A flock of wild birds has descended on Garnet Avenue’s trashcans in Pacific Beach!
The colorful artwork, created by professional and student artists, allows those walking down the sidewalk to explore PB’s Wild Side!
My visit to Pacific Beach yesterday happened to involve a leisurely walk down Garnet Avenue. I found eight different birds on trashcans. If there are more of these plaques out there, I didn’t see them.
The birds that are depicted can all be spotted in the wild here in San Diego.
You can learn more about this project of beautifulPB (who’ve also provided a mural map of Pacific Beach) at this website!
Common Loon by Hilary Dufour.Ridgway’s Rail by Makena Seiler.Belding’s Savannah Sparrow by Kyla Yu-Swanson.Brown Pelican by Makena Seiler.Double-crested Cormorant by Makena Seiler.Least Tern by Makena Seiler.Great Blue Heron and Anna’s Hummingbird by Hilary Dufour.
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At the end of 2021, some very cool art was being painted on two garage doors in Mission Beach. I happened to see the work in progress during this walk. At the time I knew nothing about the artist.
I walked past these two murals again today and noticed they’re completed! And they’re by San Diego muralist Carly Ealey!
It’s an elephant and flower!
You can see this beautiful artwork just north of Ostend Court on Mission Boulevard.
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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!
I came across historical photographs of three buildings in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter that were taken in 1960. These photos, resulting from the Historic American Buildings Survey, were taken by an employee of the U.S. National Park Service, and are consequently in the public domain.
I thought it would fascinating to post a “then and now” blog, comparing the 1960 photographs of these buildings with how they appear at the beginning of 2023. That’s a span of almost 63 years. By looking carefully, you can notice changes that were made.
The first building is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Market Street. It’s called the Backesto Building. When built in 1873, it stood at the center of New Town’s original business district.
According to a historical plaque, the grocer and general merchandise firm Klauber and Levi occupied the ground floor from 1878 to 1886. San Diego Hardware would occupy the building from 1892 to 1922. Its exterior reflects the turn-of-the-century style.
The Backesto Building, photographed in 1960.The Backesto Building, photographed in 2023.
The second building is also at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Market Street. It’s called the McGurck Block and was built in 1887.
The Ferris and Ferris Drug Store occupied this building from 1903 to 1984. I once blogged how the father of actor Gregory Peck worked there as the night druggist.
The building was also a post office and ticket booth for the Coronado Ferry. The upper floors of the three-story Italianate building were known as the Hotel Monroe in 1929.
The McGurck Block, photographed in 1960.The McGurck Block, photographed in 2023.
Finally, there’s the adjacent I.O.O.F. Building at Market Street and Sixth Avenue.
I.O.O.F. stands for Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
The 1882 building was a joint effort of the Masonic and Odd Fellows Lodges.
The Classical Revival building took almost a decade to complete. The cornerstone contains valuable coins, historic documents, and a stone from Soloman’s Temple!
I.O.O.F. Building, photographed in 1960.I.O.O.F. Building, photographed in 2023.
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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!
Hollywood, Tarzan, Live Wire and Vaudeville… What do these four have in common?
They’re all aspects of a short walk in University Heights!
A few days ago I walked east along the south sidewalk of El Cajon Boulevard, from Park Boulevard to Louisiana Street. My camera was out, aiming at anything that caught my fancy.
I saw street art and the iconic The Boulevard sign. I passed a strange bicycle and a fun window.
When I came to the historic Lafayette Hotel, I noticed huge banners proclaiming its rebirth in June of 2023.
The Lafayette Hotel has undergone many changes since it began as the Imig Manor in 1946. It’s very first guest was Bob Hope. It soon became a favorite playground for Hollywood stars, like Ava Gardner, Katharine Hepburn, Betty Grable, Lana Turner and singer Bing Crosby. It’s rumored Marilyn Monroe and JFK had a secret rendezvous here.
The hotel’s swimming pool was designed by Olympic gold medal winning swimmer and Tarzan movie actor Johnny Weissmuller. It was used by San Diego native Florence Chadwick to train for her record breaking swim across the English Channel. The hotel’s Mississippi Ballroom was used in the filming of Top Gun’s classic You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ scene.
You can learn more about the amazing, elegant features of the Lafayette Hotel here.
Okay! Here are photos from my short walk…
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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!
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Did you know there’s a bridge over a freeway in San Diego that is also a musical instrument?
Drivers passing over State Route 94 on the 25th Street bridge might not realize they are traveling beside an interactive chime rail that pedestrians with a good stick or (better yet) metal rod can play!
Called the Crab Carillon, this musical feature of a very unique bridge is part of the City of San Diego’s Civic Art Collection. The Crab Carillon, created by artist Roman de Salvo in 2003, features 488 individually tuned chimes spanning the full length of the bridge, which can be played by passersby.
De Salvo commissioned Joseph Waters to compose a short, sophisticated palindrome, which sounds the same played forward or backward. The title refers to the way that crabs scuttle from side to side, similar to the movement of those who interact with the artwork.
As I walked south down 25th Street from Golden Hill toward Sherman Heights, I happened to find a piece of broken wood on the sidewalk. Perfect! I thought. Up ahead is San Diego’s musical bridge! Now I’m ready to play the Crab Carillon!
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You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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A giant space squid has attacked several flying saucers on a street in North Park!
Don’t believe me? I offer evidence!
It seems every time I walk around North Park I see some new street art. I saw these newly painted electrical boxes on 30th Street south of University Avenue and I absolutely had to take photos.
Sometimes street art can seem a bit tired, presenting identical styles or themes.
At other times street art can be wildly different and imaginative! Like this!
I see the rampaging space squid emerged from the mind of @DuderDesigns. It was finished a couple of weeks ago!
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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!
In Point Loma’s Roseville neighborhood, at the intersection of Rosecrans Street and Avenida de Portugal, you’ll find a historical marker between two benches. Six similar markers were placed along San Diego’s historic La Playa Trail back in the 1930s.
According to their website, this replacement marker was the project of the La Playa Trail Association. All of the markers feature a bas-relief of an Indian and a Mexican carreta (or ox cart), and were designed by Old Town sculptor, Rose Hanks.
I happened to walk by this particular marker the other day and realized I hadn’t yet photographed it.
The La Playa Trail is considered the oldest commercial route in the western United States. In the past, I’ve photographed a few other La Playa Trail markers and provided more information. If you’re curious, you can see that here.
La Playa Trail. An ancient Kumeyaay path that became the oldest commercial trail in the western United States. La Playa Trail Association, 2010.
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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 games might be played inside Petco Park, but during the first two days of the 2022 National League Championship Series, plenty of excitement fills the streets of downtown San Diego!
Walking outside the ballpark, one feels the energy from thousands of enthusiastic Padres fans. Many families and generations are creating forever memories.
Baseball gloves are already on many hands, as fans hope to catch a ball during the NLCS.
I’ve never seen so many swag chains!
A few Philadelphia Phillies fans are out there too, but the Friar Faithful far outnumber them.
Enjoy these photographs that I took this morning!
Hopefully the Pads prevail in Game Two early this afternoon, before Major League Baseball’s National League Championship Series heads over to Philadelphia.
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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!
In San Diego, as in any city, the only true constant is change.
Trucks load and unload. Buildings fall and rise. Cars turn corners. People from every walk of life funnel through crosswalks. Lives intersect.
We travel down countless paths to futures unknown.
To curious eyes, the city reveals infinite complexity. And infinite mystery.
I took most of these photographs very recently.
In East Village, a new high-rise is being built above the old façade of the Farkas Store Fixtures building. A 2020 Carly Ealey mural still smiles.People walking very different paths cross the same street.Tearing down to build up.Millions of Dole bananas show up on schedule at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal. Some changes are predictable.Other changes aren’t quite so predictable. San Diego Padres make the Major League Baseball Playoffs in 2022!Old friends. New friends. Soon to be friends. TwitchCon at the San Diego Convention Center.I was told another track is coming by the Green Line platform at the 12th and Imperial trolley station.Heading toward the border. A life in progress.Pesos, Euros, Dollars and a bicycle. Where to?What change is coming to this corner of the Plaza de Panama in Balboa Park?
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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!
Many new murals have blossomed in San Ysidro’s creative Cultural Corridor!
During the last year artists have been busy adding life to fences along and near Cypress Drive, north of San Ysidro Boulevard.
I’ve noted other murals along this Cultural Corridor in the past. You can see those photos here and here and here!
So what new artwork did I see during my walk up the corridor today?
Corredor Cultural–Cultural Corridor. The Cultural Corridor along Cypress Drive is Casa Familiar’s current effort to engage in advocacy, public safety, greenery, and art. Join our community effort!
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