San Diego artist Christopher Konecki was working on painting the new Merrill Madness mural in downtown this morning. The artwork will depict Padres baseball star Jackson Merrill, and will greet fans coming west down Market Street at Eighth Avenue.
The grassroots, fan-funded mural is a collaboration that includes the Merrill Madness Foundation and artist team Christopher Konecki (@konecki_art) and Carly Ealey (@carlyealey). Amazing murals by these artists appear throughout the city. You might recall how they painted two cool Padres murals in North Park. See those photos here and here.
Chris told me this is the fourth day of working on the Merrill Madness mural. It’s huge: four stories high! The mural should be done in a couple of weeks or so.
I’ll provide an update when the artwork is completed.
Looks like it’s gonna be awesome!
UPDATE!
Three days later, much progress has been made!
ANOTHER UPDATE!
And in another three days…
AND FOUR DAYS AFTER THAT…
ONE MORE UPDATE!
It was finally completed!
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The Savannah Bananas have arrived in San Diego. They will be playing their wacky Banana Ball today and tomorrow at Petco Park. I’m told the wildly popular event is sold out!
A crew was setting up a row of canopies north of Petco Park’s Gallagher Square, where there will be fun activities for fans. I see there will be loads of yellow Savannah Banana merchandise for sale.
I happened to walk this morning down J Street. I took these photos. Lots of smiles!
So, what, you wonder is Banana Ball and how is it different than baseball? Check out the website here.
Among a bunch of strange rules are: batters can steal first base, batters are out if a fan catches a foul ball in the stands, no walks are allowed, no bunts are allowed, there’s a two hour time limit . . . and other peculiar, exciting stuff.
I hear players at Savannah Banana games do choreographed dances and engage in trick plays.
The Savannah Bananas are sort of like the Harlem Globetrotters–but baseball.
Get ready to Go Bananas!
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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.
No, these gigantic flowers can’t be delivered. Their beauty can, however, be picked up . . . by a driver’s eyes at this Jack in the Box drive-thru!
Hungry customers must simply look right at a nearby wall as they await their fast food order. (Tacos, anyone?)
This beautiful mural was painted in Point Loma last May on the building at 1310 Rosecrans Street. The larger-than-life floral bouquet awaits directly across from a Jack in the Box pick-up window.
The artist is Hanna Daly (@hannasmurals). The public art was a project supported by the Point Loma Association.
Beautiful!
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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.
During the next four days, September 4th to 7th, 2025, physically challenged athletes will take to the surf north of the Oceanside Pier and vie for thousands of dollars in prizes in different surfing competition categories. The event is brought to the city of Oceanside by the Stoke for Life Foundation and the U.S. Open ASC Competition Committee.
Last year 96 adaptive athletes from 18 countries from around the world competed, and this year it should be bigger than ever!
You can find more info, plus the U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships daily schedule, by clicking here.
Today during a walk I spotted tents set up on the beach. I missed a special opening parade because I didn’t know about it. Near the pier I noticed workers getting everything ready at the announcer stand.
After walking out on the pier, I observed one of the athletes catching a wave while prone on a surfboard. He was practicing for the competition.
Good luck to everyone!
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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.
There’s a surprising outdoor art gallery in an alley in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood. It’s located on the side of the building at 915 S. 26th Street, currently home of Hard Dresser Salon.
Quite unexpectedly, I happened upon this weather-beaten art gallery about a week ago during a long walk.
A very faded graphic to one side of the framed artworks indicates Gold Leaf Project.
According to this website: The premise behind the Gold Leaf Project is that artists currently showing also install and display artwork on the streets of San Diego / Tijuana framed by these Rococo style gold-leaf frames. The point is to literally take art out of the gallery, but still display it as such in the context of the streets.
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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.
This evening, before the Spreckels Organ Pavilion’s Classic Rock Band’s concert featuring music of The Beatles got started, I walked a bit. I meandered around Balboa Park and took these photographs.
The sun was setting. Here and there building lights were appearing. The Spreckels Organ Pavilion was jammed with concert-goers. A few people were walking down El Prado, or by the Botanical Building as the sky gradually darkened…
The music began…
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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.
Belmont Park has been a favorite destination for generations of fun lovers in San Diego.
In 1925 the beachside amusement park opened as the Mission Beach Amusement Center. Today, an exhibit under Belmont Park’s beloved Big Dipper wooden roller coaster celebrates one hundred years of history!
John D. Spreckels developed the Mission Beach Amusement Park, which he intended to be a “playground for the people of San Diego…” Spreckels expanded his streetcar line to connect Downtown, Ocean Beach and La Jolla to Mission Beach.
The first structure to open was the Mission Beach Roller Rink… The grand opening unveiled the Mission Beach Bath House (now Plunge Pool) and the Dance Hall…
The subsequent construction of the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster was completed in 45 days by a construction crew of 150 men…The Giant Dipper officially opened on July 4, 1925 and enjoyed immediate record-breaking success…
The amusement park was renamed Belmont Park and revitalized in the 1950s under the direction of John (Jack) C. Ray. The park’s footprint expanded further south to include a new main entrance and attractions like The Octopus, a Kiddie Boat Ride, the Wild Mouse coaster, and a double Ferris Wheel.
The largest installation…was “Enchanted Land,” an immersive 23,000-square-foot western ghost town filled with fun-house mazes, shifting staircases, and interactive optical illusions.
On February 2, 1955, a fire broke out at the Giant Dipper… Though the city pushed for demolition, Jack fought to restore the ride… Jack Ray was the coaster’s first savior and where much of Belmont’s modern story began.
Due to financial difficulties, Belmont Park closed in 1976. In 1981, the coaster was set on fire twice in 19 days. A demolition permit had been approved by the city in 1979 and the park’s demise seemed unavoidable.
Before the charred wood of the Giant Dipper had cooled, a local activist movement was already heating up. In October 1981, Carol Lindemulder founded the “Save The Coaster Committee…” Over the next nine years, the committee led an ambitious effort… On August 11, 1990, after a 14-year closure…the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster finally reopened…
The Plunge Pool, which in 1925 was the largest saltwater pool in the world, would reopen in 2019 after an extensive reconstruction effort.
Today just so happens to be Labor Day!
Why not head down to Mission Beach and wonderful Belmont Park? Be a part of history!
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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.
Visitors to Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park were in for a treat today. One of the resident artists had set up on the patio with easel and canvas, and was demonstrating the art of plein air painting! Plein air is French and means outdoors.
Michelle Joy Montrose, the artist, who works out of Studio 1, was there outside, painting one of the other studios in Spanish Village. Several chairs were set up behind her so that anyone could watch. That’s what I did!
Speaking to Michelle, I learned she aims to paint every studio, and perhaps create a coffee table book containing all the images. That should be very colorful!
I also learned that Spanish Village intends to have more of these free public demonstrations in the future. It’s a great idea. Engaging with artists on a sunny San Diego day is educational and a lot of fun.
Michelle was happy to talk about all sorts of stuff, including the creative process. She’s a writer, too!
Should you ever visit Balboa Park and walk through Spanish Village, make sure to see whether a cool art demonstration is taking place out on the patio!
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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.
Would you like to see an outstanding exhibition concerning the Hotel del Coronado?
The Jewel in Coronado’s Crown: Over a Century of Historic Preservation at the Hotel del Coronado can now be enjoyed at the Coronado Historical Association museum.
Numerous displays in the free museum show how the iconic Del was built in the late 1800s and has periodically evolved and expanded. Through old photographs and descriptions, visitors can observe how, over the past 137 years, preservation of the hotel’s unique heritage and architecture have remained a priority.
If you enjoy learning about the history of San Diego and Coronado, this exhibition is a must see.
A little of what you’ll find, including a detailed timeline…
The Victorian beach resort was designed by architect James W. Reid and debuted as one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. With 399 rooms, it was the world’s largest hotel resort. The Del made history as the first hotel to have electric lighting.
The charming architecture’s complexity and asymmetry help make the Hotel del Coronado one of California’s most recognizable and cherished landmarks.
Luxury and elegance. Since 1888, presidents, world leaders and celebrities have enjoyed staying at the Del, along with tourists vacationing by the beach in our sunny, temperate Southern California climate.
Postcards, menus and more ephemera are displayed.
Many historical photographs in the exhibit document how the hotel has changed and expanded as time rolls on.
The beautiful Coronation Window was finally moved to a prominent position viewable from both inside and outside the hotel.
This exquisite fresco was revealed by workers removing a low ceiling in the Ocean Ballroom.
A recent lobby renovation has made the Victorian hotel’s interior entrance lighter and even more attractive.
In San Diego? Enjoy a walk through and around the Hotel del Coronado, and experience its magnificence yourself!
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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 French Market returned to San Diego’s bayfront this afternoon. The fun cultural event, organized by the French-American Chamber of Commerce of SoCal, was held outdoors at Lane Field Park. Its purpose was to celebrate French culture, flavors and innovation right here in San Diego, and to promote vibrant Franco-American business ties and cultural exchange.
I swung by to check it out!
Several vendors and organizations had canopies on the grass, and there was live music provided by Chloe Perrier & the French Heart Jazz Band, too!
Without further ado…
Versailles Café & Pastries had tasty crepes topped with strawberries and chocolate!The Alliance Française de San Diego offers French classes in La Jolla and Vista, and organizes social gatherings. Their French Literature & Arts Festival is coming October 2-4, 2025 in San Diego. More here.The San Diego French American School, in La Jolla, offers bilingual education from preschool through 8th grade.The mobile and online Clotilde French Bookstore had many books at their table!Author Claude Koehl’s book, The American Way of Life: The Foreigner’s Perspective, helps people understand cultural differences, using humor.Some smiling authors!Six Years of Absence is a novel based on French Sergeant Alexandre Rolland’s harrowing experiences during World War II. Written by Alain Rolland, his son.A good time in sunny San Diego.
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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! 