Spring has arrived in the window of Mission Hills Automotive.
Yesterday I went for a long, very pleasant springtime walk. These photographs represent my journey through the west part of Hillcrest, then through an interesting slice of Mission Hills.
I started inside Hillcrest, headed west down Washington Street, took a momentary detour to Fort Stockton Drive, then headed back down Washington Place to historic (and some say haunted) Pioneer Park, which I will blog about in a day or two. I then hiked down sloping Mission Hills Canyon along the green, seemingly little known Robyn’s Egg Trail, which I also plan to blog about. Eventually I came out near San Diego Avenue, southeast of Old Town.
Come along and read the captions to get a taste…
A flying unicorn on a fence by Copper Top Coffee and Donuts in Hillcrest.Lovers in a window at Urban Fusion Decor.Springtime in a window at VCA Hillcrest Animal Hospital.A cool mural on the side of Dame and Dapper Barber Shop. One of the bird sculptures along Washington Avenue’s median. I believe the sculptures were a project of the Mission Hills Garden Club.Mysterious tile artwork on the corner of a building.Banner thanks cool teachers at St. Vincent de Paul School.Interesting old building is home of the Ibis Market.Mission Hills homeowners are hoping to have acorn-style street lamps installed, to create a more charming and historic look.One of many beautiful old houses I passed in Mission Hills. I believe this one is a Craftsman.Gravestones line a corner of Pioneer Park, which was built over a cemetery where many early residents of San Diego remain buried.Heading down green Mission Hills Canyon on a sunny spring day. The Robyn’s Egg Trail is rough and requires careful navigation in spots. Along its approximately half mile length I encountered one walker with a dog and one homeless person.Bright flowers along the path.A happy kitty face greets me as I arrive at San Diego Avenue!
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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!
I walked through the Gaslamp Quarter this afternoon and noticed several bars, eateries and shops are ready for St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow! All sorts of Irish green could be seen as I walked down the sidewalk.
(Unfortunately, I also noticed numerous places appear to have closed permanently, most likely due to the prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns.)
Lucky’s shamrock isn’t green, but apparently it’s lucky anyway!I’m not sure if that’s a case of green beer, but it seems worth a video, anyway!
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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!
This is one of the coolest murals I’ve seen! It was painted in 2018 by local artist Maxx Moses.
You’ve might have seen photos of his distinctive, highly inventive murals previously. Click here and you’ll see a variety of blog posts that include Maxx Moses’ work around San Diego.
This really great mural can be found on the parking lot wall outside Jerry’s Market, in San Diego’s southeast community of Mountain View, at the corner of Logan Avenue and 45th Street.
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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 for you to enjoy!
For many years, a mighty team of superheroes has stood guard at the entrance to El Cajon. As I walked past the motley, costumed group on Saturday, I noticed they were fending off a variety of dangerous supervillains and otherworldly menaces!
I immediately recognized some of the universe’s most powerful heroes. I saw Thor, Spider-Man, Hellboy, Yoda, Batman, Superman, Hulk and Wolverine. Together they were engaged in an epic battle against evil on the wall of Comics-N-Stuff, on El Cajon Boulevard!
A clerk at the comic book store told me this huge, fun mural was painted about 14 years ago by a local artist. It has really faded in El Cajon’s sunshine over time, so I’ve increased the contrast of various photographs.
Will Doc Ock and Venom get past Spidey and invade the city of El Cajon? I doubt it!
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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 for you to enjoy!
If you ever driven through the intersection of El Cajon Boulevard and West Washington Avenue in El Cajon, you’ve probably noticed panda bears. And exotic birds and colorful flowers and other painted scenes from nature.
That’s because murals can be found everywhere around this 76 gas station, and inside it, too!
The super nice clerk allowed me to take photographs of the ceiling inside the gas station’s convenience store. Artwork covers the walls, doors–everywhere you look!
An enthusiastic customer who seemed knowledgeable said it all was painted about nine years ago. I couldn’t find an artist signature. (Could the artist be Henry Goods, who is responsible for other gas station murals around San Diego? For example, here.)
If anybody knows more about this artwork, please leave a comment!
Next time you need gas in El Cajon, swing by this friendly 76 station and fill up with lots of beautiful art!
Now we’ve stepped inside the door and are gazing up at the incredible ceiling!
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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!
The Tom Ah Quin Building stands at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Island Avenue in San Diego’s Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District. It was built in 1930 by Thomas A. Quin, the son of Ah Quin, Chinatown’s founder and unofficial mayor.
The Quin Building is in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, an architectural style that became popular in San Diego and Southern California after the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. According to the Historic Building plaque by its entrance, the top part of the Quin Building had two apartments, and the street level contained a storefront and storage space.
A larger structure directly attached to the north side of the building, which was also built in 1930 by Thomas Quin, is called the Casa de Thomas Addition. It has been used by various businesses over the years, including the Empire Garage and Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Company (Convair). I’ve included a photo of that plaque for you to read as well.
Today both the Quin Building and the Casa de Thomas Addition are home to downtown San Diego’s popular FLUXX Nightclub.
You can see a portrait of the Ah Quin family and learn more about San Diego’s old Chinatown by clicking here!
(If you’re curious about that very fancy looking building to the left in the above photo, that’s the Horton Grand Hotel. I blogged about it over seven years ago, when Cool San Diego Sights was just getting started. Learn about how the Horton Grand Hotel is supposedly haunted here!)
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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 for you to enjoy!
In the past few days I’ve noticed hearts popping up everywhere I walk. Hearts can be spotted in shop windows, on doors and signs…and shining from the faces of those who know love!
The final two photographs were taken in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center. The artists were kind enough to let me snap the pictures.
Come to think of it, if you’re looking for a special gift that’s truly heartfelt and one-of-a-kind, Spanish Village would be an ideal place to visit.
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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!
Here’s one last batch of photos from my adventure in the Memorial neighborhood a couple weekends ago!
These first four photographs were taken at the Sawaya Brothers Market.
I documented the big, extraordinary mural facing Ocean View Boulevard here. But there was also graffiti and urban art spray painted on two other walls of the store, which you are now viewing. All of this artwork appears to have been created by David Mena, whose signature you can see.
The following three photos were taken in the same alley where I photographed the Mother Teresa mural, which you can revisit here.
I observed Power 2 the People and all sorts of super colorful imagery.
It appears David Mena is also responsible for this artwork.
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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!
A large, super colorful mural was painted last year on a wall of Sawaya Brothers Market, at the corner of Ocean View Boulevard and 30th Street.
The mural celebrates the dynamic life and culture of the community. Sawaya Brothers, a grocery store, tortilleria y panaderia (said by many to have the best tortillas in San Diego), is located in the Memorial neighborhood of Logan Heights.
Check out this great artwork! I see a profusion of diverse, positive images, including an Aztec dancer, kids playing soccer, a Don Carlos Ice Cream paleta cart, beloved musician Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez, social activism, Our Lady of Guadalupe, a lowrider, cool images honoring African Americans and the Kumeyaay, a lady making tortillas, Quetzalcoatl, a skateboarder, local school mascots, even the San Diego Padres and a trolley!
According to this article, the mural and its message of unity was painted over the course of a month by David Mena and several other artists with the help of local youth in 2020.
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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 for you to enjoy!
Cool San Diego Sights! 