This memorial plaque should be read by all who love beautiful San Diego. It’s set in a bench by the fountain east of Balboa Park’s Botanical Building.
Here’s what it says:
In Loving Memory Of RUTH C. SMITH
Known for her generosity and her Love for San Diego
San Diego can be proud of Ruth C. Smith for her work to preserve Kate O. Sessions and Mt. Soledad memorial parks; for her promotion of the ecology by the planting of 10,000 trees in San Diego Parks, and the beautiful poinsettia display at Balboa Park’s Botanical Garden from December 3rd to January 3rd.
As the founder of the City Beautiful of San Diego, Ruth C. Smith has left a legacy of beauty for all San Diegans to enjoy for years to come.
She was loved by everyone.
Will you have a similar legacy?
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You might remember how, years ago, KUSI television consumer advocate Michael Turko sought to develop a neglected plot of land on Olive Street in Bankers Hill into a city park. According to this webpage, in 1909, the Ford, McKee, and Woods families generously donated the 0.6-acre property to the city for the specific purpose of creating a public park for the community to enjoy.
I posted a blog that included the still undeveloped park back in 2015. See that old post here.
Today Olive Street Park welcomes one and all. It is also the site of the San Diego AIDS Memorial, which opened on World AIDS Day, Sunday, December 1, 2024.
With various plaques and signs, the memorial remembers the over 8,000 San Diegans who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS, and honors those who’ve supported them and have worked to defeat the devastating disease. Many compassionate people and organizations throughout San Diego County are recognized.
The neighborhood park is a grassy oasis with flowers and beautiful views, where people can play or relax and reflect.
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In Coronado, Lifeguard Tower 1B on the beach of Glorietta Bay Park honors a hometown hero. A plaque on the tower is In Loving Memory of Justin Allen Meek.
I noticed the plaque during a walk. Wanting to learn more about Justin Allen Meek, I found this article.
Justin, who grew up in Coronado, not only became a lifeguard, but he lived a remarkable life. He was a hero in many respects to those in Coronado and beyond. There were numerous accomplishments. He became an Eagle Scout at a young age. Through the years he actively worked to help the community in a wide variety of ways. He wanted to unselfishly serve others.
Tragically, he perished at age 23 while trying to protect others during a mass shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks.
If you’d like to see this plaque for yourself, walk down toward the water at Glorietta Bay Park in Coronado, then pause on the sand at the lifeguard tower.
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This beautiful mural was completed earlier this year in San Diego’s downtown East Village neighborhood. It memorializes three San Diego Zoo animals that passed away in 2025. It was painted by Ground Floor Murals.
I had a nearby errand this afternoon, so I swung by to see it. You can view the mural near the corner of Market Street and 16th Street, behind the Brikho Fuels gas station, on the south side of the Ace Uniforms building.
The zoo animals remembered are Kalluk the polar bear, Nicky the Masai giraffe, and Maka the Western lowland gorilla.
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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.
I walked through the California Center for the Arts, Escondido a couple hours before the start of this evening’s 30th Annual Día de los Muertos Festival. Workers, artists, performers and vendors were busy getting ready!
Papel picado was being hung, elegantly dressed skeletons were standing about, and squares were outlined on the ground, ready with candles and crosses for visitors to memorialize loved ones.
Inside the Concert Hall’s lobby I found a beautiful ofrenda and other traditional Día de Muertos decorations.
Back outside, I noticed a vendor had many marigolds.
This beautiful Día de Muertos is produced every year by the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. You can help support the event and learn about others by visiting their website 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 San Diego History Center in Balboa Park, which is open free to everybody, has put up a beautiful ofrenda (altar) for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
Their ofrenda appears a bit different from prior years, but it still honors and remembers figures from San Diego’s past. Oh–and San Diego’s famous town dog from the late 19th century, Bum, too!
Making a family ofrenda is a beloved tradition in Mexico. The beautiful altar in the San Diego History Center also contains traditional objects like marigolds, candles, papel picado and photographs of loved ones who’ve passed on.
A nearby table invites visitors to the museum to make their own tissue paper marigold. These hand-made marigolds can be added to the altar with a note containing the name of your loved one and a message.
You may also take your special marigold home.
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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.
Memorializing a loved one. Love for the community. This bright mural on the side of Barrio Market radiates love. You can’t miss it at the corner of Cesar Chavez Parkway and National Avenue in Barrio Logan.
A year ago, almost exactly, I happened upon artist Andrea Border Baby with her ladder at work painting this mural. I learned she’s a high school math teacher in South Bay. It was her first ever public mural. See my photos of her actively painting here.
I walked past Barrio Market again today and aimed my camera at the beautiful, finished artwork!
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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.
There are several beautiful rose gardens around Liberty Station in Point Loma. One that visitors might miss is located along the path that follows the edge of the nearby boat channel. It’s called the Hugh Story Memorial Rose Garden.
This garden is situated not far from the 52 Boats Memorial, which honors the ultimate sacrifice made by men aboard U.S. Navy submarines that were lost at sea during World War II.
Those who read the Hugh Story Memorial Rose Garden’s marker can understand why.
Hugh Story Memorial Rose Garden
Dedicated To The Memory Of HUGH GOODMAN STORY, SR. 1920 – 2006 Creative Leader – Motivator
Hugh served his country within the submarine service during World War II, making 5 war patrols in the Pacific and earning a Bronze Star and Combat V Unit Citation.
After the war, he remained in the Naval Reserve, attaining the rank of Commander. In civilian life, he spent thirty years building and managing refineries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Hugh is revered by this community for his twenty-four years of full-time volunteer service to Point Loma and San Diego. He is especially loved for the hundreds of trees that he and his fellow volunteers planted, and for the streetscape improvements they brought to the sidewalks, streets and boulevards of Point Loma. As past president of the Point Loma Association and its Beautification Committee, he formed the “Mean Green Team” to care for the Committee’s many undertakings. He inspired people of all ages, from Boy and Girl Scouts to retirees, to create, install, and maintain the urban projects that enliven Point Loma.
Hugh was equally unflagging in the time and effort he devoted to the Navy League, the Submarine Veterans of WWII, the San Diego Maritime Museum and Friends of the Point Loma Library.
Hugh Story made a difference. He did so in many ways, but always by improving life for those he touched through his selfless service to the community.
Friends and family of High Story provided funds for this garden which was dedicated March 19, 2010.
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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.
Dave’s Beach in Carlsbad is a scenic spot that is popular with radio-controlled glider pilots. Small model aircraft are launched by hand above the bluffs beside the Pacific Ocean. The slope provides excellent uplift to keep gliders aloft. Learn more about Dave’s Beach here.
When I walked this way in 2023, I found a lot of gliding activity. See those photographs here. I also discovered a memorial plaque dedicated to Dave Kellogg.
I failed, however, to notice a second nearby plaque. I discovered it yesterday.
The shadow of a chain link fence is visible in my photograph…
In Loving Memory of Our Friend
ORAN “ORANATOR” BLOODSWORTH
Whose spirit will soar on here forever
Feb. 10, 1965 – Sep. 23, 2019
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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.
I was walking along Coast Highway after the big Oceanside Independence Parade when I noticed an absolutely amazing piano in front of the Sunshine Brooks Theater building. I had stumbled upon the Miss Mary Project!
The piano, named Miss Mary, was recently painted by artist and arts advocate BJ Lane. Its new permanent home is the Sunshine Brooks Theater, home of the Oceanside Theatre Company.
Anybody walking along the sidewalk was invited to play the beautiful piano. How could anyone possibly resist?
The Miss Mary Project was initiated by the daughter-in-law of the piano’s beloved namesake, whose spirit lives on. You can find more about the project by reading various blog posts here.
You’ll learn that BJ Lane, as she carefully painted, was thinking about movement, music, and the energy of the performers that will eventually emerge on Miss Mary’s panels.
Also: At its heart, The Miss Mary Project is more than a painted piano. It’s a gathering place for purpose, restoration, and connection.
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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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 