Tag: movies

You can help restore beautiful HMS Surprise!

Weather and the elements are damaging to any ship. That’s especially true when the ship is made of wood.

If you’ve been by the Maritime Museum of San Diego lately, you’ve probably seen how one side of their tall ship HMS Surprise is being repaired. The starboard side, which for many years faced south toward the harsh sun, had seriously deteriorated.

Fortunately, the world-famous Maritime Museum of San Diego has the expertise required to undertake complicated projects such as this, as shown by the beautiful deck restoration of HMS Surprise. But funds are also required, which can be a challenge for any nonprofit organization.

Would you like to help?

Perhaps you love the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, which starred Russell Crowe and beautiful HMS Surprise. As I did a little research this morning, I noticed that author Michael Eging, who also loves the critically acclaimed movie and the Patrick O’Brian novels it’s based on, has created a GoFundMe fundraiser for the restoration of HMS Surprise. A fair amount of money has already been raised, but there’s more to go.

To learn about this effort, and perhaps make a contribution, click 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!

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Ghirardelli’s marquee and Gaslamp history.

Have you ever wondered why the Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter has an old-fashioned theater marquee? That’s because the building, erected in 1912, was originally a movie theater!

The Casino Theatre at 643 Fifth Avenue opened in 1913 and was one of several movie theaters in the Gaslamp that provided entertainment for ever-changing audiences over the decades. In the 1930s it was remodeled into the Art Deco style. Here’s an image from the 40s, with the Casino Café “Lunch” restaurant located next door, offering breakfast, waffles and steaks.

In the 1950s and 60s, The Casino and its movie theater neighbors at Fifth and G Street–The Aztec and The Savoy–would be open all night and show 3 big features, according to a comment here. Slowly these old theaters would fall as television’s popularity rose.

In the 1970s, while the Gaslamp neighborhood experienced urban decay, The Casino Theatre began to show X-rated movies, along with the other nearby theaters. I’ve been told sailors made up much of the clientele.

Here’s a gallery of photos of the The Casino Theatre over many years. Some of the titles you’ll read in the marquee are a bit salacious!

I hadn’t realized the marquee was seen in Marty Feldman’s 1980 movie In God We Tru$t. That image can be viewed here.

Today you’ll find a plaque near the historic building’s front entrance:

The Casino Theatre, 1912

The first theatre to be built with the new building ordinance for fire safety. It had two doors near the stage for fire escape and a five-foot-wide exterior passage on both sides and the rear for the protection of other buildings in case of fire. However, two years after construction, the northern passage was occupied by a food stand, and the southern passage contained a shoe shining establishment.

Temptation of a different sort! In a historic Gaslamp Quarter that now attracts loads of tourists, the colorfully lit old marquee teases you with ice cream, chocolate and hot fudge sundaes!

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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.

Gaslamp mural remains from 2019 Comic-Con!

Did you know a cool mural painted five years ago in downtown San Diego for Comic-Con can still be viewed today? Yes!

Back in 2019, I took these photographs of celebrated comic artist Rob Prior painting the above mural halfway up the grand staircase at the Theatre Box movie theater. Today the building at 717 Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter is home to Mr. Tempo Sports Bar.

Because of several popular movies, the characters depicted in this pop culture mural were in the limelight five years ago. Climb the stairs today and you can still find Darth Vader and a stormtrooper from Star Wars, Thanos, Black Panther and Deadpool from Marvel Comics, and Wonder Woman from DC Comics.

Comic-Con 2024 will be here before we know it! As I walk around and discover related developments, Cool San Diego Sights will gradually be entering Comic-Con mode! I haven’t seen any Comic-Con trolleys yet, but they should be appearing soon!

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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.

Deadpool from Chile visits Balboa Park!

Deadpool has traveled from Chile in South America to San Diego, and I found him hanging out today in Balboa Park!

This young man with the cool Deadpool cosplay, posing for photographs on El Prado, didn’t speak much English. But I did ascertain he loves the Deadpool movies.

I don’t know if he’s in pursuit of any supervillains at the moment. Perhaps his buddy Wolverine was nearby, but I didn’t see him.

You never know what or who you’ll encounter in wonderful Balboa Park!

If you’re reading this on a serious San Diego newsfeed, sorry. I’m just a blogger who likes to walk around the city, and sometimes I post silly, fun things.

Perhaps you’ll enjoy a quick smile before returning to a world where depressing news is far too common.

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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)!

Cosplayers gather for St. Patrick’s Day Parade!

Superheroes and supervillains and other pop culture characters gathered this morning in San Diego to participate in the big annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade!

Members from several San Diego and Southern California cosplay groups gathered on Fifth Avenue before the start of the parade and posed for fun photographs! How many costumed characters do you recognize?

Hmm… I believe I see some sort of Green Lantern America, Alvin, Hermione, Spidey, Link, Elves from Middle Earth, Ghostbusters battling Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, good old Cap, a Black Widow, Obi-Wan Kenobi (and his apparent clone), Superman well-dressed in kryptonite armor, a bright green Irish Wookiee, Princess Peach, Batgirl, Gambit, the Jolly Green Giant (villains eat your vegetables or else!), a Tusken Raider, Dude Vader, and…

Super cool!

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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)!

Celebrities, ghosts and history in Bankers Hill!

The Hawthorne Historic Inn in Bankers Hill is a picturesque old Victorian. Built circa 1900 in the Dutch Colonial style, the building attracts the eyes of those passing down 1st Avenue.

A public tour of the Hawthorne Historic Inn was offered last weekend, as part of the San Diego Architectural Foundation Open House event, and I took full advantage of the opportunity!

Not only could visitors explore the interior, with its long, bright skylight and beautifully furnished rooms for rent, but we learned that the building has a very rich and surprising history!

A handout provided by the property owner explained how Mr. Jones, a movie starring Richard Gere, was filmed here in 1993. You might recall scenes of Richard Gere’s troubled character on the rooftop.

It also recounted how Mohammed Ali and Sammy Davis, Jr. stayed at the inn in the 1960s and 70s. Back then, unfortunately, African Americans had difficulty obtaining rooms in other establishments.

Another tidbit that interested me is that in the 1980s, the Hawthorne Inn was one of three officially haunted places in San Diego! (I saw no ghosts during my tour.)

The inn was originally called “The Plainsman” in an old classified ad. It was a boarding house. It is one of the few Working Man’s hotels remaining from the turn of the 19th century.

The second owner, last name Warren, was a women who was a Theosophist. She was likely involved in the founding of Lomaland, the Theosophical community located in Point Loma.

I learned the property has had its ups and downs, but is currently on the upswing. Today it’s a fine apartment building with great views of downtown and San Diego Bay from its upper floor and an outside balcony.

The Hawthorne Historic Inn is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also a California State Historic Landmark.

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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)!

Balboa Theatre centennial: A salute to San Diego military!

The Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego is celebrating its centennial. The old vaudeville/movie theatre opened in 1924, survived a threatened demolition, and has experienced a beautiful restoration. Today the Balboa Theatre is a popular concert and event venue whose splendid interior and pipe organ recalls what entertainment was like in San Diego a century ago.

I’ve learned a special event is coming on Friday, March 29, that honors both the historic theater’s centennial and San Diego’s military. The Flying Fleet, a silent movie released in 1929, will be returning to life, accompanied by the Wonder Morton theatre pipe organ played by Ken Double.

Much of The Flying Fleet was filmed in San Diego. Scenes depict two love smitten pilots training at Naval Air Station North Island. The romantic drama includes action from the United States Navy’s first aircraft carrier USS Langley! You might consider The Flying Fleet a melodramatic prequel to Top Gun!

Is your budget feeling stressed? Tickets are a whopping $3.50!

Interested in learning more? Click here!

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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)!

San Diego Latino Film Festival bigger than ever!

The 31st San Diego Latino Film Festival promises to be bigger and better than ever!

The increasingly popular film festival will be taking place from March 14 to March 24, 2024, at the AMC Theatres at Mission Valley mall. You can check out the event website, which includes the full film schedule, by clicking here.

I’ve learned film lovers will have plenty to sink their teeth into. Among 56 features and 79 shorts there is comedy and tragedy, fantasy and realism, and everything in between. Many diverse stories emerge from Latinx experience.

Established and emerging artists are represented. There is animation and there are documentaries. There are films concerning music, and films about dance. Some films are in English, while others have subtitles. There’s so much that audiences can enjoy!

This year there’s a special emphasis on Argentinian cinema, with ten award-winning films featured. In Argentina the film industry faces various challenges, including censorship.

Each curated film is celebrated for its creativity, authenticity and excellence.

There will be a closing night award ceremony and concert, where ticket holders can mingle with guest filmmakers and actors. There is also the opportunity during two closing night films to meet Cheech Marin!

You want to check this out! Go to the San Diego Latino Film Festival website for everything you need to know by clicking here.

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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)!

Going “back to the future” in San Diego!

It’s now possible to go “back to the future” in San Diego. A newly opened exhibition at the Comic-Con Museum, POPnology, takes visitors back in time, demonstrating how fantasies in the popular culture have often predicted future technology!

Artificial intelligence, smartphones, robotics, 3D-printing, virtual reality . . . many technological developments were first depicted in science fiction (including pulp magazines, novels, television, movies) long before they became real. POPnology celebrates how fantasy can become reality!

Do you know that author Jules Verne, in the 19th century, dreamed up videoconferencing, moon rockets and electric submarines? And that H. G. Wells predicted genetic engineering, lasers and automatic doors? And that Ray Bradbury anticipated earbuds, self-driving cars and ATMs, long before they existed?

This extensive exhibition is loaded with nostalgic artifacts, models and interactive displays. If you’re interested in the history of technology, there’s plenty of information for your brain.

And for fun? There’s a Back to the Future DeLorean, complete with flux capacitor! (Will time travel be in our future?) Kids can remotely manipulate a robot arm to transport dinosaur eggs. (Jurassic Park!) There’s an honest-to-goodness 3D-printed automobile. There are lots and lots of cool robots–a sure kid-pleaser. And much more!

There are surprising new discoveries at every turn!

POPnology is certain to fascinate both the young and the old, as it transports curious minds from the past (and present) to the future.

I took a few photographs at the Comic-Con Museum to provide a small taste….

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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)!

Silent movie star returns to San Diego!

Public domain image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Harold Lloyd, star of silent movies a century ago, returned to his home in San Diego this evening!

The famous comic actor appeared on a big screen in Balboa Park’s outdoor Spreckels Organ Pavilion. He was starring in one of his most popular silent movies, The Freshman, accompanied by renowned organist Clark Wilson playing the Spreckels Organ!

Harold Lloyd is considered one the three great comedians from Hollywood’s era of silent movies. He stands with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

Did you know he also lived for a time in San Diego, attending San Diego High School?

So, in a sense, Harold Lloyd returned home this evening!

And thousands in the audience laughed at his all-too-human, silly antics. A century later, he still brings smiles into the world.

This was the second-to-last performance for this year’s free 35th San Diego International Summer Organ Festival. Next Monday–Labor Day–San Diego’s Civic Organist and rock and roll musicians together conclude the festival with a blast!

If you want to watch another silent movie accompanied by organ in San Diego, your opportunity is coming up on Tuesday, September 19 at noon at downtown’s Balboa Theatre. The performance is also free! Buster Keaton stars in the silent film One Week. Click here for more info!

Public domain image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

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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 Twitter!