I took these photographs this afternoon during a long, slow walk along the Embarcadero.
It’s early winter. On such a pleasant January day, during an ordinary year, one would expect to see more people about. But the COVID-19 pandemic has altered life on San Diego Bay.
Closed attractions. Fewer tourists. Few boats on the water. A quiet boardwalk and sleepy Seaport Village. An almost empty fishing pier…
A lone sailboat passes the presently closed Maritime Museum of San Diego.From the boardwalk I took a photo of Star of India’s cathead. This sturdy beam, used to raise and lower the ship’s anchor, has a cat’s head!Walking past a mostly closed Portside Pier.Many empty benches and tables can now be found along the Embarcadero.Light sparkles from the wake of a turning Coronado Ferry.Play of light on rippled water, reflected onto the hull of the USS Midway.Hanging out on the grass, gazing across the bay.I raised my camera to take this photo of the USS Midway aircraft carrier’s island. The USS Midway Museum is also closed now.Long shadows cast by the two figures in Seward Johnson’s sculpture Unconditional Surrender, which is now more often called Embracing Peace.Walking by the water.Cool photo taken of Tuna Harbor.Bright floats on a rusty fishing boat.A family walks along near Seaport Village. Few people are about this sunny January afternoon.A kite zips around making fast aerial circles, to the delight of both young and old.Quietly reading on the grass at Embarcadero Marina Park North.A fine day for riding bicycles!Marriott Marquis tower reflects bright sunlight into the hotel’s marina.I’m still getting used to Seaport Village’s new color scheme. It’s growing on me.Looking skyward.A snowy egret searches for dinner in shallow water at the edge of the Marriott Marina.More walkers, and a runner.Light makes for an interesting photo at the Marriott Marina.The San Diego Symphony’s new outdoor concert venue, The Shell, seems nearly complete. I believe you’ll walk up here to buy tickets.Beyond the ticket office you can see the acoustically designed structure where the musicians will play.Walking out on the pier at Embarcadero Marina Park South. Not much fishing activity today.From one end of the pier I took this photo of The Shell. A grassy slope descends toward the concert stage. Structures for lighting and speakers have also been erected.Turning on the almost empty pier, facing the Coronado Bay Bridge.Another guy quietly walking along. A perfect day for that.But this pelican will have to wait a long time if it’s expecting a free morsel!
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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!
Looking southeast across beautiful Glorietta Bay Marina in Coronado.
Check out these scenic views from the second level of the Glorietta Bay Marina Building in Coronado!
To the east you can see the many boats docked in Glorietta Bay, the green trees of Coronado Municipal Golf Course beyond, and tiny glimpses of distant downtown San Diego.
To the south lies the Coronado Civic Center and its Glorietta Bay Park Promenade. There’s some public art that way. See photos of a beautiful fountain here and crazy rooftop sculpture here.
To the west rise the ten white Coronado Shores condominium towers.
And finally to the north, you can see public art titled “Imagine Tent City” which I once blogged about here, plus the distinctive former Hotel Del Coronado Boathouse, with its Victorian architecture–now home to Bluewater Boathouse Seafood Grill.
The Glorietta Bay Marina Building was dedicated in 2009. Wonderful views surround it.
Plaque near stairs to outdoor second level of the Glorietta Bay Marina Building.
Looking northeast. In the distance rises part of San Diego’s downtown skyline.
Looking south toward Coronado’s City Hall and Civic Center.
Two of the Coronado Shores towers to the west. Just beyond, unseen, lies the Pacific Ocean.
To the north you can see Coronado public art titled Imagine Tent City.
And you can also see the Hotel Del’s historic Victorian boathouse.
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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!
A surfer begins southwest down Point Loma’s Bessemer Path beside San Diego Bay.
Yesterday I enjoyed a leisurely walk down the scenic Bessemer Path in Point Loma. The dirt trail follows the edge of San Diego Bay between Talbot Street and Qualtrough Street.
As other walkers and bicyclists passed me, I looked out at boats in the La Playa Anchorage behind Shelter Island, at people and dogs enjoying several small beaches, and the yards of handsome houses with a view of the water.
I took photos as I walked. I began at the northeast end of Bessemer Path near the San Diego Yacht Club and a bench with an historical marker, which I blogged about yesterday. If you want to see the marker and its plaque, which concerns an old Chinese village that was located here over a century ago, click this link.
When my feet finally reached the short pier of the La Playa Yacht Club, which extends into San Diego Bay at the southwest end of the Bessemer Path, I lowered my camera and enjoyed an easy return walk.
Someone rides along the path one beautiful summer day.
Looking out at boats in the La Playa Anchorage near the San Diego Yacht Club.
One of several small beaches along the Bessemer Path. I saw sailboats moving across the water.
I saw many bicyclists.
The Conard-Arrington House built in 1949. This ranch style home, designed by Roy Drew, is City of San Diego Historical Landmark No. 460.
Trees ahead.
Some shade near the end of the path.
A swing in one tree.
A girl sits in a window in the tree.
Beyond the trees, a heron watches for small fish in the water.
And a fisherman in a yellow slicker sits on a rock in the ice plant.
I’ve reached the short pier of the modest La Playa Yacht Club. Beyond lie boats of the much larger Southwestern Yacht Club.
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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!
Today I went for a long walk along Mission Bay. During my modest adventure I found myself passing through old, seemingly lifeless Marina Village.
I first visited the Marina Village Conference Center next to Quivira Basin when I was a young person–perhaps 45 years ago. I went with my father to some sort of convention or business meeting, then walked around for an hour or two as I waited for him.
Marina Village’s fresh beauty back then made an impression that I still vaguely remember. The warm wood framing airy walkways, the bright bougainvillea everywhere, the friendly-looking buildings, the courtyards here and there, sparkling water and boats nearby…
That great beauty has since faded, along with the place’s popularity.
But if you use your imagination, you might picture Marina Village with a new coat of paint, a few repairs, straightened lanterns, and colorful, fluttering banners.
My memory is far from perfect, but that is how I remember this beloved place almost half a century later in my mind’s eye.
Check out the stained glass panels on one of the buildings that I saw today as I walked down memory lane!
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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!
Look what I spotted this afternoon during my walk along San Diego Bay. I was approaching the Marriott Marina when my eyes were surprised by a monumental steel structure rising from Embarcadero Marina Park South.
It’s the enormous stage of the new Bayside Performance Park, now under construction!
This permanent concert venue is an amazing gift from the San Diego Symphony to all of San Diego. How appropriate it appeared in time for Christmas!
As I walked around the construction site on my way to the Embarcadero Marina Park South pier, I spoke to a crew member of the Silvergate, a Coronado ferry that docks nearby, and he informed me the steel structure you see in my photographs went up rapidly four or five days ago.
You can also see a banner on a fence that shows what Bayside Performance Park might look like when completed. The concert stage’s curving shell is not only visually attractive, but it’s designed to provide a high quality acoustic experience.
Bayside Performance Park is due to open in time for the 2020 season of San Diego Symphony’s Bayside Summer Nights.
I can’t wait to see how it looks (and sounds) when completed!
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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!
Shark street art on a utility box at the corner of Shelter Island Drive and Rosecrans Street.
This morning I headed to Point Loma to visit three sites participating in the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s 2019 OPEN HOUSE SAN DIEGO. All three are located in a neighborhood at the foot of Shelter Island–an area once populated by many Portuguese fishermen. I think you might enjoy a look at Little Portugal’s history and some of its landmarks.
Before I sort through all those photographs, however, please enjoy others photos I took during a fun walk down Shelter Island Drive, from Rosecrans Streets to the recently improved Shelter Island boat ramp.
(To see additional street art I photographed along Shelter Island Drive a couple years ago, click here!)
The Union Bank on the corner of Shelter Island Drive and Rosecrans Street has a colorful mural near its entrance. Tuna fishermen with poles out on the Pacific Ocean.
Plaque describes the above artwork. Sean Wells – Art Teacher. Mural completed Spring 2010 depicting historic scenes of the Point Loma region.
As I began walking along Shelter Island Drive, a gigantic yacht passed down the street!
A few benches overlook a corner of the Shelter Island Yacht Basin. It’s a nice place to sit in the sun and relax.
I spotted this cool stained glass panel in a window of The Marlin Club.
I remember seeing several huge fish suspended here years ago, before I began taking photos for this blog.
Someone bikes past a huge boat lift at the Shelter Island Boatyard.
Those yachts being repaired seem to be up in the sky!
People bicycle near the Ocean Song sculpture in front of Humphreys Half Moon Inn. This cool public art was created by Alber De Matteis.
As I approach San Diego Bay, I see the Pacific Portal sculpture by local artist James T. Hubbell.
I’ve arrived at the recently improved and enlarged Shelter Island Launch Ramp. Many recreational watercraft enter San Diego Bay here.
Looks like these guys backing their boat into the water intend to spend the day fishing.
Someone hangs out nearby, sitting among beached dinghies.
Looking across the boat launch basin, the San Diego downtown skyline in the distance.
I see some sailboats racing in the distance, between here and Harbor Island.
Here comes an amphibious SEAL tour boat. Tourists float out toward the entrance of San Diego Bay, then turn around near the submarines at Naval Base Point Loma.
These cool vessels drive right out of the water and up onto the boat ramp!
After walking a bit, I’m nearer those small sailboats that were racing in the distance.
Some people by the rocky shore watch even more distant sailboats with binoculars.
My small camera zooms and just manages to capture a nice image.
Look! Here comes San Salvador, the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s amazing Spanish galleon replica!
Now that is one very cool sight!
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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!
I walked slowly along the Embarcadero this morning. As I started along San Diego Bay, the February sky was gray and occasionally drizzly.
For a Saturday relatively few people were about. The popular Tuna Harbor Dockside Market was busy, of course, but the first part of my walk was rather quiet. A couple firefighters were jogging on the grass near their fire engine at Seaport Village. I saw some birds, including a beautiful snowy egret. A few fisherman were trying their luck on the pier at Embarcadero Marina Park South.
I said hello to some familiar people.
As I turned back north, I noted a bit more activity. Guys in scuba gear were at work cleaning the hulls of boats in the Marriott Marina. Workers were getting tables ready at various waterside restaurants. Vendors were setting up booths at Ruocco Park’s new Saturday farmers market. Tourists were gathering at the foot of the Embracing Peace statue (originally called Unconditional Surrender) and atop the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum.
And, best of all, the street performers were out and smiling.
As usual the sun came out.
San Diego is magical.
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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!
It’s late in the year and I’m feeling lazy. Time to go through thousands of old photos, to see if there are any I can use!
While searching through my computer, I rediscovered a folder of photos taken from various spots on the Embarcadero around nightfall. Some of the images are fairly striking. Here they are!
When these photographs were taken, I don’t remember. During this summer, I believe.
You might recognize the Marriott Marina, the Donal Hord sculpture Morning, harbor tour ships that take on passengers near the Broadway Pier, and an aircraft carrier docked across San Diego Bay at North Island.
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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!
