A pad has been set up near the Convention Center Trolley Station on MLK Promenade. Amazon will set up their The Tick venue here.
While no building wraps are being applied quite yet, a few interesting things have popped up near the San Diego Convention Center that indicate 2017 Comic-Con will soon be here! I walked all over the place after work and this is what I saw. A week and a half to go! (I spoke to a guy at the Amazon site, and he said they’re getting started a bit early, before lots of other construction trucks arrive in the coming days.)
Another nearby pad that I also believe will be utilized by Amazon during 2017 San Diego Comic-Con.Have u seen this person? I noticed these flyers all around the Gaslamp Quarter and also along Friars Road in Mission Valley today. It appears Nickelodeon is engaging in a guerrilla marketing campaign during 2017 San Diego Comic-Con.The second of three types of flyers I spotted. It seems we’re supposed to search for characters in the popular animated television series Hey Arnold!The Chuck Jones Gallery in the Gaslamp will be featuring DC and Marvel Comics fine art, and other great pop culture stuff, as usual!A poster promoting Shooter on USA Network is already up near the Tin Fish and Hard Rock Hotel.The Omnia Nightclub will have Rave of Thrones during Comic-Con weekend!The San Diego Trading Company in the Gaslamp is already stocked up with lots of Comic-Con gear!Finally, I spotted Supergirl patrolling the Gaslamp, making sure no supervillains have appeared yet!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Photo taken from the intersection of La Mesa Boulevard and Spring Street shows a small stretch of The Village.
On Sunday morning I took a short walk in the heart of La Mesa. The most fascinating stretch was through the historic area of the city known as The Village. I walked up La Mesa Boulevard from Spring Street to Legacy Park, then back down along the opposite sidewalk.
Not only is this stretch full of local history, but it’s home to the La Mesa Walk of Fame, which honors individual contributions to the city by accomplished and generous residents. In my photos I’ve included a few notable plaques.
The Village on a Sunday morning was very quiet, with a smattering of locals eating breakfast or an early lunch in the small eateries that I passed. The Village, with its plain, practical buildings from a bygone era, feels very modest. It doesn’t strike me as a place that attracts hipsters–more a cherished place for families and ordinary folk and people like me who enjoy a slow Sunday stroll.
I took photos. Please read the captions for a few explanations of what I saw.
The City of La Mesa Walk of Fame can be experienced on both sidewalks along La Mesa Boulevard, between Spring Street and 4th Street.Bill Walton graduated from La Mesa’s Helix High School. He was inducted into the NBA basketball Hall of Fame as one of the greatest players of all time.Walking through the Village up La Mesa Boulevard. The buildings are modest but retain local history and many memories.The La Mesa Craft Corner on a quiet Sunday morning.A nice lady with some Fourth of July crafts smiles for my blog about San Diego.The Lookout is public art project in Legacy Park, the small triangle where La Mesa Boulevard, 4th Street and Allison Avenue meet.The Lookout was created by a family of artists–Jesus Dominguez, Mary Lynn Dominguez and Amy Dominguez. It depicts the colorful history of La Mesa.Closer photo of The Lookout at Legacy Park. Eight mosaic panels made of tile show historical events in La Mesa from 1912 to 2012.At the center of The Lookout is the John B. Reed Centennial Time Capsule, to be opened in 2062.Legacy Park also includes a memorial clock and a bronze sculpture of the Helix snail. The 1939 U.S. Post Office Building is seen in the background.Children are encouraged to ride this fun bronze snail!Felix the Helix. The story goes that Rufus King Porter named Mount Helix after the Helix aspersa, a European garden snail that was discovered locally.Now I’m walking back down La Mesa Boulevard on the other side of the street. A small slice of Americana. The modest shops and buildings recall a simpler time.La Mesa Historical Society plaque shows a prosperous Lookout Avenue circa 1929. The street was renamed La Mesa Boulevard in 1940.Family and a flag bench in front of Amethyst Moon, a specialty gift shop in The Village of La Mesa.The are many plaques in the City of La Mesa Walk of Fame. This one celebrates James Culbert, inductee into the National Sprint Car Racing Hall of Fame.Another plaque celebrates Dr. Ellen Ochoa, graduate of La Mesa’s Grossmont High School and the first Hispanic woman astronaut.A photo of the Heller Building, now home of an escrow company.La Mesa Historical Society photo of the Heller Building in the 1940s. It has housed many businesses including Gilbert’s five and dime and Culver’s drugstore.Maxwell’s House of Books adds life to The Village.It is a tie between men to have read the same book. Ralph Waldo EmersonOld photo on AT&T building appears to show telephone company worker in the undeveloped hills of La Mesa many years ago.The Village is a modest few blocks in the city. Full of history and memory, it provides a taste of days when La Mesa was a small American town.
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You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
A wrinkly dog stands eternally inside the front door of Korky’s Ice Cream and Coffee in Old Town San Diego.
Here’s a fun blog post!
Once in a while during my walks I come across art depicting dogs or cats. And sometimes it occurs to me to take a photograph!
Today I rode the trolley to Old Town, where I discovered some more dogs and cats running about my field of vision!
Some of these photos were taken elsewhere in San Diego and have been sitting in my computer waiting for the right moment.
Enjoy!
A cool cat bench outside the entrance of the Coronado Veterinary Hospital.Two dogs stand guard on a downtown San Diego sidewalk.This realistic cat seems ready to jump from a flower pot.Pottery pooches on a shop’s shelf in Old Town.An army of ceramic pooches!Beautiful dog art for sale inside Seaport Village’s fantastic The Tile Shop.A curious cat observes a blue moth on a flower.u mad bro?A very colorful cat bag.Two dogs run in circles at the Balboa Park Carousel.A dog with a sore head. A funny image on the side of downtown San Diego’s Banfield Pet Hospital.A chalk cat in Balboa Park waves to passing visitors. Fun art outside the Mingei Museum’s Collectors Gallery.A fat cat who loves treats!A dog at Dick’s Last Resort tugs wildly at his leash!Two cats in one window!
Today I also revisited the Old Town Model Railroad Depot, and I took more photos of the awesome O-Scale layout! To see them, click here and check out that old post’s update!
I’ve been busy! Coming up will be blog posts concerning the famous Whaley House, the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in Balboa Park, and something super amazing inside the San Diego Automotive Museum. But it takes time to choose and prepare photos—-and to do necessary research–give me a few days!
Thanks for following my blog! I hope you all enjoy these glimpses of San Diego as much as I do!
Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) art rendition of Justice League heroes, including Superman and Batman.
A good number of pop culture fans follow Cool San Diego Sights, because every year I cover San Diego Comic-Con and post tons of cosplay photos. So here’s something I saw today during my walk through Old Town that DC Comics readers might really enjoy!
In the window of a shop called Cielito Lindo were all sorts of Day of the Dead ornaments and gifts. And among all the colorful artwork were Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, and his super-dog Krypto!
Day of the Dead is a beloved Mexican holiday that is very popular here in San Diego. In Spanish it’s called Día de los Muertos. Skulls and skeletons, which abound during the Day of the Dead, traditionally represent deceased loved ones.
As you can see, Day of the Dead inspires all sort of creative, unexpected art! No subject matter escapes its decorative influence! Even the mighty Justice League!
Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) art depicts popular DC Comics super-heroine Wonder Woman.A skeletal Superman flying through skulls.Fun skeleton artwork celebrating Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos). The figures are Superman, his dog Krypto, and Batman!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos–including many of Comic-Con and all sorts of cosplay–for you to share and enjoy!
Cool map made of colorful words shows different neighborhoods, lakes, beaches and parks in San Diego.
I was walking through the Horton Plaza shopping mall this morning when I spotted this awesome map of San Diego decorating one side of a vendor’s cart. It shows our city’s neighborhoods using their colorful names! It’s so cool I had to take a picture!
I’m not sure whether this graphic is available for purchase, however. The vendor hadn’t opened yet. If I recall, they were on the ground level not far from the Jessop’s Clock.
Christmas angels peer out of a window at Silver Crossing in Seaport Village.
Radical changes are coming to nearly 40-year-old Seaport Village. A redevelopment plan that was recently approved will transform the quaint collection of shops and restaurants on downtown’s waterfront into a massive complex called Seaport San Diego. The new development will contain even more shopping and dining options, several hotels, a 480-foot observation tower, a public beach, aquarium, Smithsonian attraction, and more.
Many of the shops that people have come to know over the years will vanish. Admittedly, Seaport Village today is a touristy hodgepodge. One wouldn’t really expect to see a New England lighthouse in Southern California. But no matter. I still enjoy meandering through on a sunny weekend! There are buskers aplenty and live music and people-watching and the nearby grassy park with kites flying in the breeze. And onion rings and pretzels and ice cream!
And there are the windows. Kaleidoscope windows. Windows winking with color. Windows painted with unexpected images. Windows full of gaudy trinkets, the typical souvenirs, whimsical novelties, and even a rare treasure or two you’ll find nowhere else.
Here are a few of the windows.
A lady holding a colorful bouquet in the window of Seaport Deli and Salad Bar.Beach, clouds, muffin and coffee in a window of the Seaport Cookie Company.Exotic masks for a masquerade in one window of Upstart Crow Bookstore and Coffeehouse.Floral designs around one window of the Seaport Fudge Factory.Window mural painted by San Diego artist Joel Sharp in 1996. You can find it in Seaport Village at Margaritas Kitchen and Cantina.Christopher M., known as The Painter of Chefs, has samples of his work displayed in one window of Exclusive Collections Gallery in Seaport Village.Delightful characters fill the window at The Mugger in Seaport Village.A window full of irresistible treats at the Seaport Cookie Company.There are several smiling faces in this Upstart Crow window. Can you spot all three?Zoltar the fortune teller will read your future from his own small window.Coral and other beautiful objects in a window of Seaport Village Shell Co. Limited.Tourists might take home a glittery San Diego sombrero once they glimpse these in the window of Mexican Fiesta.Sunflowers and blue window frames at Frost Me Gourmet Cupcakes in Seaport Village.
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A turkey has been recently spotted lurking in San Diego.
A turkey has been discovered lurking in San Diego! I have photographic proof!
Perhaps the bird in question is Turkey Lurkey, because the lurking bird is an especially quirky turkey whose movements are murky! I’ve spotted the funny fowl everywhere! Either that, or Thanksgiving is fast approaching!
I spied a turkey drinking coffee as I walked down a sidewalk.This turkey likes to say gobble, gobble. A bird of few words.This happy turkey dressed like a Pilgrim has taken to the sky to welcome y’all!Is this Turkey Lurkey? Because I caught this beady-eyed turkey lurking, so that would make perfect sense. Right?This sneaky bird has grabbed a grilled cheese sandwich. Save some for the hungry food court customers!A funny turkey on a shop window wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
The Presidio Hills Golf Course Pro Shop can be found inside San Diego’s oldest building, La Casa de Carrillo.
Believe it or not, the oldest structure that still exists in San Diego (outside of the walls of the Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá) contains a golf Pro Shop!
The two-century-old Casa de Carrillo, located near the base of historic Presidio Hill, was built in 1817, according to the Save Our Heritage Organisation. (Plaques at the location provide two different years.) It was built by the Spanish presidio’s commander, Francisco Maria Ruiz, for Joaquin Carrillo, a relative and fellow soldier stationed in San Diego. The adobe house stood beside the Comandante’s pear garden. Today the rather simple building, which was restored in 1931, is the home of the Presidio Hills Golf Course Pro Shop!
The small Presidio Hills Golf Course has its own unique history. Occupying what was once a scrubby plot of land at the foot of Presidio Hill, just east of Old Town, the pitch-and-putt golf course was developed in the early 1930s by George Marston, a visionary San Diego businessman and philanthropist who also worked to develop Balboa Park, the San Diego Public Library, and the San Diego Historical Society. Marston created the Junipero Serra Museum which rises today just above the site of the original 1769 Spanish presidio, so-called birthplace of California.
Over the years, the Presidio Hills Golf Course has hosted several world famous golfers, most notably Phil Mickelson, a resident of San Diego. When they were kids, Phil and his sister Tina would play all day at the small golf course. I was told by the super friendly young gentleman working in the pro shop that Phil Mickelson returns to visit every few years, just for old time’s sake.
A young Tiger Woods also won two Junior World trophies at Presidio Hills Golf Course!
Read the photo captions for a bit more information . . .
A photo of the small, historic adobe taken from the parking lot of the Presidio Hills Golf Course. Casa de Carrillo is the oldest structure that is still standing in San Diego.Bronze plaque near the front door reads: A portion of La Casa De Carrillo – Pear Garden House. A center of social life and romance in early Spanish days. Here lived Senorita Josefa Carrillo. One of the oldest adobe dwellings in San Diego. Built about the year 1810. Restored in October 1931.Photo of La Casa de Carrillo taken from a golf green just east of the structure.Sign near historical marker for Casa de Carrillo points to the golf course clubhouse and first hole.Presidio Comandante Francisco Maria Ruiz built this house next to his 1808 pear garden late in 1821 for his close relative and fellow soldier, Joaquin Carrillo, and his large family.Enter the old adobe and you will find the Pro Shop. The easy Presidio Hills Golf Course is a great place to learn golf–ideal for families and kids. And one gets a history lesson, too!Another look inside the restored adobe. I’m not sure which parts of the historically important building are original.An old newspaper article displayed in the pro shop includes a photo of 8-year-old Tiger Woods. He is showing off a Junior World trophy captured at Presidio Hills, where he won two titles.San Diego Union September 1, 1931. Old Town Links Well Under Way On Marston Land.Various photos of Presidio Hills Golf Course history inside the Pro Shop. Phil Mickelson and Craig Stadler are two notable golfers from San Diego.Another photo shows Don and Al Abrego Presidio Hills Tiny Tots Golf School. The defunct school has faded into history.The modest Presidio Hills Golf Course is Par 3, 18 Holes. It’s located at the east edge of San Diego’s Old Town.Another look across the small, easy golf course. It appears to be a bit neglected. Regrettably, I saw no players out on a Sunday afternoon.Old black-and-white photograph inside the Presidio Hills Golf Course Pro Shop shows La Casa de Carillo (note the different spelling) before it was restored in 1929.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! I also love history! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Pottery pumpkins smile outside a gift shop in San Diego’s festive Old Town.
I see pumpkins! Everywhere! It must be mid-October in San Diego!
Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere! Big ones and little ones! Grocery stores are overflowing. It must be mid-October.A fun display of pumpkins and Autumn characters on a street corner in Little Italy. Halloween is on the way! Boo!A beautiful arrangement of flowers, pumpkins and gourds graces a rustic Old Town boardwalk.More golden Autumn colors suggest it’s time to harvest the good things in life.A pumpkin and warm flowers on an antique cart in Old Town San Diego.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Scary skulls on mannequins, gazing out from a Gaslamp shop window. Halloween must be approaching!
I was frightened out of my wits (and amused) this morning during my walk through the Gaslamp Quarter. Halloween must be coming to downtown San Diego!
For Halloween, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have become skeletons in this store window. Does anyone need a costume? Trick or treat!And here we have some happy scarecrows and a pumpkin. Autumn has come to downtown San Diego!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 