Tag: hillcrest

Beautiful mural in Hillcrest at Crest Cafe!

For many years, a fantastic elephant mural has decorated the side of the Crest Cafe in Hillcrest. Last year, another mural was painted at the restaurant. The beautiful artwork can be seen at the front entrance.

San Diego based artist Austin Gosswiller painted the colorful flowers, birds and butterfly last year.

I took photos the other day…

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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.

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ArtReach mural in Hillcrest: Ignite Creativity!

IGNITE CREATIVITY proclaims this fun, very colorful mural in Hillcrest. It was painted last year on the side of ArtReach San Diego‘s building on University Avenue.

Information in a nearby window indicates the mural’s lead artists were Esteban Sanchez, Isabel Halpern and Ian Stiles-Mikl, and that over 200 community members helped to paint it.

ArtReach is an inclusive and welcoming place where art is transformative. Youth who participate in ArtReach programs can turn their dreams to reality.

As the organization’s website explains: Through artmaking, young people find a powerful outlet to express themselves, process emotions, and build self-esteem—all while forming bonds with their peers in a nurturing yet inspiring environment.

I took these photos about a week ago during a walk through Hillcrest.

Over the years I’ve photographed many ArtReach public art projects all around San Diego. To see those very creative murals, click here or here or here or here or here or here or 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.

Feel free to share!

Fourteen colorful, smiling faces in Hillcrest!

I love these electrical boxes in Hillcrest, on First Avenue near the entrance of Florence Elementary School!

Fourteen smiling faces were colorfully painted on the boxes years ago. I’m guessing young students held the brushes.

I finally got around to photographing the happy street art yesterday!

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

Cool mural in Hillcrest celebrates San Diego!

Have you seen this very cool mural in Hillcrest? It’s painted around a corner of the California Bank & Trust building at 3737 5th Avenue, a bit away from the street. I hadn’t noticed it until my most recent walk through the neighborhood, about a week ago.

The artwork celebrates San Diego!

Images in the mural include the downtown San Diego skyline (including the El Cortez and Coronado Bay Bridge), Balboa Park’s iconic California Tower and Cabrillo Bridge, the San Diego Zoo, Mission San Diego de Alcala, and the Hillcrest landmark sign!

The art was created by @AustinGosswiller and @JackStrickerArt. Looking at the latter’s Instagram page, it appears to have been painted in 2023.

Awesome!

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

Modern Day Artist appears in San Diego!

A successful artist these days must wear many hats, and keep working at their art around the clock. That appears to be an important message in the recently painted Modern Day Artist mural in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood.

It’s easy to miss this colorful public art. It’s on the east side of a building on the 800 block of Washington Street. Those driving east, right past the mural, will likely not see it unless they check their rearview mirror at the right moment.

The cool artwork was created a few months back by Kolten French (@koltenfrench), co-founder of Mindful Murals.

When I learned of the mural about a week ago, I walked from downtown up to Hillcrest to check it out!

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

An epic lucha libre match in Hillcrest!

Those who’ve passed through Hillcrest recently might have observed an epic lucha libre wrestling match taking place near the sidewalk. When I walked by last Saturday, a fierce luchador had his opponent in a devastating head lock. Several onlookers were cheering! And a young would-be luchador was standing by, emulating his masked hero!

The big wrestling event, as you might have guessed, is colorfully painted street art. Two electrical boxes have become canvases for the scene!

The artist is Gerardo Meza. Here’s his Instagram page. You’ve quite possibly seen other examples of his work around San Diego, particularly down in San Ysidro near the Mexican border. That’s where I originally discovered some of his very unique street art many years ago.

You, too, can watch this fun lucha libre wrestling on Sixth Avenue, a bit south of Anderson Place!

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

More bubbles are flying in Hillcrest!

Today I finally got around to photographing this great public art in Hillcrest.

Back in January, I posted photos of a fun “champagne bubbles” mural on the east side of the Bubbles Market & Spirits building. It was painted in 2023. See those pics here.

In 2024, the same creator, San Diego artist Jeremy “Jermz” (@jm47art), painted a continuation of that mural, but on the north side of the building near the store’s front entrance. A beautiful woman appears to be blowing more bubbles! That’s what you’re looking at now!

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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.

Painting beautiful street art in Hillcrest!

Many electrical boxes in Hillcrest are being painted this summer with beautiful new street art. I happened upon three artists today working on a box on University Avenue!

I’ve learned this latest explosion of Hillcrest street art is another project of the Hillcrest Business Association. Volunteer artists are adding more life and color to this already dynamic San Diego community!

Upon speaking to the three artists, I learned they’ll be covering this entire box with their beautiful work. And I learned they are helping to restore historic murals in Chicano Park!

Awesome!

Ni La Muerte Nos Separa. Not even death separates us.

A beautiful sun and moon rise together on the side of an electrical box in Hillcrest!

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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.

Gerardo Meza street art in Hillcrest and Bankers Hill!

The distinctive street art of Gerardo Meza (@mezarte) has been showing up in both Hillcrest and Bankers Hill!

I’ve noticed several electrical boxes painted in the last year in the two neighborhoods by the prolific artist. His colorful street art can be observed in communities all around San Diego.

Should you walk through San Ysidro just north of the Mexican border, you’ll find many examples of his work. Gerardo Meza is Chairman of the Border Public Arts Committee. Among other accomplishments, he’s also Coordinator of Art Box San Diego and Cofounder of the San Diego Art Society.

Gerardo’s artwork with its Mexican flavor is unmistakable. It can be weird, distorted, humorous, frightening, sexy, hip, mythological, ironic… It’s very original and definitely attracts your attention!

My first four photographs are of two boxes in Hillcrest…

And here come photos of two boxes in Bankers Hill…

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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.

Champagne bubbles fly in Hillcrest!

Enormous champagne bubbles are flying up the wall of a Hillcrest liquor store!

Bubbles Market & Spirits had this huge mural created last year by San Diego artist Jeremy “Jermz” (@jm47art). Here’s his Instagram page.

It’s a bubbly work of art that definitely attracts the attention of passersby! I thought you might enjoy seeing it, too!

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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)!