The new Navy SEAL Museum San Diego is almost ready to open! Opening day is Saturday, October 4, 2025. That’s less than three weeks away!
This afternoon, walking past downtown’s One America Plaza building, I noticed the black marble pedestal that will support a Navy SEAL frogman statue has been installed outside. You can see it in my first two photographs. The nearby America Plaza trolley station is in the background.
I also observed new graphics have appeared near the museum’s front entrance!
Abandon Self – Embrace Team… The Deed is All – Not the Glory… Be Someone Special… The Only Easy Day was Yesterday
Responsibility – Service – Commitment – Discipline
How often do you see artwork made by visitors to a fine art museum–displayed prominently at that museum?
Should you visit the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park, that’s what you’ll find!
Composed of squares decorated by visitors to the museum, Make the Sun Shine is displayed in the Timken’s elegant Central Gallery.
Marisol Rendón, the museum’s resident artist this summer, furnished the golden circles, and the public, using markers, stamps and pens, created the surrounding rays. People took their inspiration from the many masterpieces that fill the museum galleries.
I was told Make the Sun Shine will be on view for a few more weeks.
The amazing Timken Museum of Art is always free to the public. It might be small, but it’s loaded with Old Master masterpieces. In fact, it’s the only museum in San Diego with a Rembrandt in its permanent collection.
Look how beautiful these shining suns are!
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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 X.
Here’s a collection of photographs for you to enjoy. I took them in Balboa Park today. Mexican Independence Day was celebrated in the Old Globe’s outdoor Copley Plaza!
I lingered for a little over an hour, listening to rousing mariachi music and watching joyful, colorful baile folklórico dancing.
A good crowd at tables around the outdoor stage enjoyed free Mexican candies and played Mexican lotería too! Many families enjoyed the festivities!
Anyone wandering about could also check out artists at their table. I recognized Maricruz Alvarado! You can see some of her beautiful work here and here!
What entertainment did I enjoy at this great Mexican Independence Day Celebration? Música Del Barrio with their pre-show music, Mariachi Continental SD, DanzArts folklórico dance, and the Radican Ensamble choir. There would be even more groups after I left to resume my Balboa Park walk.
The cultural celebration was produced by the Old Globe’s AXIS performing arts public engagement program. Learn more about AXIS 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!
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.
The 19th Annual Walk in Remembrance with Hope will be held in San Diego tomorrow morning, Sunday, September 14, 2025.
The Walk in Remembrance with Hope celebrates the lives of loved ones lost to suicide. It also raises awareness about suicide prevention.
The walkers and others will gather in Balboa Park on the grass near Sixth Avenue, south of Laurel Street. Registration begins at 7 am.
I met the good people setting up for the event this afternoon. The Walk in Remembrance with Hope is organized by Survivors of Suicide Loss. See their website here.
All ages, friends, family and pets are welcome to join! Start a team and invite your friends & family, or walk individually.
The event is a helpful resource fair, too, with vendor booths and more.
Even if you’ve never been personally affected by the tragedy of suicide, you can still help out these good people with a donation. Make your donation 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!
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.
The nonprofit Save Starlight organization has been working for years to save the historic 1935 Starlight Bowl amphitheater in Balboa Park. Perhaps you’ve been following the news concerning their heroic efforts.
An email blast that I received today reads:
Dear Friends of Starlight,
The moment we’ve been working toward for years has arrived. The City of San Diego has officially opened a 30-day window for Save Starlight to submit our Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) — the critical first step toward securing a long-term lease of the historic Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park.
This is our opportunity to finally bring Starlight back to life. But we cannot do it without you.
A key component of our submission is demonstrating strong fiscal support from our community. That means two things:
Donations now – Every contribution, large or small, shows the City that San Diego is ready to invest in the future of Starlight.
Letters of intent – Written commitments from individuals and organizations who pledge to donate once the lease is secured will help prove the depth of support behind this project.
We have just 30 days to make our case. The more momentum we show now, the greater our chance of success.
Together, we can ensure that the Starlight Bowl is not just preserved, but revitalized as a thriving cultural landmark for generations to come.
If you love the historic Starlight Bowl as much as I do, and want to help restore it to life, now’s your opportunity!
Did you know that many music legends have performed in the Starlight Bowl? They include Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Diana Ross, The Doobie Brothers, The Rolling Stones, Jewel, Cheap Trick, Beastie Boys and more!
Also, did you know that Wayne Nelson from the Little River Band has recently joined the Board of Directors of Save Starlight?
Click here to help save a true San Diego treasure!
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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.
Do these works of art represent the “real” world? Are they entirely fantastic?
Surreal pieces now on display in the San Diego Central Library’s art gallery might seem strangely familiar–but why and how?
The free exhibition is titled Uncharted Elsewhere. Stimulating pieces created by nine regional artists transport the viewer into uncharted territory located somewhere in the human mind.
I visited the Central Library’s 9th floor Judith Harris Art Gallery this afternoon and was wowed by the creativity of artists who have a special gift. Through sculpture, textile, painting and works on paper, they make curious people stand a very long while and wonder.
Are those eggs? Are those faces? Are those webs? Is that plant life? Are those landforms? What are these weird, oddly familiar things?
How did these fantastic visions come into existence? And what in our complex world is possible or real?
How, I wondered, might these visions relate to my own experiences in life?
The artists themselves, in their descriptions, explain how, through abstraction, they aim to produce enigmatic, mysteriously organic environments. Their works induce introspection, and perhaps enlightenment.
If you like weird, imaginative works of art, you’ll love Uncharted Elsewhere. For me, it’s one of the most engaging exhibitions I’ve experienced in this gallery.
You can check the artwork out for yourself through January 4, 2026. Learn more about the exhibition, the artists and the gallery hours by clicking 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!
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.
The legendary rock band Chicago performed before a sell-out crowd this evening in San Diego. Even after 58 years of touring, the guys can still bring it!
As the sun set, the Rady Shell filled up with fans. Hundreds more would listen to the concert from benches at the edge of San Diego Bay and the Marriott Marina. Boats anchored in the bay were there for the music, too, and dozens of people in lawn chairs on the Embarcadero Marina Park South pier had some great free seats.
Hit would followed hit all evening long–everything from Questions 67 & 68, to Make Me Smile, to Searchin’ So Long, to Old Days, to Does Anyone Know What Time It Is, to If You Leave Me Now, to Look Away . . .
The timeless jams and ballads were as great as ever. Three original band members–Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, and James Pankow–were unstoppable. It appears they’ve found the fountain of youth.
I hadn’t been to a Chicago concert since Bill Champlin and Jason Scheff departed as lead vocalists, so I wasn’t sure how I’d like the “new guy” Neil Donell. Oh wow! He actually sounds a whole lot like Peter Cetera!
It seems there is no stopping Chicago. America’s Band they call themselves. There’s no denying Chicago is a national treasure.
Yes, I got goosebumps. I’m sure many in the audience did, too!
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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.
An amazing transformation is coming soon to Balboa Park!
Hopefully by Thanksgiving, definitely in time for December Nights I’m told, the front entrance of the Municipal Gymnasium will be radically altered. The historic building will more closely resemble how it appeared when it debuted in 1935 as the Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries during the California Pacific International Exhibition!
A construction fence in front of the Municipal Gymnasium was put up recently. Today I spotted workers atop the building’s marquee preparing the structure for its monumental transformation!
What will this amazing change look like when completed?
Click here and here to enjoy a preview, and learn more!
UPDATE!
A week later, I noticed the following changes. First, a descriptive sign appeared on the construction fence…
Municipal Gym Façade Restoration sign includes historical photo.
Second, markings have been made above the building’s marquee, in the space where the large bronze mural will be mounted…
ANOTHER UPDATE!
And a few days later…
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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.
A big festival continued today in San Diego’s Balboa Park. All weekend, the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages celebrated their 90th Anniversary!
Plenty of cultural entertainment could be experienced by park visitors at both the Spreckels Organ Pavilion and the International Cottages.
I took photographs on Saturday–the event’s first day. See those photos by clicking here and here.
Today, Sunday, I returned to Balboa Park to enjoy more of the anniversary celebration!
Here comes a selection of photos…
I watched a traditional dance performance at the International Cottages, presented by the House of Peru…
A bit later, I watched these radiant dancers presented by the House of Philippines…
I ventured into the House of Denmark, hoping to find another Danish hot dog like the one I devoured yesterday. I found a scrumptious dream cake (drømmekage in Danish) instead! I love coconut!
Inside the Hall of Nations, the House of Czech and Slovak Republics had an interesting display.
Their cottage, damaged badly by a falling eucalyptus tree months ago, is being repaired by the City of San Diego. Looking good!
Members of the House of China offered to write visitor names in Chinese!
I headed over the Spreckels Organ Pavilion at 2 pm for the Sunday entertainment, which would include the Spreckels Organ.
Umbrellas could be rented at the Spreckels Organ Society membership table. It was a very warm day in San Diego’s early September sunshine!
Super cool (and talented) San Diego Civic Organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez smiled for a photo!
A very special concert begins with the National Anthem. San Diego celebrates the 90th anniversary of the International Cottages in Balboa Park!
I hear drums and bagpipes behind us…
Here comes the House of Scotland Pipe Band! They file between the benches to the organ pavilion stage…
Scottish music marches by and steps onto the stage…
Booming drums, bagpipes and the mighty Spreckels Organ–world’s largest outdoor instrument. What an incredible combination!
If this doesn’t get your blood moving, nothing will!
After several rousing performances, the band files off the stage…
Next comes the House of Germany Choir. Several songs include the favorite Edelweiss.
Then I enjoyed beautiful selections sung by the Damekor Scandinavian Choir. The musical group includes members of House of Pacific Relations nation Houses representing Scandinavia.
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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.
A big, wonderful event is taking place this weekend in Balboa Park. It’s the HPR 90th Anniversary Celebration. The International Cottages are celebrating nine decades of promoting mutual understanding among the people of the world, and working for peace.
The many members of the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages are offering cultural entertainment all weekend long, including tomorrow–Sunday. I enjoyed much of the festivities today–Saturday–and took these photos.
The event began with the Parade of Flags. I already shared photos of the parade here.
Following the colorful procession, our attention was directed to the stage of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.
After everyone stood for the beautifully sung National Anthem, the Red Warrior Singers sang, and the presidents of the member nations of the House of Pacific Relations stood for well-deserved recognition.
The House of Pacific Relations added four new nation members this year! Their mission is to foster understanding, tolerance and goodwill among all people. Diverse people have come together in San Diego for the greater good of humanity.
Human diversity could be experienced in the cultural entertainment, which then commenced.
First up, the House of Vietnam…
Next up, the House of Poland…
I then wandered over to the International Cottages lawn, where I found many happy people enjoying food, the open cottages, and various exhibits…
I confess I ate a Danish hotdog. Super yummy!
Yokohama, one of San Diego’s Sister Cities, was represented at one table.
I learned the San Diego International Film Festival is coming up, October 15-19.
The San Diego Beamers were up on stage providing live music…
The House of Chamorros had a display concerning slinging, which is an ancient and ongoing tradition of the Chamorro people. A friendly guy was demonstrating how to use a sling on the grass behind their cottage…
I then wandered back to the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. More dance, and beautiful, inspirational singing, by the House of Ukraine…
I left for home early, as the Saturday programming would continue on at the cottages until 5 pm.
Sunday’s programming will also feature cultural entertainment, food and fun. If you go, check out the Spreckels Organ Pavilion and the International Cottages between 11 am and 5 pm. You’ll love it!
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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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 