Shelter Island pier seems to stand on watery reflections.
The above photo of the Shelter Island pier is interesting to me. I like how the angled concrete pilings, reflected on San Diego Bay, seem to project in three dimensions downward into the rippled water.
The light blue structure that you see is vacant. In the past it has been the home of a small fishing store and cafe. To its left you can see an aircraft hangar at Naval Air Station North Island.
Distant Coronado Islands seen beyond the Shelter Island pier.
When you stand on Shelter Island and gaze south beyond the pier, you can spy the distant Coronado Islands on a clear day.
The Coronado Islands (not to be confused with nearby Coronado) are four barren islets just west of Tijuana, Mexico. The home of numerous sea birds, sea lions and sea elephants, they are mostly uninhabited. A few Mexican caretakers live on the largest island and maintain a modest lighthouse.
Life at eye level can be so darn busy that I often forget to look upward. Occasionally I remember there’s a world above me. Here are a few recorded glimpses.
A whale atop Seaport Village’s Pier Cafe swims above a flying gull.Palm trees rise beside high downtown skyscrapers.Downtown skyscraper reflecting early morning sunshine.YMCA sign atop building near Emerald Plaza.Old church bell mounted on roof of Old Town’s Five and Dime General Store.Full moon behind clock tower at 12th and Imperial Transit Center.America Plaza seen through palm trees.Looking up at a shining cluster of condos and office buildings.Old clock on side of John D. Spreckels Building at Sixth and Broadway.Gazing up the curved side of the San Diego Air and Space Museum.Apex of the wood lath Botanical Building in Balboa Park.Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter building behind branches.Plane approaches San Diego International Airport high in sky during sunrise.Looking upward near Tom Ham’s Lighthouse restaurant on Harbor Island.
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.
02 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.03 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.04 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.05 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.06 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.07 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.08 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.09 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.10 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.11 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.12 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.13 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.14 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.15 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.16 Mural behind Chicano Park basketball court.
Fun mural in Barrio Logan shows flag, kids, fruit, a train and birds.
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.
Happy faces of kids on San Diego street.A big friendly dog painted on building side.These animated fruit are goofing around in this fun Barrio Logan street mural.A train with silvery windows passes through scene of lagoon with water birds.Herons and an estuary in mural on Harbor Drive north of Cesar Chavez Parkway
Morning look toward East Village buildings from trolley station.
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.
Buildings near Petco Park touched by early morning light.San Diego Central Library dome gilded by rising sun.Early morning in San Diego.
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!
Ropes and rusted chains in a delightful tangle.Just a bunch of junk on the Tuna Harbor pier.Looking beyond colorful garbage at boats in the harbor.Broken pallets lean against mound of nets covered in plastic.Detached boat structure on pier frames San Diego skyscrapers.Colorful floats scattered on the public pier.Adopt a Beach garbage can overflows on the G Street Pier.A working pier can resemble a chaotic junkyard.A leaf rake lies atop a ball of nets and ropes.A large weed grows out of a small hill of old nets.A beautiful image of sinuous yellow floats on a seine net.
North part of the Horton Plaza Park construction site behind fence.
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.
Horton Plaza Park during 1935 California Pacific International Exposition.Horton Plaza Park crowded for V-J Day celebration.
The streets were crowded with a spontaneous celebration when World War II finally ended.
Thousands attend rally for John F. Kennedy in Horton Plaza Park.
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.
Sign shows how the new Horton Plaza Park will look at completion.
The beautifully renovated park will include lots of space for public events, including outdoor concerts!
A huge area has been cleared to make way for the new park.
Here’s a pic I took on January 31, 2015…
Construction of the new Horton Plaza Park is well underway in early 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!
Moon rising over the cool Harbor Drive bridge.Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge, Omni Hotel and Petco Park.Pedestrian crosses Harbor Drive on a fantastic bridge.People cross the beautiful bridge in downtown San Diego.
Clock tower at 12th and Imperial reflected in windows.
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.
Looking up the interior of the clock tower structure.
You can stand inside the base of the tower and look outward!
Clock tower above musician on Harbor Drive bridge.
Blazing sunrise seen from Tweet Street park in San Diego.
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!
Fiery sunrise over Cortez Hill in downtown San Diego.Beautiful sunrise colors clouds above El Cortez Hotel.
Just for fun, here are a couple more photos! I took these in March of 2015…
El Cortez seen from a couple blocks away early one morning at sunrise.The sun begins to rise as I take a picture on Cortez Hill.
Cool San Diego Sights! 