Star Wars fans will soon be gathering at the San Diego Central Library. Fun, creative activities will be available in the IDEA Maker Lab on May the Fourth (be with you) and (revenge of the) Fifth!
You’ll have the opportunity to paint mini lightsabers, 3D print droids, make Star Wars buttons, participate in a scavenger hunt (and win prizes), and more. All ages welcome.
Registration is encouraged but not required.
To learn more about this cool event, click here and here!
An exhibit inside downtown’s Central Library remembers the Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres. Photographs and memorabilia fill a display case on the Eighth Floor, in a corner of the San Diego Ted Williams SABR Chapter Research Center.
Before the San Diego Padres became an expansion team of Major League Baseball back in 1969, the minor league Padres competed in the Pacific Coast League. Between 1936 and 1957 they played at Lane Field near downtown’s waterfront; they would later play at Westgate Park in Mission Valley from 1958 to 1967, and San Diego Stadium in 1968.
The display case might bring back fond memories for old-timers. In addition to many fun, historical photos, there’s a Padres home jersey and cap (1954-1968), old game tickets and other ephemera.
The display items are courtesy of Bill Swank, Tom Larwin, and the San Diego Padres.
The Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center at the San Diego Central Library is a mecca for baseball fans. It’s the largest baseball research collection outside of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York!
Padres fans should go check it out!
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A new exhibit was recently introduced to the Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center on the 8th floor of San Diego’s Central Library. Filling two display cases are a bunch of Padres player bobbleheads!
How cool is this?
There are Padres past and present, including Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn, Ozzie Smith, Rickey Henderson, Manny Machado, Juan Soto, Jackson Merrill and many more. The one exception I noticed is a bobblehead of Hamilton (Ham) Porter from the classic baseball movie The Sandlot.
The figures on display, I was told by a librarian, are only a small part of the extensive bobblehead collection owned by Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) member Oscar Murrieta.
Head up to the 8th floor of the Central Library for a better look!
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The annual Local Author Showcase of the San Diego Library is now on display on the first floor of downtown’s Central Library!
It’s exciting to see dozens of newly published books every year by diverse authors. Our city has so many creative and talented people! The Central Library is an ideal place to showcase their achievements.
Today I moseyed past the glass display cases and peered at different titles and covers.
A few examples…
At one end of the exhibit, I found a colorful work of art by Judith Parenio! It’s titled Words.
Books are portals to open minds…
Have you been inside the San Diego Library’s branch in Mission Valley? The library offers beautiful views, particularly from the second floor mezzanine and the adjacent outdoor patio.
These first few photos are from the Mission Valley Library mezzanine, where there are desks perfect for quiet reading or study. Artistic ceiling supports appear like trees with spreading leafy branches.
One can gaze down at the interior of the library. Aesthetically, it’s quite pleasing. The silvery gray metal and light brown wood makes the space feel very clean, orderly and open.
Now we’re looking from the interior mezzanine toward the outdoor patio. Much natural light comes through those windows.
Outside, the partially enclosed patio is a wind-sheltered place where anyone can lounge in the sun, breathe fresh air, and gaze out over the trolley tracks and the Fenton Parkway Station toward trees along the San Diego River. The grassy SDSU Mission Valley river park stretches to the east, where people walk and play sports.
Wouldn’t you like to hang out here?
Finally, here’s what the south side of the Mission Valley Library looks like from outside. That’s the semi-circular patio up above.
The library building opened in 2002. It has received the award for Best Institutional Design from the American Institute of Architects.
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Did you know that a lake was originally planned for one of University Heights’ canyons? You’ll learn this and more should you visit the San Diego Central Library and view one of several small exhibits in the 9th floor Special Collections Center. Mystic Lake is one fascinating aspect of The San Diego That Never Was.
Looking at Google Maps today, and comparing it to the old 1890 map on display at the library, you can see how Mystic Lake would have fit into University Heights as planned in 1888. The lake’s lower extremity would have been cradled by Lincoln Avenue and Maryland Avenue. It was not to be.
As this informative webpage (which explains University Heights street names) explains: By 1906, Arch Street, Proctor Place, and New Jersey Street replaced the area originally planned to be Mystic Lake.
Mystic Lake would have been located a couple blocks directly west of the State Normal School, which was predecessor to San Diego State University. The site today is headquarters of San Diego Unified School District.
It’s interesting to see San Diego’s old cable car route on the 1890 map as a dashed line. The short-lived cable car line operated from June 1890 to October 1892. As this historical webpage explains, the San Diego Cable Railway ran from downtown San Diego north on Fourth to University, then east to present-day Park Blvd., and north to Mission Cliff Gardens.
(Today, one of those old cable cars is preserved at the National City Depot museum. Check out photographs of San Diego Cable Railway car number 54 by clicking here!)
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A special exhibit at the San Diego Central Library was recently installed in a large display case at the Special Collections Center. It concerns the work of San Diego’s world-renowned sculptor Donal Hord.
Historical photos concentrate on Hord’s creation of the Literature East and West bas-relief panels, which still exist on the library’s previous, now-vacant building. Photos (such as the one above) show the preparing, casting and hanging of the sculptural panels back in 1953. I blogged about these panels and other art at that old downtown library many years ago. See that past blog post here.
This special exhibition also showcases a few small but very beautiful works, and covers Donal Hord’s public art that can be found all around San Diego. I’ve covered most of these iconic sculptures. Click here and here and here and here and here and here and here!
Would you like to go see this fascinating exhibit yourself? Head up to the 9th floor of the Central Library and look for the door to Special Collections. You can also enjoy amazing rooftop views of San Diego!
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I really like this fun artwork. It’s now on public display at San Diego’s downtown Central Library. The five original paintings and the digital illustration prints were created by Mike McCarley (aka Mike Mike), who resides in Ocean Beach and imbues his work with a playful, laid-back beach vibe.
As a sign explains, his work has roots in skateboard art, cartoons, and an enduring love for the color blue. To see these in person, head up to the Central Library’s second floor near the escalators and look for the glass display cases. I believe the exhibit continues through December, so there isn’t much time left.
If you dig Mike Mike’s stuff, check out his Instagram page here. He works professionally in architecture, but his creative heart belongs to painting and illustration.
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If you have a library card with the San Diego Public Library, you can take almost 375 free online courses that further your professional and personal development!
I knew nothing about this amazing opportunity until the above gentleman who works for the library told me about it!
With a library card and access to a computer, anyone can enroll in free Gale Courses that provide 6-week online classes with real instructors. Subjects include everything from Accounting and Finance to Business to Computer Applications to Healthcare and Medical to Law and Legal to Teaching and Education and much more! I was told that completion of certain courses even provides certification.
To see all that is available, check out this webpage.
These free Gale Courses are available through the San Diego Library’s online eLibrary, which you can visit by clicking here.
The eLibrary offers many additional services. Users have access to eBooks, audiobooks, digital magazines, streaming videos, research databases, manuals, and a whole lot more.
Create a free account using your library card and you have access to a huge universe of free online resources!
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A new independent bookstore opened in Mission Hills two days ago! It’s called the Library Shop Mission Hills.
The bookstore is operated by the Library Foundation SD. It’s located in the old Mission Hills Branch Library building (925 West Washington Street), which had been vacant for about five years. Sales from this beautiful new bookstore support all 37 branches of the San Diego Public Library!
I visited the awesome store today!
As you can see from my photos, it’s spacious inside and a very welcoming place. There are shelves and shelves full of new books for children and adults, plus oodles of gifts for book lovers. There are places where you can sit down and read, a Library Shop Scavenger Hunt, games to play, Storytime and LEGO art on Saturdays, and a whole lot to do and see!
Sign up for the Library Shop Email Newsletter by clicking here!
This week, December 1 to 7, 2025, Library Shop Mission Hills is celebrating its Grand Opening. Learn more here. During Booked For the Holidays: 7 Days of Celebration & Deals there will be author events, games, and exclusive bookstore discounts for library lovers to help with your holiday shopping.
At the front desk, during the Grand Opening, make sure to grab a handout concerning the great discounts you can enjoy!
(By the way, do you recognize this old Branch Library building? I posted photographs of community members lining Washington Street, passing its library books by hand several blocks to the new Mission Hills-Hillcrest/Harley & Bessie Knox Library! See those historical photos here.)
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Cool San Diego Sights! 