Here’s one last group of cool pics from Chicano Park. These photographs begin near the center of the park, then we move west under the Coronado Bay Bridge.
The junkyards referred to in the above photo used to be numerous in this area.
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Here are even more pics from Barrio Logan! These photos were taken on the north side of Chicano Park, from the basketball court to Cesar Chavez Boulevard, including a stretch under the I-5 overpass.
As I mentioned before, some of these images might be considered controversial. To see previous photos, click the Chicano Park tag at the bottom of this post and scroll down. I have one more batch of photos coming up. Please feel free to share anything on this blog!
The above photo of the Shelter Island pier is interesting to me. I like how the angled concrete pilings, reflected on San Diego Bay, seem to project in three dimensions downward into the rippled water.
The light blue structure that you see is vacant. In the past it has been the home of a small fishing store and cafe. To its left you can see an aircraft hangar at Naval Air Station North Island.
When you stand on Shelter Island and gaze south beyond the pier, you can spy the distant Coronado Islands on a clear day.
The Coronado Islands (not to be confused with nearby Coronado) are four barren islets just west of Tijuana, Mexico. The home of numerous sea birds, sea lions and sea elephants, they are mostly uninhabited. A few Mexican caretakers live on the largest island and maintain a modest lighthouse.
We’re back in Barrio Logan’s famous Chicano Park with more pics!
The mural featured here is a very long one. It’s painted behind the park’s fenced basketball court, on a low wall that borders Interstate 5. Like the other public murals in Chicano Park, it’s a colorful hodgepodge of figures and symbols that seem to share one general theme: Mexican American pride and empowerment.
The photos move along the mural from right to left.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I took a whole lot of photos during my walk through Chicano Park. Here are some images from the east side of the public park, right next to Interstate 5. A few picnic benches and unusual features can be found in this area.
Some of these photographs might cause a strong reaction. As I’ve mentioned before, this blog aims to be nonpolitical. I just aim my old camera at interesting things around San Diego…and you decide what to make of it all!
This polished memorial stands apart from the murals, by a small patch of green grass.
Chicano Park is located in Barrio Logan, a mostly Mexican American and immigrant community just south of downtown San Diego. The eight acre park features almost a hundred murals painted on concrete pillars that support the intersection of the Coronado Bay Bridge and Interstate 5. This colorful park, quickly glimpsed by motorists speeding down the freeway, contains the largest collection of outdoor murals in the United States. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its unique history with the Chicano civil rights movement.
I recently took a leisurely walk through the park and captured hundreds of photographs. I’ve got so many pics, I’ve grouped them depending upon their location in the park. This blog post includes photos of murals I enjoyed while walking under the freeway ramps that connect the Coronado Bay Bridge to southbound I-5.
You’ll see a strange mixture of images in these murals: ancient Aztecs, indigenous peoples, workers, revolutionaries, school children, pop culture icons, scientists, politicians…and almost anything else you might imagine. The diverse and often weird combinations seem to include one overarching theme: Mexican American empowerment.
The first photograph shows what I saw as I entered the park, walking up National Avenue from the south. These artists were painting a pillar with an image of Mexico.
I’ve got a ton more pics, so stayed tuned in the days ahead!
These pics offer a sample of the sort of Mexican-themed eateries one encounters in the commercial part of Old Town, which runs several blocks south of the State Park along San Diego Avenue. Lots of seating outdoors, an eyeful of festive colors and a cool, laid-back Southern California atmosphere.
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One of downtown San Diego’s historic buildings, which is now abandoned and used to be home of the California Theatre, features a large, eye-catching Caliente ad on its west exterior wall. The faded yellow sign dates from the 1960’s. Take a look!
The Agua Caliente Racetrack, not far from San Diego in Tijuana, Mexico, today features greyhound racing. It opened in 1929 as a horse racing venue where big Hollywood celebrities were often sighted. Its popularity was largely due to prohibition and the fact that both drinking and gambling were illegal in many nearby American states.
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