The new Navy SEAL Museum San Diego is almost ready to open! Opening day is Saturday, October 4, 2025. That’s less than three weeks away!
This afternoon, walking past downtown’s One America Plaza building, I noticed the black marble pedestal that will support a Navy SEAL frogman statue has been installed outside. You can see it in my first two photographs. The nearby America Plaza trolley station is in the background.
I also observed new graphics have appeared near the museum’s front entrance!
Abandon Self – Embrace Team… The Deed is All – Not the Glory… Be Someone Special… The Only Easy Day was Yesterday
Responsibility – Service – Commitment – Discipline
A mysterious little garden can be found on the south side of San Diego’s Grantville neighborhood. It occupies a sliver of land at the corner of Fairmount Avenue and Alvarado Canyon Road–between a chain link fence and the channel that contains Alvarado Creek. Some homeless people appear to live nearby.
When was this small garden created? By whom? Why?
It appears this unusual garden, containing many cheerful flowers and plants, and a saintly statue, and a happy scarecrow, might memorialize a loved one.
Here are some photos that I took late yesterday as I walked down the sidewalk…
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Enjoy a cool batch of Dragon Ball photographs! This year’s Dragon Ball offsite at San Diego Comic-Con is just as impressive as ever!
I took these photos in the morning shortly after the activation opened at 9:30. The line was moderately long but moved quickly. You can find all this coolness behind the Marriott Marquis hotel, on the outdoor Marina Terrace.
Many people stood in a separate line to purchase Dragon Ball exclusives. Make sure you queue in the correct place! (Those who simply walk through the exhibit are given a really great swag bag.)
If you can’t make it to San Diego Comic-Con this year, check this out…
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I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
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!
Three years ago I visited Miramar National Cemetery during the weekend of Memorial Day. I took photographs and posted a blog concerning the cemetery’s Liberation statue, which is a powerful memorial to prisoners of war.
I didn’t realize at the time the statue contains a time capsule.
During a recent visit to the San Diego Veterans Museum, I observed a display concerning the time capsule.
San Diego Chapter 1 American Ex-Prisoners of War – WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, U.S.S. Pueblo. Greetings to the generation of 2045. Carefully enshrined in this time capsule are former prisoners of war’s actual experiences, stories of their lives before, during and after World War II, both European and Pacific Theaters, through all wars that followed to the capture of the U.S.S. Pueblo by the North Koreans in 1968.
The Time Capsule includes approximately 100 DVDs of member’s biographical testimonies video taped from 2002 to the statue’s placement September 2011. The capsule also includes Chapter support (PTSD) meetings, activities, documentaries, history of the chapter and statue, books, pictures and other memorabilia.
The sacrifices of many shall not be forgotten.
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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!
More history was made today! Two life-size grizzly bear sculptures were transported from the San Diego studio where they were made and lifted by crane to the roof of the San Diego Automotive Museum!
A golden grizzly bear now stands atop each front corner of the museum!
The San Diego Automotive Museum occupies the California State Building, which was built for the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park. These new bears help restore the historic building to its original appearance.
I wasn’t present for today’s “great bear lift” but I received these great photos to share! Not only were the two bears mounted on the reinforced rooftop, but two new flagpoles were installed above the building’s front entrance.
These landmark improvements to the Palisades area in Balboa Park are the work of the Committee of 100, who’ve been working to preserve Balboa Park’s historic architecture, gardens and public spaces since 1967.
Would you like to see these amazing bear sculptures up close? I was fortunate to get a very close look earlier this year! I posted those photographs and more fascinating details 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 other day I walked around the new Snapdragon Stadium, just to see what I might see. And I was pleased to stumble upon the old statue of Jack Murphy and his dog that used to greet fans at Qualcomm Stadium!
Years ago I took photos of the statue when it stood between the trolley station and Qualcomm Stadium. When that stadium was demolished, I wondered what would become of the bronze sculpture. Well, I see it’s now located on the north side of Snapdragon Stadium!
You can view those past photos and learn about Jack Murphy, the sculpture’s origin, and its artist by clicking here. (You’ll find out the name of the Labrador Retriever is Abe!)
I wonder, what happened to the second plaque–the one full of details about Jack Murphy Field?
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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!
One of San Diego’s iconic landmarks is the statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo near the end of Point Loma, at Cabrillo National Monument.
Over the years there has been a controversy concerning Cabrillo’s place of birth: Portugal or Spain? I covered that in my previous blog post.
The original statue of Cabrillo in the park, by Portuguese sculptor Alvaro DeBree, was commissioned by the Portuguese government. After years of exposure to the weather, that first statue was relocated to Ensenada.
Portuguese sculptor Joas Chartes Almeida carved an exact replica of the original statue out of a more resistant stone, and it was installed in at Cabrillo National Monument in 1988.
During my last trip to Cabrillo National Monument, a ranger inside the Visitor Center showed me a National Park Service document that provides a Brief History of the Original Cabrillo Statue:
In 1949, some 36 years after its establishment as a memorial to Juan Cabrillo, a statue of Cabrillo was finally installed at the monument. The statue had been commissioned by the Portuguese government in 1935 as a gift to the state of California and was to be exhibited in the Portuguese exhibit at the San Francisco Exposition of 1940. The work of Alvaro De Bree, a young Portuguese sculptor, the 14-foot-high, seven-ton statue was not exhibited at the fair as intended, but was instead stored in a private garage in San Francisco. Following a considerable amount of effort, the city of San Diego secured the statue, and it was installed at the Naval Training Center facing Ballast Point. The official dedication of the site took place on September 28, 1942, the 400th anniversary of Cabrillo’s landing.
In 1947, the San Diego Historical Society proposed that the statue be moved to the Cabrillo National Monument. The Chief of the Museum Bureau in Washington, after examining photographs judged the work to be “a satisfactory piece of memorial sculpture” and declared that it appeared suitable “from an artistic standpoint.” The Park Service accepted the statue with the stipulation that the city fund the costs for a base for the statue and for moving it to the monument.
The dedication ceremony took place on September 28, 1949. The Mayor of San Diego, Harley E. Knox, formally presented the statue to the National Park Service and Dr. Manuel Rocheta, chancellor of the Portuguese Embassy in Washington, D.C., delivered an address.
The 1988 replica of the original statue at Cabrillo National Monument.
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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!
Every day, every moment, Sojourner Truth walks through San Diego.
Students at UC San Diego’s Marshall College might encounter her as they proceed down the Ridge Walk. And if they pause to use curious eyes, they can see her humanity and read her words.
The statue of Sojourner Truth debuted on the campus in 2015. It was created by UCSD alumna Manuelita Brown.
Sojourner Truth was born into slavery but managed to escape it. She became an abolitionist and women’s rights activist who would not be deterred. Feeling guided by God, she testified to the hope that was within her. Read her history here.
Read an article about the sculpture’s dedication ceremony here.
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Statue of Frankie Laine, legendary singer, songwriter, actor and entertainer, on India Street in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood.
A life-size bronze statue of legendary entertainer Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio) was dedicated this summer in Little Italy. It now stands in front of Nonna, an Italian restaurant owned by Frankie’s long-time friend Joe Busalacchi. You can learn a little more about this statue at the Team Frankie Laine blog here.
Frankie Lane lived the latter part of his life in San Diego’s Point Loma community and frequently visited Little Italy.
The popular singer scored many big hits in the United States and internationally. Some of his best known songs include That’s My Desire, That Lucky Old Sun, Mule Train, Jezebel, High Noon, Save Your Sorrow, I Believe, Cool Water and Rawhide. Western movie theme songs he recorded include 3:10 To Yuma, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Blazing Saddles. His rock, jazz, folk and blues recordings made him one of the most popular entertainers in the 1940’s and 1950’s. His hits continued right into the 1970’s.
A small plaque can be found on the outside wall of Nonna next to the bronze sculpture. A larger plaque, depicting Frankie Laine with uplifted arms, is also nearby.
I took a photo of the larger plaque six years ago, when it was located elsewhere on India Street, and I transcribed the words written on it here.
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Tomorrow is Memorial Day. We will remember and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in past wars.
Yesterday I visited Miramar National Cemetery. I paused before a moving statue titled Liberation. The 15-foot tall monument was created by San Diego artist Richard Becker. It’s a memorial to Prisoners of War, who also sacrificed greatly.
The bronze statue shows a prisoner liberated, breaking free from surrounding barbed wire. The extraordinarily expressive artwork speaks for itself.
I thought you might like to see it.
If you’d like to see more work by renowned local sculptor Richard Becker, you can revisit past blog posts here or here or here or here.
The plaque on the base of Liberation reads:
This statue conveys the excitement, trepidation, exhilaration and emotion of the LIBERATION moment, as the emaciated soldier steps out of the darkness into the “Sunshine of Freedom.”
He portrays the hundreds of thousands who were bound in captivity by the infamy of foreign enemies.
This is to stand as an eternal legacy for our community by reminding visitors of the sacrifice of veterans during America’s efforts to keep alive the hopes and dreams of freedom for the oppressed around the world.
American-Ex Prisoners of War, Chapter One, San Diego.
Artist: Richard Becker.
Dedicated: 2011.
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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!
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