You have the opportunity to become part of history in Old Town San Diego!
An initiative is underway to support Old Town. Anybody can purchase a customized, engraved brick for the new Old Town San Diego Heritage Walk, which lines the east side of San Diego Avenue. As you can see in my next photo, some bricks are already installed.
Your special brick can honor loved ones, promote a business, or perhaps share an inspiring message.
To learn more about this opportunity, visit this website.
Hungry?
Feast your eyes on this tasty street art at a busy intersection in Escondido!
I used to drive past the corner of West Valley Parkway and Auto Park Way and think I should take photographs of this electrical box. I finally did yesterday.
The cheeseburger and fries looks particularly good.
Several eateries are located nearby. This colorful food art seems to be strategically positioned!
Yum!
Several months ago a new community gathering place opened up in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood. Pop-up Winona is a cozy spot where anyone can sit down, relax, enjoy good company and a coffee or snack, and possibly attend an entertaining event! Here’s their Instagram page.
Pop-up Winona is located near the corner of El Cajon Boulevard and Winona Avenue. If parts of it look familiar, it replaces the old gathering place that was situated on El Cajon Boulevard at Fairmount Avenue.
When I swung by the other day I was welcomed with a friendly smile. I skipped coffee, but I did find a fresh, tasty pastry to enjoy during my walk.
I was told Pop-up Winona will be relocated across El Cajon Boulevard this summer, so keep that in the back of your mind if you go looking for it. As I learn of upcoming events at the pop-up, I’ll post the news.
One more thing–check out my final photo. These good people accept donations for the homeless.
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Did you know that a lake was originally planned for one of University Heights’ canyons? You’ll learn this and more should you visit the San Diego Central Library and view one of several small exhibits in the 9th floor Special Collections Center. Mystic Lake is one fascinating aspect of The San Diego That Never Was.
Looking at Google Maps today, and comparing it to the old 1890 map on display at the library, you can see how Mystic Lake would have fit into University Heights as planned in 1888. The lake’s lower extremity would have been cradled by Lincoln Avenue and Maryland Avenue. It was not to be.
As this informative webpage (which explains University Heights street names) explains: By 1906, Arch Street, Proctor Place, and New Jersey Street replaced the area originally planned to be Mystic Lake.
Mystic Lake would have been located a couple blocks directly west of the State Normal School, which was predecessor to San Diego State University. The site today is headquarters of San Diego Unified School District.
It’s interesting to see San Diego’s old cable car route on the 1890 map as a dashed line. The short-lived cable car line operated from June 1890 to October 1892. As this historical webpage explains, the San Diego Cable Railway ran from downtown San Diego north on Fourth to University, then east to present-day Park Blvd., and north to Mission Cliff Gardens.
(Today, one of those old cable cars is preserved at the National City Depot museum. Check out photographs of San Diego Cable Railway car number 54 by clicking here!)
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To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
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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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.)
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.)
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.
Feel free to share!
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.
Feel free to share!
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!
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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 