It’s obvious that many in Chula Vista are looking forward to the debut season of San Diego FC next year. Huge crowds have come out today for the San Diego FC Chrome Ball Tour stop in downtown Chula Vista!
As the free street festival opened, soccer games were already underway up and down Third Avenue. Kids, adults, even the Chula Vista Fire Department and Police Department would participate in hard fought competition!
I walked about shortly after noon, as people were arriving from every direction for the event. I took some photographs while checking out games, lowriders, vendors and enthusiastic San Diego FC supporters. Entertainment including live music and a fashion show on the big stage hadn’t begun yet, nor the Lucha Libre wrestling exhibition, which would start in the evening.
Thumbs up! La Masia SD is a very successful local soccer team. Many of its past players have gone on to play professionally at different levels!
Paul Jimenez of Ground Floor Murals prepares a big canvas for some live spray paint art. I didn’t hang around the event long enough to see its progress.
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At the intersection of Grand Avenue and State Street in downtown Carlsbad you’ll find benches next to a gently bubbling fountain and a historical bell.
I took photographs of the 1984 Village Fountain and El Camino Real Bell and their respective plaques during my last visit to Carlsbad. You might enjoy these.
Should you explore downtown Carlsbad by foot, this pleasant corner is a good place to sit, relax and watch people passing by while soaking in the Southern California sunshine.
VILLAGE FOUNTAIN DEDICATED TO GLENN McCOMAS SEPT. 29, 1984
EL CAMINO REAL BELL
EL CAMINO REAL BEGAN IN SAN DIEGO AND FOLLOWED A COASTAL ROUTE LATER NAMED HIGHWAY 101. IN THE EARLY 1900’s, BELLS WERE PLACED ON THIS ROUTE TO GUIDE TRAVELERS TO NEARBY SPANISH MISSIONS. THIS IS AN EXACT REPLICA OF THE ORIGINAL BELL AND IS CONSIDERED A SIGNIFICANT HISTORICAL SYMBOL.
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Earlier this month, National City installed seven new Historic California US 101 Route street signs. They were placed where old Highway 101, the source of many fond memories, once ran. These seven new signs join thirteen others that were installed in Chula Vista and San Ysidro near the beginning of the year.
This very cool project, which commemorates an important part of history in San Diego’s South Bay, was spearheaded by Jack Gechter of the South Bay Historical Society.
Jack indicated these new signs are located along National City Boulevard, from a spot just north of Chula Vista to a spot just south of Division Street. Here are the exact addresses:
North Bound – National City Blvd. north of C Street (just north of Chula Vista) North Bound – 2501 National City Blvd. North Bound – 701 National City Blvd. North Bound – 141 National City Blvd. South Bound – 128 National City Blvd. South Bound – 700 National City Blvd. South Bound – 2340 National City Blvd.
Learning this, I had to check these new signs out! I spotted six of them and took the upcoming photographs during a walk on Sunday.
Are you curious where US 101 ran south of San Diego?
This 1947 Chevron Map shows the Historic California US 101 Route starting near the US/Mexico Border in San Ysidro, and continuing north along Beyer Blvd toward Chula Vista, along National Avenue (Broadway in Chula Vista and National City Blvd in National City) to 8th Street, along 8th Street to Harbor Drive, then along Harbor Drive to Pacific Highway.
This 1933 AA Map shows a slightly different Historic California US 101 Route at the northerly end of National Avenue (National City Blvd) to 1st Street, then along Main Street.
Should you drive along National City Boulevard, keep an eye out for these new signs!
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
A special Earth Day event was held today in downtown San Diego. C Street Keeps It Green was the name of the fun environmental event, which took place–surprise!–on two blocks of C Street.
I saw inspirational art being created, spoke to representatives of the Downtown San Diego Partnership, checked out info presented by I Love a Clean San Diego, San Diego Community Power, and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, and enjoyed learning more about the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum–did you know every second Sunday they are open free to the public? There were smiling vendors, too, and music!
Enjoy some photographs and read the captions…
Inspirational art and messages are created on C Street in San Diego.Three Falls Brand had all sort of cool merch–many of the designs were a fusion of lucha libre wrestling and hard rock music.I learned the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum has an exhibition titled Poem ‘ Li Sao’, Qu Yuan & Dragon Boat Festival. The featured, very famous poem, by the father of Chinese romantic poetry, consists of more than 2,470 Chinese characters!Old photographs show how the Chinese played an important role in early San Diego history.Smiles by representatives of San Diego Community Power, which provides cleaner electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind at competitive rates.Another smile! Oside HandMade provided fun small potted plant projects for the Earth Day event.Creativity in action.San Diego County Bicycle Coalition provided all sorts of useful information.I Love a Clean San Diego told me about their recent Creek to Bay Cleanup. Tons of trash were removed from our precious waterways.I’m shown how small positive choices we make add up! And another big smile!Music for the event across C Street!Our beautiful planet Earth.A quote about nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson.Shayna Goodwin, a San Diego Clean and Safe Ambassador, creates her first mural. And it’s absolutely incredible!
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Old art panels along the median of Imperial Avenue in Encanto have been replaced! I noticed the vivid, new panels a couple days ago while riding the Orange Line trolley.
This artwork originated over 30 years ago as part of what was then called the Streetscape Art Project. Local artist Eddie L. Edwards contributed 24 colorful images that depict life and culture in diverse Encanto. When I took photographs of the aged panels four years ago, they were in very poor condition.
Look how sharp the restored artwork now appears! These colorful new panels, I was told, were put up in the latter part of 2023.
Here are half a dozen examples. Notice the overarching rainbows!
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Yesterday afternoon, a walking celebration of the new Bay to Park Paseo took place in downtown San Diego!
The inaugural walk moved north from the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel up Park Boulevard to Presidents Way in Balboa Park. A good crowd gathered, then followed a three-piece band and our guide, Pete Garcia of the non-profit URBAN INTERVENTIONS. Pete, holding his red umbrella, provided insights into each art installation and was joined by many of the participating designers and artists.
The Bay to Park Paseo is a walking experience that features over a dozen different temporary art installations. The Paseo leads walkers over the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge, then past Petco Park, the Central Library, UC San Diego Park & Market, NewSchool of Architecture & Design, IDEA1, City College, and San Diego High School.
The idea for a pedestrian friendly corridor connecting San Diego Bay to Balboa Park actually originated in 1908. It was envisioned by John Nolen, the first American to identify exclusively as a town and city planner. San Diego’s new Bay to Park Paseo serves as a temporary prototype of what the future might hold for this corridor.
As you’ll see in the upcoming photos, some of these temporary art installations aren’t finished yet. Some also appear very different from their original conception, due to budgetary constraints.
Take a look at these colorful installations, then imagine how awesome a future Paseo with permanent public art would appear!
People gather for the inaugural walk in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. The Bay to Park Paseo has been created in conjunction with San Diego/Tijuana’s selection as World Design Capital 2024.We wait for the band, which was a bit late.The first art installation is a stained glass panel in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.Welcome to the start of Bay to Park Paseo! The project has a butterfly as its symbol.The beautiful stained glass panel was designed by local artist and muralist Shirish Villaseñor, who happens to also work at the Hilton! She has been working on restoring the famous murals in Chicano Park.This butterfly loosely resembles the huge Hermes Copper Butterfly that will be installed on the nearby Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge.Pete Garcia welcomes the excited walkers.Here we go!I learned some of the band members participated in artist James Hubbell’s Friendship Walk on Shelter Island, which you might recall seeing on Cool San Diego Sights.You can see part of pre-existing Wind Palms public art in the background. The San Diego Convention Center appears on the right.Starting across the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge.A designer from Safdie Rabines Architects (who designed this bridge and many other structures in San Diego) describes how a huge Hermes Copper Butterfly will decorate the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge. The landmark public art will remain on the bridge for five years. Small dangling tiles will compose the butterfly, which should move with the wind.Once the butterfly appears, you can bet I’ll take photos!Resuming our walk over the bridge.Walking past Petco Park.Overcast this Spring day, but no rain during the walk.That big square “hole” across the street at Park 12 will contain colorful string-like artwork by acclaimed artist Inés Esnal. You can see the unrelated Growing Home public art seashell on the left.Now we’re approaching the Connector Block 1 installation.Colorful pallets and desert cacti and succulents!Stay and Play is the title of this fun, colorful sidewalk installation.Stay and Play and SMILE!Walking north to San Diego’s iconic Central Library.We gather in front of the Central Library where the Before There Were Borders installation provides a unique augmented reality experience on passersby’s phones.I already blogged about Before There Were Borders. Check that out here.North we go again!We’ve arrived at Connector Blocks 2 and 3. This fun installation, called Walk and Learn, allows people to view historical photographs from downtown San Diego.Spin the dial on a huge “viewmaster” to discover the liveliness of our city’s streets and sidewalks from the past.I see East Village’s very cool Crushing It street mural in the background!Moving along up the new Bay to Park Paseo.Passing the Park & Market trolley station, which already contains artistic elements like curvy benches.Members of the UC San Diego Design Lab pose for a quick photo!What Does Home Mean to You? is the thought-provoking installation at the UC San Diego Park and Market building. I posted a blog concerning it here. One of the three “silhouettes” has appeared. Pushing a button activates an audio recording. A homeless person tells of the hardships she has encountered.UCSD students who contributed to the installation’s design are acknowledged.Here comes the Memories at Midpoint installation. I saw them putting up the artwork and posted photos here.Our walking group has arrived in front of the NewSchool of Architecture & Design.We learn about this fun, surprising installation.What’s inside these colorful mailboxes?Some surprising discoveries!This is fun! What’s next?Along the trolley tracks we go…This cool artwork is next!This installation is called The Desert Super Bloom. It’s in front of IDEA1. There will be three such colorful clusters–two are completed.I love it!Kids painted those tall poles. I see, in the photo’s background, The Strength of Women mural by Rafael Lopez.Walking up toward the City College trolley station.Local artist Armando De La Torre poses for a photo in front of his Along the Blue Line installation before the crowd of walkers arrives! He wants his art to connect with ordinary people.Read more about this installation on a construction fence here. We also learned about artwork in the windows of the nearby Smart Corner building. That installation, called Reading Between the Lines, is best seen at night.Here we are moving right along past the City College trolley station and the Smart Corner building that rises above it.We’ve arrived at the corner of San Diego City College. The originally intended bench installation has to be changed. Now banners proclaim I Have a Dream. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous words are perfect at a diverse college where there are many dreams.A dream in beautiful San Diego.I’ve blogged a couple times about the sinuous, wavelike JOURNEYworm in front of San Diego High School. Delicate black mosquito netting was replaced by stronger plastic safety fencing because of destructive winter storms. The bright orange definitely attracts the attention of students and others passing by!The inaugural walk up the Bay to Park Paseo is approaching the finish line. There is one more art installation to check out.Multiple panels along the sides of the Park Boulevard bridge over Interstate 5 aren’t ready yet. But we saw the representation of one mural. It’s a palm tree! The images will be reflective of San Diego’s beautiful Balboa Park.1.7 miles of walking nearly completed!You can see downtown’s Cortez Hill neighborhood in the distance. That’s where I live!The Bay to Park Paseo walkers pose for a concluding photograph in Balboa Park! Why don’t YOU take a walk up the art-filled Paseo? It’s fun!
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
The original black fabric JOURNEYworm has been replaced. The sinuous art installation, which is visible along Park Boulevard near San Diego High School, is now made of orange plastic safety fencing!
I posted photos of the first, more fragile JOURNEYworm in early February. Unfortunately, a series of very windy winter storms decimated the thing. So now I see it has been replaced with material that is more durable.
What on earth is the JOURNEYworm? It’s part of a new Bay to Park Paseo walking experience, which will stretch from San Diego Bay to Balboa Park!
I provided a description of the project when I posted those original photographs. To revisit those photos, click 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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
A kinetic metal sculpture in Bankers Hill turns with the wind. It’s titled Four Seasons.
The abstract public art, created by San Diego based artist Amos Robinson in 2007, stands in front of the office building at 1855 First Avenue.
Four Seasons slowly revolved as I paused near it a few weeks ago. (I was walking down the sidewalk back toward downtown after touring the very cool Hawthorne Historic Inn.)
Another unexpected discovery!
And look what I spied outside one corner of the same office building… An apple!
(Appears that someone has large, very strong teeth!)
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
The epic Bay to Park Paseo is a 1.7 mile long, art-filled walking experience that is now being created in downtown San Diego!
Many creators and designers will soon be installing unique artwork along the Bay to Park Paseo, which celebrates the designation of San Diego/Tijuana as World Design Capital 2024!
Most of the new art will be installed along Park Boulevard, up a corridor that connects San Diego Bay to Balboa Park. The Bay to Park Paseo will start at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, cross the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge, and run up the east side of Petco Park, continuing north up Park Boulevard.
Many of you know a lot of old art can already be found along this long corridor!
I’ve photographed most of it over the years.
Here are a few photos of preexisting art on the Bay to Park Paseo…
To enjoy blog posts that feature preexisting art along the Bay to Park Paseo, click the following links. I’ve arranged these links from south to north. (Check the bottom of each blog post for the approximate date I took the photos.)
Some of the painted artwork you see in these old blog posts has since faded, been replaced or badly marred by graffiti.
An idea! Before the Bay to Park Paseo officially opens, perhaps original artists could be contacted in order to restore some of this great old art!
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
A crew from The Weather Channel was in San Diego this morning, covering flooding in Mission Valley caused by the rain-swollen San Diego River. It rained much of last night.
The Weather Channel had arrived for live storm coverage, aiming their cameras at high water passing treacherously over Fashion Valley Road.
I had twenty minutes to wait for a bus at the nearby transit center, so I walked down toward the river to check things out for myself. I received some smiles!
I then took a photo from the pedestrian bridge across the river to Town and Country Park, and another from the elevated Fashion Valley trolley station platform.
I had a couple more minutes, so I checked out the flooded Fashion Valley parking structure. It was actually designed to flood, believe it or not! Fortunately, no cars were caught in the water on the lowest level.
In the middle of the day, two tornado warnings were sent out to phones around the city. Apparently no tornadoes actually formed, although someone on the radio said they saw a very dark, low, rotating cloud in Spring Valley..
Was there a rainbow warning? There should have been!
Late in the afternoon, I saw how Mission Center Road was really flooded by the San Diego River. It had rained off and on all day. That car was almost completely submerged.
Please stay safe! More rain to come!
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Cool San Diego Sights! 
