Tag: public art

Help solve a Carlsbad mural mystery!

I’ve no doubt someone out there has the solution to this mural mystery in Carlsbad!

I’ve done some online research but can find nothing about this old-fashioned mural on a wall beside the 2742 State Street building, which is home to Lofty Coffee Company.

The mural is very faded and partly obscured. I’ve greatly increased the contrast of the above photograph to help bring out the design and colors.

The painted mural centers on the historical Carlsbad train station and shows a steam locomotive on the nearby track. A horse is hitched to a cart advertising Village Limousine Service. Was that an actual business in Carlsbad?

Who created this nostalgic mural? When?

How much of the artwork is hidden by the adjacent building? Why is the standing wall that it was painted on seemingly preserved–the wall appears to be separate from the buildings on either side.

Please leave a comment if you know anything! I’m sure many readers would love to learn more about this engaging old public art!

UPDATE!

James R Dean on my Facebook page stated:

Its our guess that the lady who owned it prior (antique store) would know. The entire building was once all part of same mural. Very cool lady, shes still around. In the early 90s my mom found my toy chest there. (one of 3 made for family by my grandfather). I bought it and later had children who used it. My guess is this was painted in 80s and they left the one to keep some of the art.

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Let Go Lightly at Mission Valley YMCA.

Let Go Lightly is a sculpture that stands near the entrance of Mission Valley YMCA in San Diego. It was created by artist Matthew Welter of Kings Beach, California and donated by Bruce Hazard.

I took photographs of the wood carved sculpture during my last visit.

I noticed a plaque set in concrete that provides a description.

The plaque reads:

The sculpture honors the relationship between parent and child. Based upon the tradition of Native American lore, the YMCA’s Indian Guide, Indian Princess and Indian Maiden programs foster this relationship. Let us remember our surviving local Native Americans that still live in the vicinity of the San Diego River. They are known as the Kumeyaay/Diegueño tribe or in their language Ipai/Tipai (meaning people). This sculpture faces in the direction of the spirit of the ancient Kumeyaay village site of Cosoy.

(Google AI explains: In the late 1980s, Native American lobbyists and individuals asked the YMCA to stop using the “Indian” theme because it was often stereotypical. Those old programs, which encouraged fathers to connect with their children, have evolved into Adventure Clubs.)

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Journey among poems, walking in City Heights.

When I visited the Lunar New Year celebration in City Heights last weekend, I was surprised to find hundreds of words affixed to a stretch of 44th Street behind Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park. (It’s the alley-like street between the City Heights Library and Recreation Center, and the sports fields of City Heights Park to the east.)

I hadn’t recalled seeing this public art before.

I found a detailed article concerning the unique outdoor installation. The project is titled Memoria Terra and is intended to last for five years. The art debuted last summer.

Artist Shinpei Takeda and five young writers composed poems that tickle passing feet. The poems regard the history of this very diverse community (with its substantial immigrant and refugee population), social issues and gentrification.

As residents make their personal journey, they are also encouraged to gaze down at the abundant words to create their own poem.

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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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A fun bronze leapfrog in Carlsbad!

I love this super fun Leapfrog bronze statue. It stands by the front entrance of the Army and Navy Academy Recreation Hall in Carlsbad. Two kids are at play, one leaping over the other with exuberant joy!

I was walking up Ocean Street north of the academy’s chapel when I spotted the sculpture. I took a couple photos!

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

Hidden murals in Oceanside under train tracks.

These two murals in Oceanside are seen by relatively few people. They were painted fifteen years ago along a little used nature trail, under a shadowy bridge that supports train tracks.

One of the murals seems to depict nearby Buccaneer Beach, with a view of Oceanside Pier in the distance. The opposite mural appears to show Loma Alta Creek that the nature trail–Loma Alta Marsh Footpath–follows. (I’ll be blogging about this short trail soon.)

I noticed an artist signature: Betty Gilroy 2010.

I walked under the railroad tracks last Friday. These two murals are like weather-beaten hidden treasures.

The following photos are of the Loma Alta Creek mural. You can see the actual creek beyond it. The artwork is filled with many of the birds one can see from the trail…

The next group of photos show the opposite mural, depicting people at the beach. The art was behind a chain link fence, making photography a challenge…

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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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Hubbell’s colorful Bird of Paradise in Carlsbad!

Renowned local artist James Hubbell produced numerous works of public art throughout San Diego County. In Carlsbad, his colorful Bird of Paradise mosaic can be enjoyed at the corner of Carlsbad Boulevard and Carlsbad Village Drive.

Bird of Paradise was commissioned by the City of Carlsbad in 1989 for the Art in Public Places Program. The circular mosaic is composed of small ceramic tiles, which together form an almost 15-foot-diameter medallion.

Those walking past the major intersection near the historic Twin Inns building, at one end of the Carlsbad gateway sign, need merely look down toward their feet.

In years past I had vaguely observed this artwork. Until I noted the nearby plaque yesterday, I hadn’t realized the beautiful mosaic was created by Hubbell. So I paused to take a much closer look!

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

New year brings fresh art to Oceanside’s Artist Alley!

The many small murals painted on a low wall in Oceanside’s Artist Alley change from time to time. The alley is like a living thing!

I was told by a shopkeeper that some of the murals you see in today’s photos were painted during the recent holidays. Other artwork was created early this year.

Oceanside’s unique Artist Alley is located directly south of the city library and civic center, on the other side of Pier View Way. It’s the home of many cool, artsy specialty shops.

If you’d like to learn more about Artist Alley, and see how this wall of murals appeared four years ago, click 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.

Thank you for sharing!

Two wonderful murals in Carlsbad about childhood!

These two wonderful murals in Carlsbad are a bit hidden. They can be found in a parking lot behind 2801 Roosevelt Street. Both concern dreams, and play, and the joys of childhood.

I found these two murals by sheer chance as I wandered about Carlsbad this morning. Going off the beaten path is often rewarding.

The first mural is somewhat faded. It’s titled Waiting For Dreamland. The artists are Ron Juncal and Phyllis Swanson. The artwork was sponsored by New Village Arts and the Matt McLaughlin Fund of the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation. Sadly, the artist website it refers to is no longer active.

The second mural was painted on another wall by the same parking lot. It was created by Mr. Snyder (@SnyderArt), who teaches art at Valley Middle School in Carlsbad.

He painted this wonderful art in 2014. Two children at the beach pull a wagon and fly a kite…

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

Statue of San Diego de Alcalá at USD.

A statue depicting San Diego de Alcalá stands in a beautiful garden near the center of the Catholic University of San Diego.

San Diego de Alcalá (also known as Saint Didacus and Diego de San Nicolás) is the patron saint of USD, not to mention the Franciscan missionary and saint after which San Diego was named.

In 1542 explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo named our city’s bay San Miguel.

Sixty years later, when Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno sailed into our bay on November 10, 1602, he named it San Diego, which was also the name of his flagship. He put San Diego on his map. That name stuck.

I took photographs of the San Diego de Alcalá statue several months ago, when I visited USD’s Arts and Culture Festival. (Yes, I’m finally posting these photos!)

The bronze sculpture stands in Plaza de San Diego next to the Maher fountain. According to this, it was moved there in 2017 from the entrance of Copley Library.

I know nothing more about the statue. When was it created? By whom? If you know anything more about it, your comment would be very welcome!

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

Mysterious sculpture at Hollister and Conifer!

Do you know anything about this mysterious sculpture in San Diego’s South Bay, at the intersection of Hollister Street and Conifer Avenue? It’s a few blocks north of the Palm Avenue trolley station.

I haven’t walked this way in a long time, so I don’t know when the sculpture appeared. I took these photos last weekend.

Who created this fun artwork? Why are farewells painted in various languages? Why, on its back, is there a seemingly contradictory message Please No Art?

Two yellow hands on the mysterious sculpture appear to be cleaning while splashing drops of water. Could this have been a sign that once stood at the exit of a carwash? I’m racking my brain for an explanation.

Leave a comment if you happen to know anything!

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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.

Thank you for sharing!