Tag: streets

Year of Dragon mural coming to Little Saigon!

A large Year of the Dragon mural is now being painted in the heart of San Diego’s Little Saigon!

Thao Huynh French has begun creating this street art, which will be located at El Cajon Boulevard and Menlo Avenue, across from Sin Lee Food and the oft-photographed Little Saigon postcard mural.

I happened to noticed this nascent artwork as I walked in east San Diego this morning.

The Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac, begins February 10, 2024. A number of festivals will be held around San Diego. I plan to visit one or two!

Next time I walk this way I hope to capture cool photos of this Year of the Dragon mural, finally completed.

If you want to see another incredible mural by the same artist, which was painted a couple years ago on Menlo Avenue north of El Cajon Boulevard, click here!

UPDATE!

To see the completed mural, which is utterly awesome, click 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!

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Bay to Park Paseo arriving in San Diego!

An epic art project along Park Boulevard has begun to take form in downtown San Diego!

The Bay to Park Paseo is a planned 1.7 mile walking experience that will connect San Diego Bay to Balboa Park. The massive, temporary art installation is being created by local artists and designers, to celebrate the selection of San Diego/Tijuana as World Design Capital 2024!

Today I noticed one section of the Bay to Park Paseo being installed just south of the City College trolley station. Local artist Armando De La Torre (@guavasufi) was putting up images on a construction fence on the east side of Park Boulevard.

You can see how the entire Bay to Park Paseo will appear here.

That big old trolley and other images I discovered are part of the Zone 8 artwork, which will express the block’s mobility and walkability throughout time… Four 20 feet wide panels will include a mixture of photos, drawings and text in a 3D shadowbox format. They will depict the evolution of San Diego, from small settlement to metropolis.

The artist Armando De La Torre was born in Tijuana, Mexico and lives in Chula Vista. Among his other accomplishments, he teaches homeless kids art at Father Joe’s Villages!

The urban designer for this particular section of the Bay to Park Paseo is native San Diegan Howard Blackson.

The property behind the fence, owned by Kilroy Realty, is the site of a future tech hub.

Stay tuned as I follow this exciting project!

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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)!

Two murals: National City and Be Kind.

There are two large, colorful murals painted on the former location of PROJX2PRINT in National City.

On the north side of the building are the words National City. Palm trees rise under a sky filled with sunset colors.

A second cool mural on the south wall of the building encourages us to Be Kind. The art is part of #ACallForKindness.

Both murals were created by @KIDWISEMAN and can be viewed on Highland Avenue south of 16th Street.

Check it out!

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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 forgotten Seiko clock in San Diego.

There’s a street clock in downtown San Diego that few seem to know about. It rises at the southwest corner of 7th Avenue and B Street. Perhaps you’ve seen it. Many of the people I’ve questioned over the years haven’t.

The clock is slender and about 20 feet tall, and appears a bit like a sleek, elevated wristwatch–indeed, the word SEIKO appears on the clock’s face.

I did a little research and discovered this “Solar Post Clock” was a gift in 1983 from Seiko to Jacobs & Sons Jewelers, a family business that used to be located on this city corner.

According to an interesting National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors web page, this Seiko street clock is an unusual and novel device that was supposedly the first solar powered clock to be installed in San Diego…. It has a very accurate time only quartz movement and runs on a solar powered battery system that theoretically can run for 90 days without sunshine.

The clock’s hands no longer move. While our San Diego sunshine continues, it seems time eventually ran out for this unique street clock.

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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)!

Monsters, myth and love in National City!

At the corner of Plaza Boulevard and Highland Avenue in National City, you’ll find monsters, myth and love!

These four electrical boxes have been painted this way for many years. Today I enjoyed a long walk through National City before the rain started. As I approached the intersection, I remembered that I hadn’t yet photographed this particular street art!

So here we go!

One box has a cool design that appears to have been inspired by mythology. Another shows Godzilla battling King Ghidorah. Then there’s the abstract elephant, a feline rocket ship and a rainbow-powered cat! And love on roller skates!

As always, if you know more about this very creative artwork, please leave a comment.

Stay tuned for more street art photos from my walk. The next blog post will be amazing!

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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 little known, unmapped park in La Mesa.

There’s a small park in La Mesa that is little known and unmapped, even while hundreds of cars pass it by every day. This park doesn’t appear on Google Maps. There is no record of it on the internet. (Until now!)

According to a plaque near the center of the grassy park, embedded in a boulder among plants and flowers, this beautiful place is called George Felix Memorial Park.

It is located where La Mesa Boulevard meets University Avenue.

The old plaque reads:

THE GEORGE FELIX MEMORIAL PARK

DEDICATED IN MEMORY OF

GEORGE FELIX

1934 – 2002

IN RECOGNITION OF HIS COMMITMENT TO THE CITIZENS OF LA MESA THROUGH HIS TIRELESS EFFORTS FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE COMMUNITY

DEDICATED JULY 17, 2002

Walk through the park and you’ll find this bench:

Plants donated by La Mesa Beautiful, Inc. 1987

A beautiful rose at George Felix Memorial Park in La Mesa.

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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)!

Historic U.S. Route 101 signs debut in South Bay!

Thirteen new Historic California US 101 Route Signs have debuted in San Ysidro and Chula Vista, marking where the legendary highway once ran through the South Bay. The signs recall a time when motorists relied on old Highway 101 to travel from San Diego down to Mexico.

The signs, recently installed by the City of San Diego and Chula Vista, are part of a project undertaken by the South Bay Historical Society, led by Jack Gechter. Seven additional signs have been created for National City. Hopefully those will debut soon, too!

Here is Jack’s Facebook page with a post that describes exactly where these new Historic California US 101 Route Signs have been placed.

I walked along Beyer Boulevard in San Ysidro this morning to capture a few photographs. Had I continued north into Chula Vista, where Beyer turns into Broadway, I would have seen more of these awesome new signs!

Here’s a blog post from last summer where I share more details about the project. You’ll find links to maps depicting where U.S. Route 101 once ran south of downtown San Diego.

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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 amazing Rock House in Normal Heights!

If you’ve driven down Adams Avenue in Normal Heights, just west of Interstate 15, there’s an excellent chance you’ve seen the amazing Rock House. Walking past it recently, I wondered about its history and construction.

The Rock House, with its distinctive cobblestone façade, was built in 1926 in the Mission Revival Style. It was designated a historic landmark almost a century later, in 2016.

This City of San Diego Report to the Historical Resources Board document provides detailed information about the Rock House, including: The cobblestones used to cover the house are native to the region and were most likely found in a nearby canyon. Homes constructed of cobblestone are rare in California and required a skilled craftsman to construct. The stones are loosely laid in courses and give the appearance of quoins at the building’s corners. An interior fireplace is also constructed of cobblestones and is included in this designation.

The way the rounded cobblestones protrude from the symmetrical exterior is very pleasing to my eye. The house appears a bit like a castle carved from a sheer rocky cliff or river bank. Like something fantastic from a fairy tale.

One real estate website that I found includes photographs of the home’s interior. See those here.

Next time you drive down Adams Avenue and spy the unique Rock House, you’ll know a little more about it!

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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)!

New dreams, same Normal Heights corner!

Dreams live in Normal Heights on the corner of Felton Street and Adams Avenue. These dreams are given life by artists.

But dreams are fleeting. They eventually fade; new dreams appear.

I photographed different dreamlike street art on this San Diego corner almost seven years ago. The group of electrical boxes has been decorated for as long as I can remember. Some of the past artwork was nightmarish. See those old photos here.

New, happier dreams have been painted since then.

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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)!

Unexpected nostalgia in downtown Carlsbad!

Walking around downtown Carlsbad, you might stumble upon these fun, unexpected, very cool sights!

Someone obviously loves antiques and nostalgia. Take a look at what I found during my last random walk around Carlsbad!

Would you like to make your own cool discoveries? Go for a 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!

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)!