s the Dragon Tree, which appears briefly in the 1958 comedy Some Like it Hot, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.
Here’s a page on the Hotel Del’s website about the filming of Some Like it Hot. In the movie the world-famous Victorian beach resort is called the Seminole Ritz.
When I was walking around the Hotel del Coronado late last month, I noticed the unusual Dragon Tree and then a nearby plaque…
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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!
Did you know Frank Sinatra filmed a scene aboard the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s historic steam ferryboat Berkeley?
I had no idea until my visit to the museum today!
During the opening of the 1957 film Pal Joey, starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak, the legendary crooner watches a pair of lady’s legs descend steps aboard what was then a San Francisco ferryboat.
If you watch this YouTube beginning at 2:53, you can see the historic ferry departing Oakland Pier to cross San Francisco Bay. You can then recognize several features of the ferryboat Berkeley as Sinatra does his thing.
Here’s a great website with photographs from the movie and the corresponding locales. You can see a train that pulled up to the Oakland Pier, where passengers would transfer their luggage onto the Berkeley.
What a cool, little-known bit of history!
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