Tag: plaques

A San Diego Milestone in Horton Square.

A plaque in downtown San Diego relates a bit of our city’s early history. It’s titled A San Diego Milestone.

You can find the bronze plaque in Horton Square, an outdoor area north of the old Horton Plaza shopping mall. (Not to be confused with larger Horton Plaza Park.)

The plaque states:

San Diego bay is a natural harbor. First sighted in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the bay was originally named San Miguel. Next visited in 1602, Sebastian Vizcaino renamed the bay after a canonized priest, San Diego, from Alcala, Spain. Seldom visited for the next 150 years, Father Junipero Sera came overland from Mexico and founded the first of the California missions in San Diego (Old Town) in 1769. The mission grew and officially became an American town in 1846.

The bay was too shallow for ships to come close in, so passengers were taken to shore by rowboat to the water’s edge and then carried to dry land on the backs of sailors or Indians. Then they were taken by wagon to town…a few miles north to Old Town. In 1867, Alonzo E. Horton first came to San Diego and was immediately convinced that “the town should be down by the wharf.”

This plaque is one of several in Horton Square. Two bronze statues stand among them.

Apparently, according to one corner of the plaque, all together these make up the Horton Walk.

Twelve years ago, back when Cool San Diego Sight was brand new, I photographed the other statues and plaques. See those by clicking here.

The old statue of Ernest Hahn has since been moved–I don’t know where. If you know, please leave a comment!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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Archaic Passage at the Old Town Transit Center.

Travelers at the Old Town Transit Center might find themselves walking through an underground passageway. The tunnel safely crosses beneath the San Diego Trolley and train tracks. In this shadowy place curious eyes will encounter public art titled Archaic Passage.

Not in a hurry to catch your bus or other transportation? There are plaques on either end of the passageway that you can read. They provide information about this unique art…

“ARCHAIC PASSAGE”

COMMISSIONED BY SAN DIEGO METROPOLITAN TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT BOARD JUNE 1996

DESIGNED BY SAN DIEGO ARTIST PAUL HOBSON, “ARCHAIC PASSAGE” CELEBRATES THE ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY OF OLD TOWN, FROM NATIVE AMERICAN TO CONTEMPORARY TIMES. ART MATERIALS USED–CARRIZO CANE, WOOD, STUCCO, ADOBE, BRICK, CLAY ROOF AND DECORATIVE TILES–REPRESENT BUILDING MATERIALS USED TO BUILD OLD TOWN. EACH GEOLOGICAL STRATA-LIKE WAVE REFLECTS A SIGNIFICANT ARCHITECTURAL STYLE.

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Liberty Station’s Hugh Story Memorial Rose Garden.

There are several beautiful rose gardens around Liberty Station in Point Loma. One that visitors might miss is located along the path that follows the edge of the nearby boat channel. It’s called the Hugh Story Memorial Rose Garden.

This garden is situated not far from the 52 Boats Memorial, which honors the ultimate sacrifice made by men aboard U.S. Navy submarines that were lost at sea during World War II.

Those who read the Hugh Story Memorial Rose Garden’s marker can understand why.

Hugh Story Memorial Rose Garden

Dedicated To The Memory Of HUGH GOODMAN STORY, SR. 1920 – 2006 Creative Leader – Motivator

Hugh served his country within the submarine service during World War II, making 5 war patrols in the Pacific and earning a Bronze Star and Combat V Unit Citation.

After the war, he remained in the Naval Reserve, attaining the rank of Commander. In civilian life, he spent thirty years building and managing refineries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Hugh is revered by this community for his twenty-four years of full-time volunteer service to Point Loma and San Diego. He is especially loved for the hundreds of trees that he and his fellow volunteers planted, and for the streetscape improvements they brought to the sidewalks, streets and boulevards of Point Loma. As past president of the Point Loma Association and its Beautification Committee, he formed the “Mean Green Team” to care for the Committee’s many undertakings. He inspired people of all ages, from Boy and Girl Scouts to retirees, to create, install, and maintain the urban projects that enliven Point Loma.

Hugh was equally unflagging in the time and effort he devoted to the Navy League, the Submarine Veterans of WWII, the San Diego Maritime Museum and Friends of the Point Loma Library.

Hugh Story made a difference. He did so in many ways, but always by improving life for those he touched through his selfless service to the community.

Friends and family of High Story provided funds for this garden which was dedicated March 19, 2010.

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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.

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Memorial plaque at Dave’s Beach in Carlsbad.

Dave’s Beach in Carlsbad is a scenic spot that is popular with radio-controlled glider pilots. Small model aircraft are launched by hand above the bluffs beside the Pacific Ocean. The slope provides excellent uplift to keep gliders aloft. Learn more about Dave’s Beach here.

When I walked this way in 2023, I found a lot of gliding activity. See those photographs here. I also discovered a memorial plaque dedicated to Dave Kellogg.

I failed, however, to notice a second nearby plaque. I discovered it yesterday.

The shadow of a chain link fence is visible in my photograph…

In Loving Memory of Our Friend

ORAN “ORANATOR” BLOODSWORTH

Whose spirit will soar on here forever

Feb. 10, 1965 – Sep. 23, 2019

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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.

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La Jolla plaque honors San Diego’s underwater pioneers.

A plaque honoring San Diego’s underwater pioneers is embedded in a boulder a short distance west of La Jolla Cove. It was placed above Boomer Beach next to Ellen Browning Scripps Park last year.

People walking beside the ocean on the scenic boardwalk might see the bronze plaque near a bench.

The plaque reads:

Since 1933, offshore from this beach access, the seafloor bears memorial markers to name and honor San Diego’s most heralded underwater pioneers. The San Diego Bottom Scratchers Dive Club.

The Bottom Scratchers dedicated every dive to preventing the waste of sea life and to helping others appreciate the wonders of the sea. All who enter here fall under oath to do the same.

Plaque donated by San Diego Freedivers.

Here’s a great article about the Bottom Scratchers Dive Club, which began almost a century ago. It explains: The name “Scratchers” came from the members’ habit of scouring the ocean bottom for food… The Bottom Scratchers either invented or were the first to use the basic freediving spearfishing gear still employed today… Soon club members became local legends… Everything the explorers experienced was new…

There are some great old photographs in the article, too.

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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.

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History at First Avenue Bridge in Bankers Hill.

San Diego history can be viewed during a walk across the First Avenue Bridge in Bankers Hill.

Two identical bronze dedication plaques remain at either end of the arched steel bridge, which was built over Maple Canyon in 1931. The impressive structure was originally called the Peoples Bridge.

Today, looking down into Maple Canyon, you can also observe history being made. The Maple Canyon Restoration project has been underway for a couple years, replacing storm drains in the canyon, and expanding the channel to establish streambed and riparian habitats along the canyon floor.

Ten years ago I walked down Maple Canyon Trail and under the First Avenue Bridge. You can see photographs that I took here.

First Avenue Bridge…Length 463.24 feet…Height 104 feet…Erected by property owners under Improvement Act of 1911…R.E. Hazard Contracting Co…Tom Johnson Allen, Civil Engineer…R. Robinson Rowe, Structural Engineer…John C. Shaw, Consulting Engineer…R.M. Gregory, Superintendent of Streets

STANDARD IRON WORKS SAN DIEGO is indicated in many places along the 1931 steel bridge that spans Maple Canyon in Bankers Hill.

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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.

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Sportfishing Legacy monument in Point Loma.

The Sportfishing Legacy monument can be found steps from the docks at Fisherman’s Landing in Point Loma. If you’ve ever gone on an ocean fishing charter in San Diego, you might have departed from here and seen the remarkable bronze sculpture of a man.

I saw the monument for the first time last month during the Day at the Docks event. I’m finally getting around to sharing these photographs.

A plaque states:

SPORTFISHING LEGACY

DEDICATED TO CAPTAIN BILL POOLE AND ALL THE DEVOTED CAPTAINS WHO HAVE MADE SAN DIEGO HOME PORT TO THE WORLD’S FINEST SPORTFISHING FLEET.

THE PIONEER OF LONG RANGE SPORTFISHING, CAPTAIN POOLE EXPLORED THE OCEAN FOR THE FISHING GROUNDS AND ESTABLISHED INNOVATIVE FISHING TECHNIQUES. AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, HE INSPIRED NUMEROUS SUPPORT BUSINESSES INCLUDING LANDINGS, FUEL DOCKS, AND A BOAT YARD, WHERE HE BUILT MANY OF THE NEWEST HIGH TECH SPORTFISHING BOATS.

THIS MONUMENT SERVES AS A TRIBUTE TO ALL WHO HAVE ENJOYED THE MAGICAL MOMENTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED ON THESE DOCKS AND AT SEA. THE FLEET CONTINUES TO ENSURE THAT SAN DIEGO IS THE PREMIER DESTINATION FOR SPORT FISHERMEN THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

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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.

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History, flag and roses at Ingram Plaza.

Ingram Plaza is a special place at Liberty Station in Point Loma. It can be found very easily by looking for the large American flag. Like all of Liberty Station, Ingram Plaza used to be part of Naval Training San Diego, which closed in 1997.

Words that wandering visitors can read describe the history and significance of the place.

A plaque can be found beside an anchor, steps away from the plaza. It reads:

INGRAM PLAZA

THIS PLAZA IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF OSMOND K. INGRAM, GUNNER’S MATE FIRST CLASS UNITED STATES NAVY, WHO SACRIFICED HIS LIFE IN AN EFFORT TO SAVE HIS SHIP AND SHIPMATES DURING AN ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE U.S.S. CASSIN AND A GERMAN SUBMARINE ON OCTOBER 15, 1917. “GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS.”

After pausing at the anchor to read its plaque, I walked into the plaza’s center near the flagpole, where there are beds of roses. (I took these photos in spring.)

A nearby sign…

This plaza served as a “detention camp” when the base first opened to isolate new recruits…to make sure any contagious disease…did not circulate among the entire base. During this time, they were transformed into trainees with new haircuts, clothing and initial instruction…

Among the roses is a time capsule with a plaque…

To commemorate the Centennial of Liberty Station and the former Naval Training Center, a time capsule was buried here on October 29, 2023, to be opened in 25 years.

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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.

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The lively Home mural at Liberty Station!

How can you not love this colorful mural at Point Loma’s Liberty Station? It was created in 2023 for the arched passage between Barracks 14 and 15.

The over 2,500 square foot mural, designed by local Chicana artist Scarlett Baily, is titled Home. The installation was painted by many in the community.

According to a nearby plaque, it bridges the history of the Naval Training Center with regional indigenous maritime culture. Native flora and fauna stage the celebration of San Diego’s heritage and acknowledge the generations that have called Point Loma home…

You can’t help smiling as you walk up to and through this lively artwork!

I see faces, flowers, a whale, seagulls, a heron, even a sea lion!

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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.

Feel free to share!

Hunt for hidden treasures in a La Mesa park!

Collier Park in La Mesa contains hidden treasures!

Those who explore the city park might come across 18 coin-like plaques that feature images of local plants and animals.

If you would enjoy a fun outdoor treasure hunt, head over to La Mesa’s historic Collier Park, walk along its easy nature trail and begin your search.

Make the treasure hunt a game! Challenge your family or friends. Who can find the most?

Explore the park to find the hidden treasures of different plants and animals! Find all 18 emblems below!

Sage, Poppy, Skunk, Frog, Hummingbird, Snake, Squirrel, Beetle, Hawk, Sycamore Leaf, Raccoon, Butterfly, Rabbit, Spider, Ladybug, Dandelion, Oak Leaf, Sparrow

By strolling around Collier Park, you can also discover a bit of history.

As the city of La Mesa’s first park, Collier Park has long served as a community gathering space.

Kumeyaay – The Kumeyaay Tribe of Indigenous peoples have a rich history in the area, harnessing nature’s local resources. The natural spring in the park once served as a seasonal stopping place for the local Kumeyaay.

David C. Collier – Colonel David Charles (D.C.) Collier, a pioneer community developer in La Mesa and throughout San Diego County, was responsible for donating the land to the community for what would become the City’s first public park after incorporation in 1912.

In the next photograph, you can spot La Mesa’s historical Spring House. Curious? I blogged about it here.

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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.

Feel free to share!