Tag: streets

Legacy Blossoms mural brightens Valencia Park!

In October, inspired local artists and volunteers came together to paint this beautiful 250-foot mural in Valencia Park, along Manzanares Way east of Euclid Avenue. It’s called the Legacy Blossoms mural.

You can see a photograph of the mural being painted on Instagram here. The installation team is credited as: Kim, Dentlok, SD Writerz and Natifa.

Additional photos of the mural’s progress can be seen on the Southeast Art Team Instagram page here. If you like what these artists are doing for the community, why not provide them with an assist?

The large concrete embankment south of the St. Rita Catholic Church complex is now covered with colorful poppies, succulents, an ocean sunset and the breath of life, brightening this neighborhood in Southeast San Diego!

Look how wonderful the art is!

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John Lennon’s new friend in Pacific Beach!

John Lennon in Pacific Beach has been joined by a new friend!

The cool John Lennon mural decorating the west side of 365 Reloaded Smoke Shop has expanded. A beautiful face has been spray painted next to John. I noticed this for the first time while walking down Garnet Avenue a few days ago.

I’ve tried to verify who painted the new artwork and exactly when, and who in particular the female face might represent. So far, no success. If you know anything, please leave a comment.

I considered the face might belong to a young Yoko Ono, but the resemblance doesn’t seem great, based on historical photos I’ve examined. What do you think?

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If you’d like to see San Diego through my lens, find the “Follow” box in the sidebar to receive new posts in your email, or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

(If you’re viewing Cool San Diego Sights on a phone, you can open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)

Another beautiful mural in Oceanside!

I spotted this beautiful mural during my last walk in Oceanside. It decorates a wall on San Diego Street, between Lemon Street and Dubuque Street, about a block away from Balderamma Park.

The side of the wall that faces an alley depicts the Virgin of Guadalupe among prickly pear and other cacti. It also appears to be a neighborhood shrine. People have left fresh flowers.

The other side, facing San Diego Street, has been painted with colorful scenes, so full of life.

I couldn’t ascertain who the artist is. If you have any information, leave a comment.

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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.

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Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Barrio Logan!

A printed banner duplicate of a very famous mural by Mexican painter Diego Rivera can be seen in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood. Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central (Dream of a Sunday Afternoon at Alameda Central Park) decorates the exterior of the M & R Transmission building at 1775 National Avenue.

The original mural, painted by the artist between 1946 and 1947, can be viewed at the Museo Mural Diego Rivera in Mexico City.

The mural depicts famous people and events in the history of Mexico, passing through the Alameda Central park in Mexico City. It features many historical figures, including Hernán Cortés, Benito Juárez, and Frida Kahlo. The central figure is La Catrina, a skeleton figure symbolizing the connection between life and death.

I took these photos a few weeks ago, when I walked through Barrio Logan.

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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.

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Free help to repair your bike in San Diego!

Does your bicycle need repair? Do you live anywhere near City Heights in San Diego? Check out this free, very cool community resource!

Bikes del Pueblo operates on Sundays near the corner of El Cajon Boulevard and 40th Street. You can see them in action in these photographs.

The collective is a bunch of volunteers and neighbors who get together to maintain bicycles and help each other. They provide free educational workshops, and access to tools and bicycle parts. Some of the regular participants have a lot of experience repairing bikes and are happy to help. Bikes del Pueblo welcomes donations–bicycles, parts, and money–to help keep a good thing going.

When I walked by a few weekends ago, they were really busy! Some people were even hanging out at the picnic benches and enjoying the sunny day. What a great resource for a community that can be underserved.

Got a bike? Does it need some work? Check out their website for more info by clicking here!

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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.

Feel free to share!

The new MTS mural on Beyer in San Ysidro!

I read this article about the new mural painted on Beyer Boulevard in San Ysidro, so I had to go see it.

The multi-wall mural was created by artist Mr. B Baby, whose real name is Michelle Guerrero. It’s her second collaboration with the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), which operates the San Diego Trolley. (The first mural painted late last year is also on the trolley’s Blue Line in South Bay–but just north of E Street in Chula Vista.)

This latest addition to the “MTS Color the Corridor” project contains colorful doll-like imagery you might recognize from other Mr. B Baby murals.

As motorists proceed under the trolley’s steel bridge, their attention is drawn to the two walls on either side, which represent the two sides of the San Diego/Tijuana border. The characters’ love for each other transcends the border.

Some online sites claim the mural is at the Beyer Boulevard trolley station, but that’s not true. It’s actually located here.

Unfortunately, relatively few people enjoy this amazing public art. Beyer Boulevard at this spot has very little traffic. Commuters on the trolley can’t really see the mural. Perhaps a rider could glimpse a small part of it while sitting at a right side window seat looking down. I’m not sure.

In any event, check out this great mural!

Improving public transit near Santa Fe Depot.

Long construction fences along Kettner Boulevard in downtown San Diego protect workers who are implementing a public transit upgrade. The work is being undertaken by the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS).

As this webpage explains: MTS has embarked on the America Plaza/Santa Fe Depot Pedestrian Enhancement Project to improve the pedestrian experience in and around this important transit hub.

Today, while walking past Santa Fe Depot’s old baggage terminal building, I noticed how the sidewalk is being widened and made more attractive. Several bus routes have stops in the vicinity.

(Years ago the historic baggage terminal was the downtown location of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. In the future, the roomy building will be part of a new UC San Diego arts campus, referred to as “The Depot.”)

MTS will be making different improvements in the neighborhood of the Santa Fe Depot and America Plaza, and I’ll continue to follow the progress!

UPDATE!

Three months later, I saw how the different bus routes will have their own loading spaces, as is the case at other transit centers…

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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.

Feel free to share!

Unexpected outdoor art gallery in Barrio Logan!

There’s a surprising outdoor art gallery in an alley in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood. It’s located on the side of the building at 915 S. 26th Street, currently home of Hard Dresser Salon.

Quite unexpectedly, I happened upon this weather-beaten art gallery about a week ago during a long walk.

A very faded graphic to one side of the framed artworks indicates Gold Leaf Project.

According to this website: The premise behind the Gold Leaf Project is that artists currently showing also install and display artwork on the streets of San Diego / Tijuana framed by these Rococo style gold-leaf frames. The point is to literally take art out of the gallery, but still display it as such in the context of the streets.

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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.

Feel free to share!

A funny Air Mail mailbox in Pacific Beach!

An unusual mailbox is located high above the sidewalk in Pacific Beach. You might see it while cruising down Ingraham Street.

What’s that? I wondered during my walk today. Is that actually a mailbox? Only a mail delivery giant could possibly reach it!

Then I zoomed my camera in for a closer photograph…

Oh, I see! The funny mailbox is for Air Mail! Makes perfect sense!

Hopefully the mail delivery aircraft doesn’t stall!

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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.

Feel free to share!

Pickleball on the streets of San Diego!

Perhaps you’ve seen stickball on the streets of Little Italy in downtown San Diego–but pickleball in the middle of the Gaslamp Quarter?

Yes!

Gaslamp Urban Pickleball is a new multi-week event where anyone can play pickleball on two blocks of Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter!

As the event website says: Be Part of History — San Diego’s First-Ever Urban Pickleball Courts!

Every Thursday until September 25th, after 4 pm and until sunset, you can play this super popular sport with friends and neighbors, while people cheer you on from the sidewalk, nearby restaurants and bars. Win a prize, too! This cool event has been brought to downtown San Diego by the Gaslamp Quarter Association.

Interested?

To learn all you need to know, and to register, check out the Gaslamp Urban Pickleball website!

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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.

Feel free to share!