Tag: photography

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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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!

Dance and food at the Cervantes Festival!

The Cervantes Festival was held today in San Diego!

The House of Spain hosted the fun cultural event in Balboa Park, with visitors enjoying entertainment, authentic Spanish food, a kids art table and more. I’m told the festival kicked off in the morning with young people reading from Cervantes’ classic novel Don Quixote.

When I arrived, people were watching flamenco dance on the International Cottages lawn and devouring tasty Spanish paella, jamón serrano, Manchego cheese (made in the La Mancha region of Spain) and other gastronomic goodies.

I walked about for a bit, looking for sights related to the great Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. I found small sculptures of the timeless character Don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho Panza in a display case inside the House of Spain cottage!

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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!

Garden removed from San Diego’s Waterfront Park.

Much of the garden at Waterfront Park on the north side of the County Administration Building has been removed. I noticed the orange construction fencing today during my walk along San Diego’s Embarcadero.

A worker told me they’re installing new pipes. As I understand it, much of this area will then be converted into basketball and pickleball courts and other outdoor recreational facilities, which can be enjoyed by downtown residents.

I noticed the fencing protects several trees. It’s also around world-famous artist Niki de Saint Phalle’s colorful Serpent Tree sculpture. I suspect these will not be moved.

How sad the beautiful garden is going away. I took photos of the lush garden one bright morning several years ago and posted them here.

I also went on an architectural tour of Waterfront Park and learned more about the garden’s design here.

If you know more, leave a comment!

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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!

Floating lab Gene Chaser visits San Diego.

A very unusual yacht with a very unusual name is visiting San Diego. I saw the research yacht Gene Chaser this morning docked at Broadway Pier.

Gene Chaser is essentially a super high tech floating laboratory. I had to search the internet to learn about it. This article explains the ship’s capabilities and the aim of its owner: scientist, inventor and entrepreneur Dr. Jonathan Rothberg.

The yacht is fitted in such a way that technological breakthroughs can be made while traveling the world’s oceans seeking new solutions and knowledge from nature.

The article explains: To support the fast pace of creating and using new technology, GENE CHASER has extensive rapid prototyping capabilities — best in class 3D printing, CNC, laser cutting, and electronics fabrication are all on board. All of which complement the cutting edge molecular biology laboratory and high power computational infrastructure at the heart of the ship.

Comparing my photos with that in the article, it’s apparent major changes have recently been made to the vessel. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before!

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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!

Cows on the beach in La Jolla!

Cows have been spotted on the beach in La Jolla!

Or perhaps I should say: Two cows have appeared at La Jolla Shores on Avenida De La Playa. And playa is Spanish for beach, right?

I saw both cows today!

The two life-size cow sculptures stand near other works of art by local artist Paula McColl.

A famous photograph taken in 1906 of cows on the beach was recreated with livestock in 2016. Read an article about that unusual event here!

Read the historical back story of dairy cows wandering on the beach in La Jolla 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 Twitter!

Gazebo at Balboa Park rose garden vanishes!

What happened to the big gazebo in Balboa Park’s rose garden?

During a walk today, I was surprised to discover that most of the circular structure has vanished!

As you can see in my photos, members of the Balboa Park Rose Garden Corps were busy working in the award-winning Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden. I asked a smiling volunteer what had happened to the gazebo.

I learned the wooden part of the beautiful shady structure was in bad shape due to years of rot and termite damage. It had begun to pose a safety hazard.

So the old, damaged wood was recently removed. The roses climbing up it were saved. A new structure will be built at some point in the future that will hopefully be more resilient. The flowering plants that remain at the center of the disassembled gazebo will be transplanted to Balboa Park’s Alcazar Garden.

Any comments with more specific info would be interesting!

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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!

Gray Whale at Cabrillo by Carl Glowienke.

A beautiful sculpture of a female gray whale and her calf stands near the whale-watching overlook at Cabrillo National Monument. The graceful work of art was created by local sculptor Carl Glowienke in 1992.

Over the years I’ve shared different photos of Gray Whale. But I never gave credit to the artist. I figured it’s time to rectify this oversight.

Here are some of those images again, but now I’ve added a photo of the plaque.

Carl Glowienke, who works in Lakeside, has created numerous amazing sculptures. Many depict whales, dolphins and other sea life. Check out his website here.

This morning, as I surfed Carl Glowienke’s website, I was excited to learn he created Grand Canyons of La Jolla–a 3,000 pound bronze topographic map of underwater La Jolla Canyon, installed in Kellogg Park at La Jolla Shores.

I happened to blog about that project’s progress during a walk in early 2022. To see what I discovered, click here. I need to go back and experience the finished work!

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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!

La Mesa history at Por Favor Restaurant building.

Should you walk through La Mesa Village, look for informative plaques with old photographs near the front entrances of buildings along La Mesa Boulevard. The plaques are a community project of the La Mesa Historical Society and the Rotary Club of La Mesa.

I found it interesting to learn about the history of the yellow building with stained glass windows that now houses the Por Favor Mexican Restaurant and Cantina.

Bank of Southern California Building, 1927

The local Bank of Southern California constructed this sturdy Mediterranean Revival style building on the site of the La Mesa Opera House (1908-1926). This now landmark building housed Mt. Helix developer Fred J. Hansen’s offices. The La Mesa Garage reminds us of this route’s former days as part of U.S. Highway 80.

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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!