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.
Many members of the City Heights community came together today for a special event. After arriving at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park, the volunteers would spread out along University Avenue to clean and beautify their neighborhood. The event was called Beautify the Block!
A large number of people showed up! Some would pick up litter; others would paint sidewalk trashcans, planters or storefronts; and artists would paint utility boxes. Many of the volunteers represented SDG&E.
This was the first ever Beautify the Block event, and it’s hoped that it will grow and become an annual undertaking!
After reminding the volunteers to do their work safely, all were were given important encouragement. They would be showing the community that they care, and that the community matters.
This inspiring, super positive event was created by the City Heights Business Improvement District and the Maintenance Assessment District in partnership with local businesses and community members.
Every volunteer is a hero.
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Have you seen these electrical boxes in Bay Park, on Ingulf Street, just east of Morena Boulevard? Colorful street art painted on the boxes concerns the Clairemont Garden Tour, which is held each Spring.
It appears this street art was the project of the Clairemont Town Council, and I believe it was created in 2024. An artist signature I found is @cuttingsedgeart. That would be Grace Bagunu. She’s a community leader who makes art out of succulents, upcycling Comic-Con bags and creating sustainable art for a more beautiful world.
All sorts of plants and flowers are depicted. Those passing by are encouraged to Grow Your Own Way!
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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.
This very colorful mural debuted in Clairemont’s Bay Park neighborhood back in March. It decorates a fence on Morena Boulevard south of Ingulf Street.
Flora and fauna one might find in the neighborhood is depicted. In Tecolote Canyon one might observe a Red-Tailed Hawk. On the shore in Mission Bay one might spy a Snowy Egret. A bright yellow Bush Sunflower is an exclamation point to the brilliant artwork.
The digitally printed mural, part of the Morena Boulevard Beautification Project, was created by ArtReach (@artreachsd) in partnership with SDG&E. It was designed by artist Ian Stiles-Mikl (@ianstilesmikl) with input from community members.
Before the mural arrived, equipment and porta-potties in a dirt lot were visible through the fence. So much more beautiful now!
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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.
Check out more fun artwork in San Diego’s North County!
I enjoyed a long walk in downtown Vista a couple days ago and found works of art I hadn’t seen previously. That’s probably because it has been a couple years since I’d wandered around these streets.
Downtown Vista absolutely overflows with amazing sculptures and murals. One cool thing is, from time to time new works of public art appear. (I’ve noticed the sculptures can be purchased by contacting the City of Vista.)
Okay, so what did I find?
The first photos are of a sculpture titled Sky Flowers, by artist Norberto Estrada. This colorful bouquet can be found near the intersection of Vista Village Drive and Main Street.
Not far from this sculpture is another titled Chasing Fish, by artist Noe Estrada. It’s near the corner of Main Street and South Citrus Avenue.
Check out Whale of a Tale, by artist Sergey Gornushkin! The whale is flukes up and preparing to dive at the corner of South Indiana Avenue and East Broadway.
I love this banner on South Santa Fe Avenue. Not sure how long it’s been up. It’s by Jack Green, Vista Innovation & Design Academy!
Finally, I noticed an electrical box at the corner of Santa Fe Avenue and Vista Village Drive has been redecorated in a tribute to NASA and Vista, California, Earth…
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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.
During my last couple walks in National City, I noticed many electrical boxes have been beautifully painted with native flora and fauna. It’s almost as if wildlife has joined me on the sidewalk!
These photos were taken on National City Boulevard, a little south of 8th Street. I’ve observed boxes like these elsewhere in National City.
It appears many of these electrical boxes were painted last year by artist Laura Green (@lauragreenstudio). It’s part of the National City Utility Box Project.
Some of the boxes also specify the names or species of the painted subject.
What a great way to beautify an urban environment! One can learn to recognize our wild neighbors, too!
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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.
San Diego history can be viewed during a walk across the First Avenue Bridge in Bankers Hill.
Two identical bronze dedication plaques remain at either end of the arched steel bridge, which was built over Maple Canyon in 1931. The impressive structure was originally called the Peoples Bridge.
Today, looking down into Maple Canyon, you can also observe history being made. The Maple Canyon Restoration project has been underway for a couple years, replacing storm drains in the canyon, and expanding the channel to establish streambed and riparian habitats along the canyon floor.
Ten years ago I walked down Maple Canyon Trail and under the First Avenue Bridge. You can see photographs that I took here.
First Avenue Bridge…Length 463.24 feet…Height 104 feet…Erected by property owners under Improvement Act of 1911…R.E. Hazard Contracting Co…Tom Johnson Allen, Civil Engineer…R. Robinson Rowe, Structural Engineer…John C. Shaw, Consulting Engineer…R.M. Gregory, Superintendent of Streets
STANDARD IRON WORKS SAN DIEGO is indicated in many places along the 1931 steel bridge that spans Maple Canyon in Bankers Hill.
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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.
Parking Lot C in Old Town San Diego will soon attract bees, butterflies, birds and other beneficial insects. That’s because the bed of soil along the Twiggs Street sidewalk is newly planted with native vegetation suited to pollinators!
Three other beds at this parking lot will be planted, too, according to a sign that I saw while walking today. Not only will this newly created habitat benefit pollinators, but it will add natural beauty, help stabilize soil, save water and provide educational opportunities.
If you’d like to learn more, check out this webpage. It concerns the Old Town San Diego Chamber of Commerce’s Pollinator Pathways project. You’ll find there are various ways for you to help out!
(As you can see, I took these photos very early this morning before many cars arrived at the parking lot.)
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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.
An effort at urban revitalization is underway in Mission Hills. The Mission Hills Business Improvement District is beautifying electrical boxes with its Birds of Mission Hills Wayfinding Art Box Project!
Last weekend artist Becca Dwyer painted three utility boxes at the intersection of Goldfinch Street and Fort Stockton Drive. Bright goldfinches now appear on the corner near the Meshuggah Shack!
The Mission Hills Business Improvement District aims to repaint many of the boxes in the community.
Walking around today, I noticed most of the electrical boxes I photographed nine years ago along Washington Street are badly faded and really could use a refresh. The cool thing is, the street art that is coming will reflect Mission Hill’s bird street names. Yes, from Albatross to Dove to Goldfinch and etcetera, birds will be the subject!
I look forward to seeing the new art!
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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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 