Firefighters public art in Point Loma!

If you ever driven down Catalina Boulevard in Point Loma, and wondered about some colorful public art on the façade of City of San Diego Fire Station No. 22, here are a few photos that you might enjoy!

These four vertical murals, together titled Firefighters, were created in 2018 by Roberto Delgado. Silkscreen and airbrushed porcelain tiles form abstract, layered images of Point Loma firefighters fighting fires in the community, at different times in history.

The artwork is based on historical and contemporary photographs. On the left, eyes can’t possibly miss the Old Point Loma Lighthouse! I also see a tall ship down in San Diego Bay, and what appears to be a tuna fishing boat. If you can discern more than me, leave a comment!

The fire station was dedicated in 2018, replacing an old station built back in 1942.

Just for fun, I also took a couple of photos with the electrical box directly in front of very cool Fire Station No. 22!

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Murals of Mint House Project in Barrio Logan.

Several inspired San Diego artists have painted two fences on Evans Street in Barrio Logan, just north of National Avenue. Together these community murals are called the Mint House Project.

The Mint House Project is described as a public mural project in Barrio Logan presenting local artists responding to themes of social justice. Equality, beauty, life and compassion are themes of the diverse, colorful artwork.

The last time I took photos of these two fences, the murals were quite different. At the time they were called The Nest Murals. You can see that old blog post from almost six years ago here.

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Colorful mural enlivens Barrio Logan fence!

Check out this awesome mural in Barrio Logan!

The symbolic artwork was painted on a wooden fence on Logan Avenue south of Evans Street. I spotted it yesterday.

The local artist is Jessica Petrikowski (@artbypetrikowski). Very colorful Aztec imagery is accompanied by two hummingbirds. I believe that’s Quetzalcoatl on the left and his rival “opposite” Tezcatlipoca. The pair of touching hummingbirds are of the same two colors. Throughout the mural, sprouting green life rises from the earth.

This mural was painted a little over year ago. The spray paint art that previously decorated this same fence was also by Jessica. You can see a photo of that old mural among others in this blog post.

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You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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!

Progress of California mural in La Jolla.

When I stepped into the La Jolla Recreation Center’s small auditorium the other day, I barely noticed the game of ping pong that was in progress. That’s because my eyes were immediately drawn to a large, incredible mural on one wall above some vending machines.

The mural, painted in 1929 by renowned artist Hugo Ballin, is titled Progress of California.

I found this article. It explains how the mural was originally located at First National Bank, which opened in La Jolla in 1930 on the corner of Silverado Street and Girard Avenue. The mural was placed on the wall above the vault door. When the bank was demolished, a decision was made to move the mural to the La Jolla Recreation Center, where the public could freely see it.

Hugo Ballin is best know for his work in Los Angeles, including murals at Burbank City Hall, Griffith Observatory, LA County General Hospital, and the Los Angeles Times Building. During the era of silent movies, he was art director for Goldwyn Pictures.

As you can see, his Progress of California mural depicts people from different periods of history, including Native Americans, Spanish explorers and missionaries, 49ers during the Gold Rush, and pioneers.

Rising at the right end of the mural is Balboa Park’s iconic California Tower, which was built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in San Diego.

I did my best to take good photos without interrupting the game of ping pong…

Restoration of the historic Progress of California mural was performed in 2000.

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Beautiful mural at Living Coast Discovery Center!

There’s a very beautiful mural near the front entrance of the Living Coast Discovery Center in Chula Vista that was painted fairly recently. I saw it a couple weeks ago when I visited Sweetwater Marsh in the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

The very colorful mural, depicting native wildlife and plants, decorates a roll up door behind a group of outdoor picnic tables. I took these photos.

I asked a Living Coast Discovery Center employee about it, but she didn’t know who the artist was. If you happen to know, please leave a comment!

Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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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!

Joe Musgrove “It’s Our Time” mural!

The 2022 San Diego Padres are on a roll!

First our team eliminated the New York Mets from Major League Baseball’s playoffs, and last night the Pads did the same to the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers!

A new mural has popped up in San Diego, at the intersection of 7th Avenue and Island Avenue, depicting ace pitcher Joe Musgrove, who started the deciding games in the two postseason series so far. His red ears are a bad omen for would-be opponents. The street art states: “It’s Our Time!”

San Diego baseball fans are feeling it!

The cool spray paint art was created by Ground Floor Murals, who’ve produced great Padres murals all over the place! This particular mural was sponsored by the Downtown San Diego Partnership Clean & Safe program, and WestBrew, a brewery lurking behind that wall.

Next conquest . . . the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series!

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You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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Brandon Moreno mural in San Ysidro!

A large mural paying tribute to Mexican UFC Flyweight Champion Brandon Moreno was painted a couple months ago in San Ysidro!

The artwork was created by Mode Tijuana (@mode.awc). It shows the victorious mixed martial artist Brandon Moreno draped with the national flag of Mexico.

Drivers exiting from southbound I-805 onto San Ysidro Boulevard can’t miss it.

The mural, made possible by the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce and Border Public Art Committee, is on the same freeway wall as a big colorful LOVE mural that I blogged about here!

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Mural in San Ysidro encourages vaccination!

A mural full of whimsy decorates a fence at the north end of San Ysidro’s Cultural Corridor. Painted by local artist Gerardo Meza (@mezarte), the colorful street art encourages residents to become vaccinated against COVID-19!

I walked up the Cultural Corridor today and noticed a variety of new murals that were painted since my last visit. I’ll be sharing the rest of them in my next blog post, but this particular mural is so creative and visually fun I thought I’d post it first, to get things started.

Last time I passed this section of the fence–about a year and half ago–it featured Día de los Muertos artwork, also created by Meza. You can see a portion of it in the final two photos here.

As you can see, the San Diego Trolley passes very close by–just southeast of the Beyer Avenue station. The Cultural Corridor, with its many murals, runs south down Cypress Drive.

Casa Familiar, a nonprofit service and community development organization, reminds those passing by that Las Vacunas Salvan Vidas–Vaccination Saves Lives.
Composite creatures, seemingly emerged from mythology, capture the eye.

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The faded Serra Museum mural at Hazard Center.

If these photos appear strangely dark, that’s because I’ve increased contrast to bring out the details of a badly faded mural.

This large old mural was painted on the south side of the Hazard Center shopping center in 1996 by an artist whose signature is Duff. The artwork faces the San Diego River and is exposed all day long to the sun.

That building you see in the mural is the Junípero Serra Museum. It stands across the river several miles to the west. The museum’s tower (which is often mistakenly thought to be the San Diego Presidio) can be seen rising above trees from various spots in Mission Valley.

Do any of you know who the artist Duff is? I can find nothing by searching the internet. I documented another Duff mural in Mission Valley, which was painted beneath Friars Road, here.

Please leave a comment if you know anything more!

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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Three cool murals during an Ocean Beach walk.

Enjoy photos of three cool murals I spotted during a recent Ocean Beach walk.

The above mural must be relatively new. It’s by Cong Nguyen (@KINGNCONG). You can find it on the side of the OB Noodle House and Sake Bar on Cable Street. This mural replaced a long-time OB girl mural that I photographed here. (It’s the first photo you’ll see in that old blog post.)

The next mural with a big colorful parrot was painted last year on the Ocean Beach Hotel by the amazing local artist team of Carly Ealey and Christopher Konecki.

Finally, check out this cool alley mural I must’ve missed back when I photographed the “Hippie Dog” here. It’s on another side of the same building!

This awesome bee lady artwork was painted by Celeste Byers back in 2017.

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!