These photographs were taken during a walk around beautiful Oceanside Harbor.
I began where Harbor Drive descends to the water and intersects with North Harbor Drive.
The walk proceeds west along the South Harbor, then curves to the North Harbor, taking in many interesting sights along the way.
At a point across the water from the Jolly Roger restaurant, I turned about, retraced my steps, then explored the South Harbor’s various shops and attractions.
I then made my way west to North Pacific Street, next to Oceanside Harbor Beach, and headed past the boat ramps to the jetty that juts out into the Pacific Ocean beyond a parking lot.
Hopefully you’ll get a taste of what this walk on a sunny, late February weekend afternoon was like!
Descending Harbor Drive to beautiful Oceanside Harbor.Looking past Joe’s Crab Shack and boats in the South Harbor marina toward the picturesque lighthouse.Across from the Oceanside Harbor boat ramps, which we’ll see close up later in the walk.Turning north, walking past the Oceanside Broiler restaurant, where diners sit outdoors gazing at boats in the Southern California sunshine.Many benches along Oceanside Harbor are dedicated to loved ones, or feature inspirational messages.Monument to Erwin Sklar, 1910-1974. During his term as Mayor and City Councilman this harbor was designed and built, fulfilling a Dream of Erwin Sklar and the People of Oceanside.Small boats pass stand up paddleboarders near the entrance to Oceanside Harbor.Watching activity on the water from the end of the Oceanside Harbor Fishing Pier.Monument by the Oceanside Harbor Fishing Pier. Remember Pearl Harbor.Fishermen wait patiently for a bite on the pier. I was told many types of fish can be caught here, especially when the water warms up later in the year.A large ship’s anchor with a small plaque across from the entrance to Oceanside Harbor.In memory of those lost at sea. Dedicated January 9, 1979.Along North Harbor Drive, large blue and white letters spell OCEANSIDE.Many along the boardwalk were watching Sea Lion Island, where there appeared to be a lot of napping.Sea lions relax in the Oceanside sunshine.A better view of the OCEANSIDE sign, which is visible to boaters entering the harbor.Continuing the walk, now along the North Harbor.People pass me on the boardwalk carrying a kayak.I pass the Oceanside Weighing Station. No fish being weighed at the moment.The Jolly Roger restaurant across the North Harbor.Kayaks stacked on the nearby dock.Right around here I turned about to retrace my steps.Back by Joe’s Crab Shack. The walk now proceeds in that direction.People walk out onto the docks.Some sportfishing vessels can be boarded nearby.Approaching shops and restaurants and other touristy attractions of the New England-style Oceanside Harbor Village.Sportfishing and whale watching trips are available at the Oceanside Sea Center.A great view from up there.I like this mail box!Interesting photo of the red and white faux lighthouse, which is actually home to Lighthouse Oyster Bar and Grill.Lots of beachy souvenirs attract passersby.Looking back at the lighthouse and Oceanside Harbor Village.We’ve arrived at North Pacific Street, which runs between the harbor and the beach.Heading north again, but on the west side of Oceanside Harbor.We’ve come to the boat ramps, which are very active on a sunny weekend day.Marker at the Oceanside Harbor Boat Launching Facility.Curtis Landing, dedicated September 17, 2005, honors two people named Curtis. Jon W. Curtis was a harbor police officer hero. Joe V. Curtis contributed as a community leader.Photo taken across the harbor from beside the boat ramps.Another photo.Continuing north.Kites were flying near the harbor entrance.I’ve turned west and am heading toward the jetty which protects Oceanside Harbor from the Pacific Ocean. In the distance past a sailboat you can see the Oceanside Marina Suites.A right turn on the water leads to Camp Pendleton Harbor’s boat basin.That sailboat we just saw is now entering the harbor.Near the foot of the T-shaped jetty. The beach is on the left.People by the shining Pacific Ocean.And to the south, far beyond this surfer on the beach, juts the long Oceanside Pier.
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The Welcoming Arches and the Welcome Bell greet motorists driving south on Interstate 5 as they enter Oceanside, California. The arches and bell stand just beyond a large American flag and beside the parking lot of an In-N-Out Burger.
I passed by the California Mission inspired structure last weekend as I walked down the Coast Highway.
Mission San Luis Rey, founded in 1798, is located about four miles east-northeast of these bright white adobe mission-style arches.
The Welcoming Arches were designed by noted Southern California architect George M. Adams in 1978 and dedicated in 1982.
The first part of the above plaque reads:
THE WELCOMING ARCHES
AN OCEANSIDE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PROJECT
“THE WELCOMING ARCHES WERE CONCEIVED FROM A WISH THAT OCEANSIDES’ VISITORS RECEIVE A WELCOME REFLECTING THE BEAUTY, BOUNTY AND HERITAGE OF THIS AREA.
REALIZING WHERE THERE IS PRIVILEGE THERE IS ALSO OBLIGATION, THIS ENTRANCE EDIFICE WAS BUILT BY THE VOLUNTARY GENEROSITY OF THE PEOPLE OF OCEANSIDE”
..LORRAINE SHAFFER
Part of this smaller plaque reads:
“WELCOME BELL” DONATED BY OCEANSIDE ROTARY CLUB JOHN A. STEIGER, PRESIDENT JANUARY 1983
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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!
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During my long walk through Oceanside yesterday, my very first cool discovery was this large nostalgic mural on the side of The Fin Hotel. It depicts a slice of Americana: a small town scene from the mid-20th century.
The Fin Hotel is a boutique hotel that began its life as the Keisker Hotel, built in 1927. Before it was The Fin it was The Dolphin. Today it’s an historic Oceanside landmark that has survived decades of change in the growing city.
The mural, painted by Southern California artist Lisa Kelly, incorporates the cool The Fin Hotel neon sign, as you can see in the coming photos! It also features many classic cars, the Oceanside Pier, and a woodie with a surfboard on top!
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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!
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The famous Top Gun House, where Maverick ate dinner with Charlie in the popular 1980’s movie Top Gun, has been restored!
I passed the iconic house today during a long walk through Oceanside, and the beachfront cottage appears completely changed from a few years ago. When I last took a look at the Top Gun House, back in 2018, the color scheme and porch were quite different, as you can see in today’s photos and my old blog post here.
The beautiful little 1887 Queen Anne Cottage has been restored to its original appearance. Learn about the Graves House’s historical importance in Oceanside and see a photo of how it looked when built over a century ago by clicking here.
The house has not only been restored, but it has been relocated a short distance up North Pacific Street, to a spot in front of the newly built Oceanside Beach Resort, which is scheduled to open later this year.
The following photo is one that I took in August of 2018…
UPDATE!
When I walked past on Labor Day, 2021, the famous Top Gun House had been painted once again! This time the color scheme is lighter, and much more attractive in my opinion…
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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!
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If you driven down Taylor Street past Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, you’ve probably seen the big Caltrans building across the street. And you might have observed five sculpted wheels mounted atop a low wall by the sidewalk.
The five wheels together are titled Rodoviaria, and they made their first public appearance in 2006 when the new District 11 Caltrans Office Complex (also known as the Wadie P. Deddeh State Office Building) was dedicated.
Rodoviaria was created by two highly accomplished artists who are brothers: Einar and Jamex De La Torre. Their website describes this public art as: 2005. Rodoviaria, five 50” cantera stone wheels with sand cast glass inclusions, Caltrans District 11 New Campus Facility, San Diego, CA.
Look closely at the glass inclusions and you’ll see not only tiny cars, but all sorts of interesting imagery mixed in. I believe I see beetles, pre-Columbian motifs, masks, hands, abstract human figures…
A plaque on the wall beneath one of the wheels reads:
Einar and Jamex de la Torre Rodoviaria, 2006
Transportation provides the mobility that enables cultural exchanges that in turn lead to the creations of new and dynamic cultural hybrids, most evident in California’s border towns and immigrant communities.
The first wave of sustained migration into California was made possible by the wagon wheel. Since then, many wheels have made the mobility and progress possible coupled with an ever changing and richly diverse culture.
Several years ago I posted photos of another example of inventive public art by these Mexican-born brothers. You might recall that big fun robot on Commercial Street. See it again here!
They also created the playful “dioramas” you see as you ride the main glass elevator at the San Diego Central Library. I hope to take photos of that one day, too!
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Enjoy these additional photographs from my walk last weekend in Solana Beach. These were taken along the west side of Highway 101, heading north from a spot just south of Plaza Street/Lomas Santa Fe Drive.
It appears some of this public art was the created for a City of Solana Beach Highway 101 beautification project in 2013.
If you recognize a couple of the incredible mosaics (the cool woodie and the fishes on a column), you might have seen my photos from a previous Solana Beach walk here. That old blog post also includes some interesting history of the city.
I love the next mosaic bench, and its beautifully creative symbolism.
LOVE ENDURES FOREVER
MIND OVER MATTER
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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!
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Walk along the west side of Highway 101 in Solana Beach, a short distance south of Plaza Street, and your curious eyes might see the night sky in the sidewalk. If you aren’t careful, you might plunge downward into bright stars and constellations!
This public artwork celebrates the City of Solana Beach’s incorporation on July 1, 1986. The star map underfoot shows what one would have seen gazing up into the night sky at a minute past midnight on that date.
I had some fun with these photographs, gradually increasing the contrast. Be careful! You might find yourself tumbling through space!
(Curious about that colorful mural in the distance? It’s titled Myths at Play, and you can see closer photos and learn more about it by clicking 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!
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Here’s another great Art of the Horse piece created back in 2017 for the Breeders’ Cup, which was held that year at the Del Mar Racetrack. This sculpture, a life-size replica of the Breeders’ Cup trophy, is titled California Harmony. It’s by artist Tish Wynne.
Painted on the racehorse are colorful coastal scenes full of crashing waves, running horses, birds, flowers and ocean wildlife. You can find California Harmony in Solana Beach, on Highway 101 in front of The Boardwalk retail and office complex, a bit south of Estrella Street.
Several years ago I photographed five other Art of the Horse fiberglass sculptures. (There were 20 unique pieces painted for the Breeders’ Cup.) You can see those horses here and 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!
An amazing van painted with a super cool Batman and other colorful images flashed past me as I was photographing the sculpture at the corner of Highway 101 and Plaza Street in Solana Beach.
I aimed my camera a little ahead of the Caped Crusader and hoped for the best as he whizzed by!
Yes!
Then the Dark Knight (striding heroically near rockets, palm trees and sea creatures) came back around setting up a second, more distant photo.
Hey, dude. That’s one awesome van!
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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!
Few people ever see downtown San Diego’s original federal building and courthouse. It stands off the beaten track, surrounded by tall buildings, where few tourists or locals venture.
Some of those who approach the old federal building might have tried to avoid it. That’s because the historic building, built in 1911-13, is presently a U.S. Bankruptcy Court. It’s named the Jacob Weinberger United States Courthouse, home to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California.
According to the court’s website: “In 1906, Congress authorized construction of the first permanent federal building in San Diego, specifically designed to house the U.S. Post Office, the U.S. District Court, and U.S. Customs. It was commissioned on April 5, 1913 as the ‘U.S. Post Office and Custom House.’ The architecture of the building is an eclectic design, blending ‘monumental classicism and Spanish colonial revival,’ creating a federal building that uniquely recognizes San Diego’s Hispanic heritage…”
The building was designed by architect James Knox Taylor, who was Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912.
Over the years this old federal building has undergone restoration. In my exterior photographs you can see the colonnaded portico and distinctive square towers.
Make sure to visit the court’s website to read much more about the Jacob Weinberger United States Courthouse’s long, colorful history. Among other things, you’ll learn that horticulturalist Kate Sessions, who introduced many of the trees and plants now found throughout Balboa Park, landscaped the building’s grounds, and how in “August of 1917, Postmaster Barrow asked for permission ‘to plow up the large lawn to the south of the building and plant the ground to potatoes, beans, or some other useful vegetable,’ to locally support the World War I war effort.”
I see that tours of the Jacob Weinberger United States Courthouse are available by appointment. One day I’ll go on one and experience the historic building’s interior. Unless I go bankrupt first…
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!
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