We’re back in Barrio Logan’s famous Chicano Park with more pics!
The mural featured here is a very long one. It’s painted behind the park’s fenced basketball court, on a low wall that borders Interstate 5. Like the other public murals in Chicano Park, it’s a colorful hodgepodge of figures and symbols that seem to share one general theme: Mexican American pride and empowerment.
The photos move along the mural from right to left.
Barrio Logan, just south of downtown San Diego, is bursting with huge, colorful street murals. Several great examples can be found around the intersection of Harbor Drive and Cesar Chavez Parkway. The one shown in these pics is immediately north of the intersection.
This mural is fairly large, so I’ve broken it up into several photos, moving from left to right. The first part depicts kids and playful, animated fruit. This gives way to a scene of a train moving through what appears to be an estuary full of birds. A narrow panel along the side of the train is made of a shiny, reflective material.
I believe this mural was painted by Salvador Roberto Torres, who was one of the founders of nearby Chicano Park.
These photos were taken a few weeks ago in the early morning. I was on the way to work and feeling energized, so I walked about the 12th and Imperial trolley station to enjoy the views.
Tuna Harbor’s G Street Pier is one of my favorite places in San Diego. The views of downtown and the bay are magnificent. There are birds for company and swaying boats on all sides. There are lobster traps stacked, nets in huge mounds, and heaps of amazing junk.
Take a look!
A large area between Broadway and the Horton Plaza shopping mall is fenced off for construction. One end of the downtown mall has already been demolished and leveled to the bare ground. The long-neglected Horton Plaza Park is being enlarged!
On the fence surrounding the construction site are a number of interesting old photographs showing the park’s history.
When real estate developer Alonzo Horton built the Horton House hotel (now the U.S. Grant Hotel) in his “New Town” in 1870, he included a small plaza on the hotel grounds. In 1895 he sold the half block plaza to the growing city of San Diego, stating his objective was “to provide a central, commodious and attractive place for public meetings, public announcements, public recreation and for any other proper public purposes, a place where all public questions might be discussed with comfort, where public open-air concerts might be given, where the people might rest, and where children might play in safety.” In 1909 the first fountain in the United States to feature electric lights was installed in the park.
Over the years, the small park has seen a whole lot of history, as the following photographs at today’s construction site demonstrate. Horton Plaza Park was designated a historical landmark by the City of San Diego in 1971.
The streets were crowded with a spontaneous celebration when World War II finally ended.
On November 2, 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy spoke at Horton Plaza Park, seeking votes in the upcoming presidential election. A huge crowd turned out.
The beautifully renovated park will include lots of space for public events, including outdoor concerts!
Here’s a pic I took on January 31, 2015…
This cool new pedestrian bridge spans Harbor Drive between the San Diego Convention Center and Petco Park.
The unique suspension bridge took longer to build than anticipated. According to media reports I saw, the firm that designed it originally miscalculated how much weight it could hold!
Here are a few more pics!
I got some unusual photos of the clock tower that stands next to the transit center at the 12th and Imperial trolley station downtown. The clock is one cool San Diego sight that can be seen from many points in the city.
You can stand inside the base of the tower and look outward!
Check out these photographs! I captured these three amazing images early this morning. Sunrises over San Diego are often beautiful, but today the brightly painted clouds were absolutely stunning!
Just for fun, here are a couple more photos! I took these in March of 2015…
I snapped these photos almost directly into the sun. I assumed they’d turn out lousy. But the effect is actually pretty cool! To me it looks like white sails winging through a brightly shining heavenly space!
I was going through some of the photos I took while walking along the boat channel at Liberty Station. This elegant clock donated by the Rotary Club has always struck me as odd–it stands for no reason on what is essentially a nature path among palm trees.
But something else seemed a bit weird in this pic. There seemed to be a small dot directly above the clock. I magnified the image and discovered a UFO! Looks to me like a distant flying saucer!
I thought the strange dot might be an aircraft taking off from nearby Lindbergh Field, but it’s way too small and doesn’t look like any airplane. What is it???
Cool San Diego Sights! 