The historic 1896 Quartermass-Wilde House, located in Golden Hill overlooking downtown San Diego, is one of the most fantastic, palatial old houses in our city.
Should you walk by Broadway and 24th Street, you might notice that this Queen Anne-style Victorian mansion, with a Classical Revival influence, has a very unusual tower. The top of the tower is shaped like a dome!
Why?
Because Louis J. Wilde, Mayor of San Diego from 1917–1921, loved architect Irving Gill’s elegant 1910 Broadway Fountain so much that he had the tower of his mansion altered to resemble it!
Louis J. Wilde was a controversial mayor, banker, oil tycoon, developer and part owner of the US Grant Hotel. His donation of $10,000 helped to build the Broadway Fountain in Horton Plaza Park, directly across Broadway from the US Grant. (He was also responsible for changing the name of D Street to Broadway!)
I’ve read the cupola under the tower’s dome provides an amazing panoramic view of downtown San Diego!
The 1910 Broadway Fountain at Horton Plaza Park. The fountain, with its unique watery dome supported by classic Corinthian columns, was designed by architect Irving Gill.
The top of the tower of the historic 1896 Quartermass-Wilde House in Golden Hill was altered by Mayor Wilde years later to resemble the Broadway Fountain that he loved in downtown San Diego!
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Cosmic Flight, a mural in Golden Hill by San Diego muralist Mario Torero.
A mural titled Cosmic Flight decorates the east side of Golden Hill Liquor at the corner of 28th Street and B Street. The mural was painted in 1978 by Mario “Torero” Acevedo, whose work can be seen all around San Diego. Over the decades Cosmic Flight has been touched up, altered due to graffiti, then restored. As you can see in the above photo, it has been vandalized again.
Mario Torero is the son of renowned Peruvian artist Guillermo Acevedo who immigrated to San Diego in 1960. The life of a Bohemian was already in Mario’s blood as he and a few others local artists strove to develop a creative community in San Diego decades ago. In 1980 he opened the Sol Arts Gallery in Golden Hill across the street from the Cosmic Flight mural, the corner where Starbucks is today.
Mario Torero frequently uses cosmic imagery and expressive faces in his colorful compositions. His themes typically revolve around the civil rights movement and Chicano activism. He has been instrumental in the founding of important cultural centers in San Diego, including Chicano Park and the Centro Cultural de la Raza. A prolific and important creator of activist art, he has achieved international fame.
I walked past Cosmic Flight yesterday and was struck by the mural’s grouping of faces, which are filled with subtle emotion, including quiet pride and confidence. That’s the powerful element I like most in Mario Torero’s artwork. The humanity.
Over the years I’ve photographed a variety of other murals by Mario Torero around town.
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!
Today I went on a super long, absolutely amazing walk. (Lots of blog posts are on the way!)
Look what I stumbled upon as I headed homeward through Golden Hill. Nicholas Danger, one of San Diego’s most prolific street artists and muralists, was painting a cool new mural on a patch of front lawn!
If you recognize his style, that might be because many photographs of his street art have appeared on my blog over the years. One of his recent murals that I photographed was created for Vespa Motorsports, which you can see here!
You can also see a photo of him painting a mural in North Park during the 23rd Annual San Diego County Credit Union Festival of Arts here!
Nicholas Danger is the name that Nicholas McPherson goes by, and how he signs his artwork. I met him only briefly this afternoon, but he was a really nice guy and let me take a photo of his latest creation.
If you want to learn more about his art, check out his website 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!
Every morning brings unending moments captured in mind.
I encountered some poetic street art while walking up C Street this morning. Halfway to the top of Golden Hill, I paused.
An electrical box was painted with fading scraps of thoughtful poetry. As we walk we find ourselves in surprising places. Forgive my translation of Julio Cortázar.
We walked without looking for ourselves – but knowing that we walked to find ourselves. Your smile is the moon of my life.
Each night rises — the passage of time–
Your heroes are always with you.
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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!
Colorful faces and complex depth are elements of a public mural located in Golden Hill.
I haven’t taken a walk through Golden Hill for several months. But this morning I discovered some photos of a cool Golden Hill mural languishing in my computer. I forgot!
This public art at the corner of 25th Street and B Street celebrates the diversity and the vibrancy one encounters in San Diego’s small Golden Hill community. It’s an enlarged version of a 8.25 by 19 inch mixed media collage, created by artist Giancarlo Pia in 2013. I love how three dimensional and richly colorful this mural is!
Giancarlo Pia. Golden Hill, 2013. Mixed Media Collage. This mural is dedicated to the residents of Golden Hill and reflects the vibrancy and diversity of the community.
Many lively images can be seen in this artwork. The rich culture and history of Golden Hill is celebrated.
A very cool mural at a street corner in Golden Hill.
UPDATE!
Here’s a much better complete photo of the mural that I took on a later walk…
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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 large bee and the word LOVE. Street art on a fence near the top of Golden Hill.
I went on a long walk today and took many photos. Enough for several blog posts!
I’ll begin at the beginning–walking in the mid-morning from downtown San Diego to the top of Golden Hill. I headed east along Broadway, crossed Interstate 5, then began my climb up the hill, looking this way and that. Here are a few interesting things I saw, starting at the Police Headquarters located at 14th and Broadway…
A wreath in front of the San Diego Police Headquarters’ Wall of Honor is the remnant of a recent memorial ceremony. The wall is inscribed with the names of all police officers killed in the line of duty since 1913.
A prayer on Broadway. Shelter my brothers and sisters in arms who have fallen in the fight. Let their stars, lit by your love, shine brightly through the night.
A sign points to Golden Hill as I walk east up Broadway from downtown San Diego.
Looking back west toward downtown. Many jacaranda trees line San Diego’s streets. A man waits at a bus stop.
Crazy decal on the back of a stop sign.
A utility box with a bit of funny urban art. This tired buffalo appears to be crunching some numbers.
A nicely restored Victorian residence on sloping Broadway, photographed while heading up Golden Hill. This neighborhood contains many historic houses. A hundred years ago, this area on a scenic hill near downtown was very affluent.
One side of a utility box has been boldly painted with a fiery green dragon.
A lady and a scaly dragon on the opposite side of the box. A floral mural decorates a nearby store’s wall.
The San Diego Reader is a very popular alternative weekly newspaper in our city. Their headquarters is located on Broadway in Golden Hill.
The 1896 Quartermass-Wilde House is a San Diego Historic Landmark. It’s difficult to miss! This elegant Victorian is an outstanding example of Queen Anne style architecture.
Lots of balloons and flowers for sale at the corner of Broadway and 25th Street. It’s Mother’s Day.
A beautiful bit of shining art inlaid in the sidewalk. A marker at the top of Golden Hill.
San Diego Fire Station 11, at the corner of Broadway and 25th Street. It’s a perfect day for a walk!
A Mexican taco shop has graffiti on the windows. The neighborhood today is slightly neglected, but sunny and pleasant.
A wooden fence along the sidewalk contains amazing, colorful murals, beginning with this flowery skull.
A brilliant butterfly spotted on Broadway, near the top of Golden Hill!
A hummingbird drawn like ancient Southwestern rock art.
A magical lady, eyeball plants and an unfinished Simba.
Someone walks west along the Broadway sidewalk. I continued east, turned north up 28th Street and directed my feet toward South Park.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
