Tag: transportation

Oceanside plaque for transportation visionary.

Byron Nordberg — In recognition of his many contributions to the development of passenger rail in Oceanside, San Diego County, California and the United States.

A plaque honoring Byron Nordberg is embedded in a boulder near the train platforms at the Oceanside Transit Center. It recognizes a visionary mover and shaker, who is largely responsible for the creation of this regional transportation center, where Amtrak, Metrolink, the Coaster, the Sprinter, plus Greyhound buses and several North County Transit District bus routes conveniently come together.

Here’s a great article that concerns the work of Byron Nordberg. And here’s a press release regarding his death in 1997. If you ride the San Diego trolley or the aforementioned trains, you might appreciate his early advocacy of rail in Southern California, as well as innovations that allow passengers to easily board trains without stepping up, safe tunnels and overpasses under and over tracks, and double tracks at stations that prevent unnecessary delays in the system.

From his childhood he was a lover a trains. I am, too. So I thank him.

…

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)!

Swiss clock tower rises above San Diego!

This might surprise you, but the high clock tower that rises above San Diego’s downtown 12th and Imperial Transit Center came from Switzerland!

A detailed explanation of the 233 feet high tower clock and its history can be found here. This is part of the description:

The Swiss Bank corporation which worked with the County of San Diego and the Metropolitan Transit Development Board, arranged for the donation of the clock from “Ebel Watchmaker Co.” of Switzerland… The tower was built in 1988 and the clock installed later that year. The clock has four dials, with red Roman numerals, a white face and 6-foot long red hands. The mechanism was shipped unassembled to San Diego from Switzerland in a jumbo jet. It took 12 days for Swiss technicians to put the system together…

There’s no elevator in the tower, so assembly of the clock was a difficult task that required manually carrying boxes full of mechanism parts up the equivalent of fifteen stories!

I believe the impressive clock still operates. The clock was installed with electronic speakers for chimes–but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard them.

…

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)!

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!

…

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.

…

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)!

Antique wagons beautifully restored in Escondido.

A variety of antique wagons that have survived for over a century are being restored in Escondido!

During my walk late this morning through Grape Day Park, I noticed several gentlemen hovering about the wagonworks and wheelwright shop, which is located on the Escondido History Center’s Heritage Walk. They were working with the restored undercarriage of an old delivery wagon, and painting its wagon wheels.

I was informed that, over the years, many different carts and wagons have been restored by skilled volunteers at the Bandy Blacksmith & Wheelwright Shop. Brought in from many places, these horse-drawn vehicles from the Old West have been saved from the decay caused by time and weather.

A friendly gentleman showed me photos of wagons that have been restored. He then opened the nearby Penner Barn to show me the rebuilt body of the old delivery wagon, that will be fitted with the red undercarriage and wheels.

A year ago I peered into the working blacksmith and wheelwright shop and posted that blog here.

As I regarded the interesting operations around me, a pick-up truck approached, hauling an antique spring wagon! The spring wagon will become a new outdoor exhibit, to be enjoyed by visitors exploring the Heritage Walk.

…

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!

Get a special San Diego Padres transit card!

Would you like to get a special, limited edition PRONTO transit card that celebrates the San Diego Padres? I got one today!

Next time you go to Petco Park for a home baseball game, look for an MTS canopy at the Gaslamp Quarter trolley station and grab a free Padres PRONTO card!

I asked what someone should do if they want one of these special cards but don’t find an opportunity to grab one as I did. The friendly MTS community engagement person suggested you should visit the MTS Transit Store at 12th and Imperial, or call 619-595-5636.

Very cool! Go Pads!

…

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!

Subway stops at San Diego Museum of Art!

The subway has a new stop at the San Diego Museum of Art!

Until December 3, 2023, visitors walking through two San Diego Museum of Art galleries will experience the inside of a gritty subway. The New York subway in 1980, that is. Diverse passengers in close contact pass through dimly lit tunnels together in a photographic exhibition that can be interpreted as a metaphor for our life in this world.

The exhibition is titled Bruce Davidson: Subway. The artist, Bruce, spent a full year photographing people on the New York subway. He noted that close contact between strangers could result in surprisingly beautiful moments. Strangers find that they are alike in many ways, sympathize, laugh, learn about each other. Of course, these moments rely on strangers actually talking to one another.

Today, passengers staring at phones safely avoid eye contact on public transit. You can observe this on the San Diego Trolley. By tilting heads downward, passengers easily escape real world uncertainties and personal vulnerability. Does living inside a little screen make people more or less human?

Make Galleries 14/15 your destination at the San Diego Museum of Art. Enter these two free galleries from Panama 66 in the sculpture court. Look for the Subway sign!

Five years ago I wrote a short story titled One Thousand Likes. It’s about phone addiction and social isolation on a crowded light rail train. Unfortunately, the story resonates more than ever. You can read it and other thought-provoking stories by clicking here.

…

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!

Is this an idealistic, utopian home?

A unique trailer towed by bicycle is now on display near the front counter of the San Diego Central Library. It’s called Migration Home 1 (MH-1).

According to its description, this tiny “mobile home” that doubles as a rowboat was crafted with repurposed materials, and designed with a mixture of realism and idealism.

The artist, Aaron Glasson, seems to envision a bleak future where humans can’t rely on technological progress to solve problems, but must live a more primitive existence.

Can a vehicle such as this carry an idealist toward utopia?

The statement concludes: By believing in the value of solution-based thinking, artmaking, and utopian idealism we can help guide the future in a more positive direction.

…

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!

Balboa Park’s forgotten Roads of the Pacific.

Wander a short distance down the hill west of the San Diego Air and Space Museum and you’ll stumble upon what appears to be a weedy, forgotten roadway paved with flat stones. What you’ve found is a bit of Balboa Park’s history.

These photographs show remains of the Roads of the Pacific, an attraction visitors could enjoy during the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition.

The looping Roads of the Pacific ran beside the Ford Building, which is now home to the Air and Space Museum. Exposition visitors could ride the latest Ford automobiles on a short curving course and experience different types of road surfaces.

I found some old photographs showing the Roads of the Pacific. Check out this page of the San Diego Air and Space Museum’s website.

The page also provides a description, including: the circuit roads were more than half a mile long and featured 14 different segments demonstrating everything from the Santa Fe Trail with natural packed soil, to the Old Spanish Road with cobblestones, clay, and gravel. Designed by Walter Dorwin Teague, each section was approximately 196 feet long and 12 feet wide. To enhance this experience, the roadways were planted with native trees and plants from the Pacific nations…

…it was reported…that more than 480,000 people rode the Roads of the Pacific…

Today, almost a century later, this is a sample of what remains:

…

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!

Antique gas pumps at Automotive Museum!

Unique, classic and amazing one-of-a-kind vehicles dazzle visitors to the San Diego Automotive Museum. Lovers of nostalgia and the history of invention have can have a field day by simply wandering about the museum floor.

During my last visit to the Automotive Museum I noticed a bunch of old antique gas pumps displayed here and there.

Perhaps you’re old enough to remember the days when pumps similar to these were the norm. And a friendly gas station worker would pump your fuel and wash your windows with a smile. And you might receive some trading stamps, too.

I vaguely remember. But I’m getting old and that was long ago.

…

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!