Tag: plaques

Centennial Time Capsule buried in Balboa Park!

San Diego’s amazing cultural hub, Balboa Park, is the ideal location for a time capsule. Years ago I photographed one such time capsule in the House of Hospitality’s courtyard. Find that photo here.

Another time capsule was placed in Balboa Park in 2015. Why 2015? That was Balboa Park’s centennial!

This particular 24-inch stainless steel time capsule was buried near the Old Globe, in the Craig Noel Garden. (The shady garden under the California Tower has comfortable benches for relaxation–a place I often visit.)

You might ask: When people open the Centennial Time Capsule in 2115, what will they find? This article explains. Artifacts include a letter from President Obama, cultural artifacts, and documents from eleven Balboa Park institutions.

Will Balboa Park be much different almost a century from now? Changes large and small are certainly coming. Hopefully the park remains just as magical and beautiful.

A plaque tops the buried capsule. It reads:

This Centennial Time Capsule is presented to the citizens of San Diego, to be unearthed during the 2115 Bicentennial of our beloved Balboa Park. Contents include artifacts depicting our lives, times and culture. May it see light at a time of peace, joy and celebration.

Patrons of the Prado is committed to raising funds to benefit eleven arts and science institutions on the Prado in Balboa Park, and for programs that provide educational access for San Diego school children to the world-class treasures of Balboa Park, inspiring cultural fluency for future generations.

Patrons of the Prado

November 16, 2015

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Statue of Don Diego at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

If you go to the San Diego County Fair this summer and enter through the main O’Brien Gate, you might notice this statue to one side of the Will Call window. It’s a bronze representation of Don Diego, legendary host and goodwill ambassador of the old Del Mar Fair.

The sculpture, created by artist Maher Morcos, was unveiled at the Del Mar Fairgrounds back in 1985. It is dedicated to Spanish actor Tom Hernandez. For 37 years he portrayed smiling Don Diego, a character based on historical late 1800s Del Mar landowner Don Diego Alvarado. Tom used to greet fair-goers with a friendly “¡Bienvenidos Amigos!”

Tom Hernandez was greatly missed when he passed away in 1984. Over the years his character Don Diego had become a true San Diego icon.

The statue is 16 feet high and weighs 1,500 pounds. At its base is a plaque, which I will transcribe here…

DON DIEGO

GOODWILL AMBASSADOR OF THE DEL MAR FAIR 1947-1984

TOM HERNANDEZ SERVED AS THE OFFICIAL HOST OF THE DEL MAR FAIR, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EXPOSITION, FOR 37 YEARS. HE PORTRAYED DON DIEGO, THE MAGICAL FIGURE WHO APPEARED EACH YEAR TO ESCORT THE FAIREST OF THE FAIR AND PRESIDE OVER THE DEL MAR FAIR.

DEDICATED BY THE 22ND DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION JUNE 20, 1985

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A very tiny Taco Bell in San Diego!

There’s a Taco Bell in San Diego so tiny you might drive past it without noticing. The building is so small you have stand beside it and bend over just to have a good look!

The miniature building is located next to a regular-size Taco Bell at the corner of University Avenue and College Avenue. Look for this oddity between the drive-thru and parking lot. You’ll see a model of the original Taco Bell that stood at this location from 1965 to 2008.

Longtime San Diego residents might remember the first incarnation of the fast food restaurant, which attracted customers with its distinctive sign and Mission style architecture.

A plaque at the base of the mini Taco Bell reads:

In Commemoration of Taco Bell #15 1965-2008

The 1st Taco Bell in San Diego

Thank you! Glen and Marty Bell

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Stained glass from 1906 in Gaslamp Quarter.

I’ve always admired the elaborate stained glass windows of the building that now houses the Mad House Comedy Club & Restaurant. They appear to be antique.

Well, I paused during a walk to read the building’s historical plaque and learned these stained glass windows along Fourth Avenue are original and date from 1906. Back then the bottom floor of this, the Ingle Building, was home to the Golden Lion Tavern.

The historical plaque reads:

For many years, the bottom floor of this building was known as the Golden Lion Tavern, its legacy still evident in the original lion sculptures near the entrance and along the outer walls. The stained glass windows on Fourth Avenue and some of the flooring are original as well. In 1980, the second floor was destroyed by fire. During its reconstruction, a salvaged glass dome, originally created for the Elks Club in San Francisco in 1906, was installed. The replicated mural on the outer wall depicts the camaraderie found in the Golden Lion during the early years of the Gaslamp Quarter.

During that recent morning walk, when the comedy club was closed, I saw no evidence of lions or a mural concerning the early years of the Gaslamp. There is an outside mural that remains from those years when the building was home to the Hard Rock Cafe.

One day I’ll have to venture inside and look around.

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Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge Viewing Station.

Walk for a few minutes south down Seacoast Drive from Imperial Beach Boulevard and you will come to the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge Viewing Station.

Near a pair of benches, two free scopes allow curious people to view the wide green Tijuana River Estuary and search for birds. Four information signs help describe what is seen.

I took photos of the signs, but glare from the bright sun can make them difficult to read. I altered the contrast quite a bit.

The first sign explains that Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge is the largest remaining coastal wetland in Southern California.

The Tijuana River touches the lands and lives of people of three nations: the Kumeyaay Indian Nation, United States, and Mexico. Starting in the mountains of Baja California, the river crosses the international border just four miles from here before emptying into the Pacific Ocean…

In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt established the first wildlife refuge in Florida. Today there are more than 560 refuges… Tijuana Slough shares the mission of all refuges: to conserve wildlife, restore habitat, and protect threatened and endangered species for the benefit of present and future generations.

More than 370 species of birds frequent this area, including six threatened or endangered species, four of which can be seen from this spot. High diversity means healthy habitat, where many species find food and a safe place to rest or nest.

The landscape in front of you might appear flat and quiet, but there is more than meets the eye. Between the beach behind you and the bluffs at the southern end of this reserve, inches of elevation and slight changes in water level and chemistry create many different habitats–each specially suited to a surprising diversity of plants and animals. From the elusive long-tailed weasel hunting rodents to the tiny pygmy blue butterfly perching on pickleweed, fascinating creatures are everywhere.

This place has a pulse, and just like you, it depends on healthy circulation. At high tide, oxygen-rich ocean water pumps into the marsh, while the ebb of water at low tide carries sediment out to sea…

Scientists constantly monitor the marsh’s vital signs. Data loggers, placed around the estuary, record and transmit temperature, oxygen level, water level, and more…

The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, one of 29 and counting, was established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study how human activities and natural events affect estuarine habitats in the United States. People that work at the reserve include staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California State Parks, City and County of San Diego, the U.S. Navy, and the Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Associates.

An old plaque is embedded in a nearby rock…

Tijuana Estuary Restoration Project

1.25 Acres

Dedicated March 24, 1999

Trying to put this plaque in context, I found this website.

Peer through one of the scopes and you might see a yellow-crowned night heron!

(At least, I believe that’s the species. I framed the nearby bird with my camera.)

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Home of The Golden Era in San Diego.

The Golden Era was a literary newspaper that originated in San Francisco in 1852. It was notable for publishing pieces by renowned Western authors like Mark Twain and Bret Harte.

In 1887 the periodical, then a monthly magazine, was brought by James Harrison Wagner to downtown San Diego. It occupied the first floor of a building that stands at 919 Fourth Avenue in today’s Gaslamp Quarter. Much of its focus then would concern the development of San Diego and the West in the late 19th century.

A historical plaque describes the Lawyer’s Block Building, 1889.

Before its completion, 20 spaces of this building’s second floor were rented to some of early San Diego’s best known lawyers, making this an unofficial headquarters for litigators. The first floor had a more literary history. In 1889 it housed the West Coast’s pioneer illustrated literary periodical, Golden Era. The San Diego Union also had its offices here, with printing presses in the basement.

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Plaque memorializes Gaslamp Quarter pioneer.

Perhaps you’ve seen this old plaque in downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp Square, steps from the Gaslamp trolley station. It memorializes Christopher J. Mortenson, who was a pioneer in the 1980s revitalization of the Gaslamp Quarter, today a National Historic District.

Who was Christopher John Mortenson?

This link to his Find a Grave page describes a man who was an architect and developer in San Diego, where he was also known as a generous philanthropist. He was associated with many Gaslamp District landmarks including the Ingle Building (Golden Lion Tavern), the Krasne Building and the Pioneer Building at Fifth and K Street in San Diego. He also restored the Marston Building at Fifth and C, and the Abbey Restaurant.

He is also known for ferrying the 1887 Victorian house “Baby Del” by barge from Sherman Heights to Coronado. To see photos of the Baby Del, which resembles a small version of the Hotel del Coronado, click here.

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Plaque memorializes three SDSU rowers.

A plaque memorializes three San Diego State University rowers who perished in a tragic car crash in 1986.

Derek Guelker, Jim O’Hara and Mark Skinner were in a van with other college athletes returning to San Diego from a rowing club competition in Sacramento when the terrible crash occurred. Here’s an article explaining what happened.

I stumbled upon this plaque when walking past the Mission Bay Aquatic Center, a water sports equipment rental service that is located on Santa Clara Point. The aquatic center, owned and operated by Associated Students of San Diego State University and UCSD Recreation, is open to the general public.

If you’d like to see the plaque yourself, you’ll find it by a walking path that approaches the H Del Beekley Rowing Center.

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Kumeyaay Nation plaque at La Jolla Shores.

This very beautiful plaque near the beach in La Jolla Shores is dedicated to the Kumeyaay Nation, whose people have lived in our region for thousands of years.

I took these photos of the plaque a while back, during my last walk along the boardwalk near Kellogg Park. You can find the plaque inside the Grand Canyons of La Jolla Educational Plaza.

(To learn more about the plaza, check out a blog I posted a few years ago here.)

Text on the plaque includes:

KUMEYAAY NATION

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS WE HAVE LIVED TOGETHER AS A PEOPLE…from the shores of the Pacific Ocean ~ to the mountains and inland valleys ~ down through the deserts of Baja California Norte, Mexico.

Our cultural and historical roots can be traced throughout the greater San Diego region, dating back more than 12,000 years. La Jolla Shores has always been an integral part of our history and was a vital resource for gathering, fishing and hunting well into the early 20th Century. This area was once part of a lagoon offering a variety of plant life used for food, clothing, medicines, baskets and building materials. Our ancestors were exceptional stewards of the environment as demonstrated in their plant husbandry techniques and responsible use of land and water resources. Beginning with the Spanish invasion of 1769, the Kumeyaay were forced off ancestral lands and now live on twelve of the eighteen reservations in San Diego County. Our historical presence is visible along the shoreline as evidenced by unearthed artifacts, burial sites and remnant of ancient villages.

Offshore, submerged sites are protected by State and Federal Laws in order to keep our rich cultural heritage alive for future generations to learn from and enjoy. The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation dedicates this plaque to honor our past and promote preservation of this unique marine environment.

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A mystery behind the San Diego Convention Center!

These metal benches line the boardwalk behind the San Diego Convention Center. They face San Diego Bay. They were commissioned in 2008 and created by noted artist Nance O’Banion.

As her website explains: Nance produced 13 original designs, each of which was fabricated, once in its original form and once as a ‘mirror image’, in plasma-cut powder-coated steel. The installation of 26 art benches was titled Reverie.

I took these photos yesterday…

Today, a plaque can be seen embedded in the boardwalk near the benches, very close to the entrance to the Fifth Avenue Landing Superyacht Marina. It resembles the Reverie plaque shown in the gallery on Nance O’Banion’s website. The plaque includes her name and the same 2008 year.

But the title of the current plaque is different!

Why is the title Caesure, and not the original Reverie?

At some point, was the name of the installation changed to Caesure? The Latin word caesūra means “a cutting” or “a separation,” which might apply to the mirrored bench designs, or possibly how these benches were made.

Or . . . does Caesure concern another work of public art somewhere nearby? If so, what and where?

It’s a mystery with no solution that I can find!

If you know more about the history of this art bench installation, and why there have been different plaques with two different titles, please leave a comment!

UPDATE!

During a later walk along the boardwalk, I spotted a plaque titled Reverie. So that leaves the question: What was/is the public art titled Caesure?

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