Tag: museums

The old sanitarium in downtown San Diego.

Did you know a large sanitarium once stood in downtown San Diego at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Beech Street?

I had no idea, until I saw the surprising The Agnew Sanitarium 1906 cornerstone on display inside the San Diego Police Museum!

The Agnew Hospital and Sanitarium was founded by David Gochenauer. It began in a private residence in 1900 and was a training school for nurses.

The cornerstone you see in my photograph was laid for a big new building at 464 Beech Street on June 9, 1906. You can see a postcard image of the Agnew Hospital and Sanitarium and more description of its history here.

One more interesting fact. Alonzo Horton, whose historic Horton’s Addition development would help to transform New Town into today’s downtown San Diego, died in 1909 at age 96 . . . at Agnew Sanitarium.

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Famous fashion inspires San Diego students!

Fashion designer Arnold Scaasi created elegant gowns for many First Ladies and famous movie stars.

What happens when four Scasssi dresses inspire San Diego Mesa College fashion students?

You end up with four unique new creations, now on display at the San Diego History Center!

Visitors to the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park are encouraged to examine contrasted garments during the museum’s just-opened Fashion Redux 2023 exhibition.

Dresses by Arnold Scaasi in the museum’s collection represent the Glam 1980s. The four fashion students got a good look at them and, recalling that decade of printed blouses and big hair, were inspired to produce clothing that is similar, but new! Bold color and padded shoulders, anyone?

The Mesa College students whose artistry is on display are Ramses Alfaro Mendoza, Leo Cotton, Eddie Villarreal and Robbie Matawaran.

Here are the Scassi dresses…

And here are the inspired new creations…

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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!

Horton Plaza model at San Diego History Center.

Little remains of the colorful old Horton Plaza shopping mall in downtown San Diego.

Shoppers who once wandered through the creatively designed complex, which debuted back in 1985, might enjoy heading over to the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. There’s a great scale model of Horton Plaza now on display!

Living downtown for over two decades, I’ve used my camera to document various developments in and around Horton Plaza during my walks. Most recently, I took photos of how the whimsical, touristy shopping mall is being redeveloped into a mixed-use technology and biotech campus called Horton. You can see those photos here.

The display of the Horton Plaza model at the San Diego History Center coincides with their newly opened Fashion Redux 2023 exhibition. Fashion students from Mesa College viewed garments in the History Center’s textile collection dating from the “Glam 1980s” and were inspired to create their own bold clothing. I’ll be blogging about that soon!

Horton Plaza Model. Metal, paperboard, plastic, wood. Gift of H.S.D./Horton Associates.

Commissioned by the Hahn Company, the model was built to illustrate and “sell” the Jon Jerde Group’s design of Horton Plaza to the public.

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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!

Beaded horse and animals at the Mingei!

I love this carousel horse! It was created using thousands of glass beads! Visitors to the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park can’t miss it!

The beaded horse and several smaller animals occupy a large display case on the museum’s ground floor, which is free for visitors to enter.

Look at all the colorful designs made with tiny beads. The patterns and figures on these animals are full of cultural symbolism.

The horse itself was created in the mid-1990s inside the museum by Rosendo Carillo de la Rosa and his family, who traveled to San Diego from the Huichol community in Jalisco, Mexico.

The large carousel horse is made of fiberglass, glass beads and beeswax. The smaller animals, like the snake and jaguar, also representing the Huichol Sierra Culture, are formed using wood instead of fiberglass. Several different artists crafted these amazing bead animals.

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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!

Rosie, beloved cat of San Diego Veterans Museum.

Few see this small marker at the San Diego Veterans Museum at Balboa Park. Curious eyes might discover it behind the outdoor Vietnam Veterans Peace Memorial on the east side of the museum.

I read these words for the first time today.

The heartfelt memorial for a beloved cat reads:

Rosie the Museum’s mascot was named after the famous Rosie the Riveter of WWII. As Cat in Charge she welcomed visitors with a friendly meow, kept an eye on things during the day and assumed her role as Tabby on Patrol guarding the museum at night. 2000 – 2008

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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!

Drywall screw artwork honors Veterans!

Take a look at this very unique three-dimensional art that honors military Veterans. It’s made of painted drywall screws!

I saw this patriotic artwork today during my visit to the USS Midway Museum. The display was getting a lot of attention on the aircraft carrier museum’s hangar deck!

The artist is Chief Joe Pisano, who has served many years in the Navy Reserve. I learned he now has an exhibition at Liberty Station. His “The Art of Immortalizing Heroes” is located inside the NTC Command Center, near the new Nautical History Gallery and Museum, which I visited here.

Joe’s display today included several flags that he created using thousands of drywall screws. The texture and wavy appearance of the flags is fantastic.

I noticed much of his artwork brings attention to POW/MIA and homeless Veterans.

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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!

Coronado exhibit: Vietnam POWs fifty years later.

Tomorrow, March 29th, 2023, marks an important anniversary. Fifty years ago United States troops completed their departure from Vietnam, and the last group of prisoners of war were freed.

A powerful exhibit at the Coronado Historical Association museum remembers the POWs who returned to freedom, and tells their moving stories. It’s titled Open Doors: Vietnam POWs Fifty Years of Freedom.

I wandered about the museum today and tried to imagine the horror. Displays recalled how prisoners of war in Vietnam suffered. It had been a struggle to merely survive.

I then gazed at portraits of freed POWs and read the accompanying profiles. I saw how differently each man adjusted to life after their experience.

Many successfully returned to a more “normal” life. Many, having risen out of hell, experienced a strengthened sense of purpose.

As the exhibition description states: Open Doors is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of human will, it is also a celebration of that second chance at freedom.

This same exhibit originally debuted in Coronado 20 years ago. Today, after traveling around the nation, it has returned.

Visitors are reminded that we all have the capacity for extraordinary strength.

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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!

Girl Scouts explore STEM in Balboa Park!

Hundreds of Girl Scouts from around San Diego gathered in Balboa Park this morning to take part in the Incredible Race!

Many stations were set up around the park: along El Prado, in front of museums, even in the parking area behind the San Diego Automotive Museum. Girls were being challenged to explore STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

During the Incredible Race, teams would solve riddles and proceed station to station where fun, educational hands-on activities awaited.

As I walked through the park, I saw a lot of excited young people running energetically about, enjoying San Diego’s beautiful crown jewel and learning lots of cool stuff, too!

The San Diego Model Railroad Museum demonstrates how to plan and build a model railroad.

Emily Warren Roebling was an engineer who oversaw the construction and completion of the Brooklyn Bridge.

A table with activities near the Fleet Science Center.

Learning about constellations and Women in Astronomy.

In front of the Museum of Us, Girl Scouts could learn about Women in Math.

At the Casa del Prado, one could make binary bracelets and learn about Women in Computer Science.

By the San Diego Natural History Museum, there was a fun dinosaur fossil digging activity and information about Women in Paleontology.

On the platform under the Moreton Bay Fig, curious Girl Scouts learned about electrical circuits and Women in Engineering.

Above beautiful Palm Canyon, a station recognized historically important Women in Photography.

Behind the San Diego Automotive Museum, participants could change a tire on a cool race car!

At the San Diego Air and Space Museum, Women in Flight were recognized, including Anne Lindbergh, the first woman in the United States to earn a glider’s pilot license. She made her first flight in San Diego, at Mount Soledad in 1930.

Girl Scouts could make their own gliders!

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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!

San Diego photos honor Black History Month.

An exhibit is now being readied at the San Diego History Center for Black History Month. Two museum walls will feature photographs selected from the History Center’s archives.

When I asked about this installation today, I learned that the centerpiece will be Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to San Diego back in 1964. Many additional photographs concern citizens in our community who dared to advocate for equal rights.

About a third of the photos were up this afternoon. The exhibit should be completed sometime this week!

Protesting racial segregation in front of Woolworth’s storefront in downtown San Diego in 1960.

Racial equality sit-in at SDG&E in 1963.

Board of Education racial integration proponents disrupt meeting in 1968. A group of parents fought against inequalities for students of all ethnic backgrounds.

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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!

Nautical History Gallery & Museum opens!

An amazing new museum had its Grand Opening at Liberty Station today! The Nautical History Gallery & Museum is jam-packed with carefully constructed displays, providing visitors with the U.S. Navy History Experience, 1775-1945.

Museum artist and curator Joe Frangiosa, Jr. has served in both the Navy and Marines. By carefully studying historical photographs, he has been able to craft very realistic miniature ship models. Many of his detailed models can be viewed in the museum’s exhibits, which cover different periods of U.S. Navy history.

The Nautical History Gallery & Museum is located in Room 108 of Liberty Station’s old Command Center. Joe has created and amassed so many artifacts concerning naval history that only a portion of his collection is on display. There’s so much to absorb, a curious visitor could spend a good long time looking at it all!

Visitors to the one-room museum can also view a historical video and Joe’s workshop area, where you might see him concentrating on another model!

If you are interested in military history, model making or the U.S. Navy, this remarkable museum is a must see. If, like me, you are fascinated by ships, the evolution of technology and human history, you’ll probably enjoy it, too!

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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!