A sign posted inside the playground at Solana Beach’s Fletcher Cove provides some history of the place. I discovered the sign this morning and thought you might enjoy a look.
An old aerial photograph allows the viewer to see how Fletcher Cove had changed between 1923 and 2023.
In 1923, Colonel Ed Fletcher began a project that would provide easy public access to the beach. High pressure water sprayed with a fire hose would carve a path down to the beach through the sandstone bluffs.
On July 4, 1924, Fletcher Cove opened with great fanfare!
You never know what cool sight you’ll find by just walking around randomly. This morning I spotted a bit of the Hotel del Coronado in Solana Beach!
Several old Douglas fir wood beams from the 1800s have been incorporated into the entrance of Rustic Root in Solana Beach. The old wood is from a construction project at the historic Hotel del Coronado. The salvaged wood was repurposed by Old Fashioned Lumber.
I once visited Old Fashioned Lumber in Barrio Logan. See those cool photos here!
Rio stands near the corner of Solana Vista Drive and Pacific Avenue in Solana Beach. The girl in a bikini welcomes beachgoers heading to the stairs that descend to Tide Park Beach.
Rio is a bronze sculpture by artist Richard Harmetz. The statue is part of Solana Beach’s permanent Public Art Collection. Learn more about it on the artist’s website here.
The sculpture is based on actual beachgoer Paola, a free spirit on the beach in San Diego, a native of Brazil who modeled for the artwork but departed and never saw it finished.
I almost didn’t see this public art as I walked around Solana Beach the other day. It stands a short distance from the beach access pathway.
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A historical monument to Solana Beach’s original developer Ed Fletcher stands by a pathway that leads through Fletcher Cove Park down to the beach. I’ve often wondered about the granite marker.
It reads:
THIS PLAZA PARK AND MILE OF OCEAN SHORE DONATED TO THE PUBLIC BY ED FLETCHER, THE DEVELOPER OF SOLANA BEACH – ERECTED BY ADMIRING FRIENDS
I’ve tried to learn something about the small monument, but to no avail. Perhaps a reader of this blog can contribute a knowledgeable comment.
When was this monument installed? Who were the admiring friends?
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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.
You’ve possibly seen these large murals while driving along Interstate 5 at Lomas Santa Fe Drive. The beautiful artwork decorates several walls of the Solana Beach Gateway Business Center.
I took a very long walk through Solana Beach several days ago and made it a point to check these out!
The murals were painted by Encinitas resident Kevin Anderson. They are obviously inspired by local coastal scenes. Looking at the artist signatures, I see they were completed individually over the course of years.
Here’s the artist’s website. You’ve enjoyed photographs of Kevin Anderson’s art previously on Cool San Diego Sights. Here and here and here.
As you approach the Solana Beach Gateway Business Center building via its main driveway, you see this:
The next mural was completed on 9-25-20:
It appears that the next one, with the mermaid, was completed in 2021:
The next one showing a family walking down to the beach was painted in 2022. Is that Fletcher Cove?
I found no date for the last one. It’s my favorite. I see a Coaster train passing under the bridge at Torrey Pines State Beach!
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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.
South Cedros Avenue in Solana Beach is a place where creativity thrives. Walk down the sidewalk through the Cedros Avenue Design District and your eyes will discover surprising art wherever they turn.
I walked this way three years ago and found a bunch of cool stuff. See it here. I also stepped into the fun Art Alley on Cedros. See that here.
Yesterday I took a similar walk and found new sights that I hadn’t previously seen! In addition to a very colorful tile mosaic bench south of the Belly Up Tavern, I photographed the following…
The planet I live on is the planet you live on.You turn graves into gardens – You turn bones into armies – You turn seas into highways – You’re the only one who canOut of the Blue
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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.
This bench decorated with tile mosaics adds beauty to the edge of a parking lot south of the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach.
I saw the artwork yesterday during a leisurely walk down South Cedros Avenue. It was one of many new discoveries that I made in the very colorful Cedros Avenue Design District!
I believe I see a starfish, garibaldi, seahorse and crab. The curving bench appears to show an underwater ocean scene. What do you see?
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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.
Beside the San Dieguito Lagoon wetland, near the west end of the San Dieguito River Park, you’ll find a beautiful outdoor space where one can learn about nature and soak in its goodness.
The shady, airy Birdwing Open Air Classroom was dedicated in 2014. It does indeed look a bit like a bird’s wing in flight!
Birdwing may be used as a trailside classroom by teachers, scientists and park rangers. It is also a place for walkers and hikers to relax and gaze out the nearby lagoon.
A short looping path and bridge near the structure passes through yellow bush sunflowers and other native plants. From that path I observed an osprey flying high in the sky–too small for a sharp photograph with my little camera.
The Birdwing Open Air Classroom can be accessed from the Coast to Crest Trail perhaps a quarter mile east of San Andres Drive and the ranger station.
You can learn more about the Birdwing Open Air Classroom here.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
The very first house built in Solana Beach was located on today’s Highway 101. That’s what a sign that I saw during a recent walk attests.
Perhaps driving along you’ve seen the above Plaza 101 sign, about a block south of Lomas Santa Fe Drive. It features the following plaque:
When I do some quick research, however, I find the first house in the area might have actually sat on Pepper Tree Lane, now called Del Mar Downs Road. Built in 1887, the Stevens House was moved to La Colonia Park and now houses the museum of the Solana Beach Civic and Historical Society. (It’s a museum that I have not yet visited.)
I believe the plaque refers to the Estes Home at 155 S. Highway 101. The Solana Beach Civic And Historical Society website explains: When Colonel Ed Fletcher bought Solana Beach in 1922, there were only two houses, George Jones’s house on Barbara Street (later occupied by Herschell Larrick Sr. and his family) and this Highway 101 house of Jones’s sister, Lucy Estes and her husband, N. H. Estes, and their son, Herb. The Estes family was originally from San Francisco. They built this first home in Solana Beach on the narrow dirt road highway 101 and put in a well.
During walks on and around old Highway 101, Solana Beach’s first commercial center, I’ve discovered a number of historical buildings. You can see those photographs here and here and here!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
