I wandered about Ocean Beach this weekend. I walked down an alley that runs parallel to Newport Avenue–on its north side–from Cable Street to the beach.
Lots of cool artwork can be found all up and down this alley! You might notice many of the murals appear like mosaics–those are community murals from past years. They’re painted by anybody and everybody who can use a brush during the annual Ocean Beach Street Fair And Chili Cook-offs.
I noticed the final mural with the painted SEASPELL and amazing turtle was created by local artists Christopher Konecki and Carly Ealey in 2019.
In the past I’ve photographed two other works of art in this alley. A mermaid holding a shell full of ocean gifts can be seen here. A very cool mural featuring Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Cash can be seen 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!
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Today I took two short walks in the South Bay. One of my modest adventures was near the Imperial Beach Pier.
I noticed that on Seacoast Drive, across from the pier, Bibbey’s gift shop now has two very cool murals, one painted on the south wall and one on the north. Both are super creative and contain all sorts of abstract characters, including kooky surfers, a mermaid, and what appear to be faceless underwater ball players!
That mural with elements from pop culture that I blogged about almost six years ago here seems to be long gone. Only the shark remains at the building’s southwest corner–an updated and rather fierce version!
UPDATE!
About a year later I walked past Bibbey’s again and took more photos…
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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 went on a long walk through downtown this morning. My plan was to take some blog-worthy photographs before the rain begins in earnest tomorrow.
As I randomly wandered from block to block, my eyes found a variety of strange and delightful sights!
A clock wedged between a sidewalk and fence.A wall of roses welcomes guests to Coffee ‘N’ Talk.I must be a mermaid.PARKING is disappearing, and soon there will be none.A boy plays a flute up on someone’s balcony.A frog plays a violin by someone’s front door!
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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!
In October many artists came together in Pacific Beach to paint a beautiful new mural on the long north wall of the PB Water Store. The large mural depicts life under the ocean’s surface.
Images include a jellyfish, a mysterious underwater siren, a seahorse beside delicate coral, a grumpy-looking turtle, many hammerhead sharks, several colorful fish, an oyster with pearl, and a couple of crabs. According to names I observed on the wall, the artists involved in this amazing project included Beth Emmerich, Gloria Muriel, Diana DeAugustine, Erin Yoshi, Kara “KJ” Ashley and Justin Pelletier.
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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!
This morning I jumped off the trolley at the Rio Vista station, which is located beside the San Diego River in the heart of Mission Valley.
I knew I could find some fun street art at the Rio Vista shopping mall.
I headed down a sidewalk and there it was!
A transformer box has been painted with a mermaid. An example of the street art at Rio Vista in Mission Valley.More nearby boxes decorated with fun artwork.Long blue hair like waves of water.Shark street art, with credits to Brise Birdsong, Helen Divas, Angelica Nunez.A sea turtle swims though Mission Valley.I see some jellyfish, too!Two hummingbirds touch beaks.Colorful bird-of-paradise flower street art.Artwork painted on an electrical box at Rio Vista depicts a lady smelling red flowers.
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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!
The gritty Interstate 5 pedestrian overpass at Palm Street connects India Street to Kettner Boulevard. It is little used. The homeless sometimes make it their home.
Just a few quick urban photos.
My long walk today included a stretch along India Street in San Diego’s Middletown neighborhood. I sauntered up India Street from Palm Street to Vine Street, in order to check out something indescribably cool that I will soon blog about. I then turned about and returned to the pedestrian freeway overpass, where I crossed over to Kettner Boulevard and made my way to the nearby Middletown trolley station.
The road here is in constant motion, with loads of traffic to and from Interstate 5. As I headed up the sidewalk I passed a number of small businesses in plain, mostly unremarkable buildings. Looking eastward I observed a jumble of modest but colorful houses climbing the steep hill. From busy India Street, residential streets ascend a short distance toward the top of Bankers Hill, and Mission Hills to the north.
Stay tuned! I have many more photos coming from today’s adventure! There’s a good chance you’ll really enjoy the aforementioned super cool sight!
In addition, before I headed up India Street, I checked out a new park in Bankers Hill and learned about some incredible, little known San Diego history!
I also swung by Balboa Park. I’ll be posting those photos later on my other blog, Beautiful Balboa Park!
I hope you all are having a great weekend!
At first glance I thought some people were just hanging out above the freeway–but I was wrong! They were taking urban photographs with a model.A stretch of India Street looking north from the overpass. Cars speed along continuously. As I proceeded up the opposite sidewalk for many blocks, I saw no other walkers.Bright clouds in an urban setting.An interesting doorway beckons customers from India Street into the Starlite eatery.Cacti rise beneath electrical wires.I’m approaching the Aero Club. It seems my camera was aimed upward quite a bit today.Bold graphics on the white wall by the bar’s parking lot.Two golden mermaids above the front door of the Aero Club.Someone scratched many warnings, symbols, concerns and thoughts on a section of the sidewalk. Where is that person now?A fragment of sidewalk remains from 1914.A colorful dinosaur on the building of Dyno Brand custom t-shirts!
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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!
Pirate Con is coming to the Maritime Museum of San Diego during Comic-Con week.
Ahoy mateys! You despicable pirates, buccaneers, scoundrels! Avast! See what I discovered while innocently walking along the Embarcadero!
Pirate Con is coming to San Diego! The event will be held at the Maritime Museum of San Diego on July 21, 2017, the Friday of Comic-Con week. There will be pirate and mermaid cosplay and even hidden treasure: a free Funko Pop! I don’t know if hardtack, bone soup and rum will be served.
Looks like salty fun! And no better place to have it!
Maritime Museum of San Diego presents Pirate Con on July 21, 2017.Lots of pirate and mermaid cosplay will be seen at Pirate Con in San Diego! Paarrrty like a pirate!I’m not sure if these beady-eyed pirates will attend.I certainly hope this piratical two-sworded villain isn’t present!Goodness gracious! There seem to be a lot of pirates populating my blog. Chances are at least one of these rascals will attend Pirate Con at the Maritime Museum of San Diego!
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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!
Street mural by artist Amandalynn, painted in 2016 near Mission Boulevard in Pacific Beach.
On Saturday I walked down Mission Boulevard through both Pacific Beach and Mission Beach. I was blown away by some of the really cool street art that I found. As you’ll see, many of the colorful murals that I spied in Pacific Beach were painted just last year.
This batch of photos represents my walk south along Mission Boulevard, which is a block from the beach, from around Emerald Street to Pacific Beach Drive. In a coming blog post, I’ll share the fun and very unusual art I encountered as I continued south through Mission Beach.
A second photo of the eye-catching mural by Amandalynn, which shows beautiful ladies in a colorful underwater scene.The Pacific Beach Mermaid hangs out on a rock painted on a wall. Art by Jared Blake Lazar a.k.a Jared Black Lazer.A humorous sign on the sidewalk. Head into this barber shop and come out a completely different person!
I don’t know if some critics would classify the above as art–but it was undeniably funny!
Street art on a utility box. The curl of this coffee’s steam resembles the surf beyond the sand.Bunny Kitty carries a cigarette butt away as a fierce sea monster emerges from the deep. Pacific Beach art created in 2016 by Dave Persue for PangeaSeed.A cool mural near The Local Pacific Beach restaurant and bar, painted in 2016 by artists Sean Dietrich and Kai Martin. A blonde on roller skates, the PB boardwalk, surfboards, and a rather unusual car.A very funny utility box. This side shows a woman at the beach covering the eyes of a small boy.Another side shows Pacific Beach tourists who have spotted something that is both interesting and alarming.100 years of skating talent between us, but……nobody notices!Another utility box is covered with mermaids. This friendly purple mermaid watches humans driving down Mission Boulevard.Another long-haired mermaid on the same box.And a third happy mermaid!Two ladies walking along the edge of a parking lot toward the nearby beach. They pass someone snoozing in a hammock strung between palm trees.Street art on doors shows a surfer climbing toward a lifeguard tower at sunset.One additional look at the gorgeous art painted in 2016 by muralist Amandalynn in Pacific Beach.
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
People enjoying the beach by the Ocean Beach pier are joined by a mythical god and two sunning mermaids!
If you’re in Ocean Beach this week, there’s a good chance you can still enjoy a fantastic sand sculpture created by a talented street artist. Just head down to the base of Newport Avenue!
I don’t know the artist’s name. I did learn that he doesn’t have a website. His buddy was watching over the artwork when I walked past it. He said people should just drop on by and check the sand sculpture out! I thought all that inspired work deserved a nice tip!
Very cool!
The sea wall at the end of Newport Avenue, north of the OB pier, is a good place to see a variety of street performers.Two sand sculpture mermaids created by a talented street artist near the Ocean Beach boardwalk.Neptune is popping up out of the sand at Ocean Beach!
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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!
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 fun photos for you to enjoy!
Mermaid with a megaphone on the bay side of the narrow Canyon Path.
A mermaid emerges near the edge of beautiful San Diego Bay. She summons people from the bustling city with her megaphone…
Man with binoculars peers into dark alley between convention center and Marriott.
A man with binoculars peers between the San Diego Convention Center and the Marriott Marquis hotel. He heard the mermaid’s siren call, and is trying to catch a glimpse. She seems to be waiting at the end of a long, mysterious passageway…
Unique entrance to partially hidden walkway that provides easy bay access.
Will these people walking along succeed in finding the elusive mermaid? Turn left! Turn left!
Walking through narrow Canyon Path between buildings.
The mermaid seems to be somewhere ahead. The narrow Canyon Path between buildings is shadowy and filled with dark trees and bushes. It’s a bit scary. Where are we going? Are we lost?
Prismatic kite in blue sky above the Canyon Path.
Look up! It’s a shining kite in the blue sky!
Colorful light like a rainbow is cast by prism kite onto building side.
As we approach the mermaid on the opposite side, a beautiful rainbow-like splash of color appears on the Canyon Path’s vertical side! This secret place seems to be filled with magic!
The mermaid, man with binoculars and prismatic kite are all part of public art called The Benefit of Mr. Kite. This fun artwork was created to draw attention to an easily overlooked 925-foot long pedestrian accessway between the convention center and Marriott Marquis hotel, leading from Harbor Drive to the Marriott Marina on San Diego Bay. The artists responsible for our magical journey are Mags Harries and Lajos Héder!
UPDATE!
Look what I saw during a later walk through the passageway!
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