Tag: trolley station

Antique bottles at Little Italy parking structure.

The parking structure that stands beside the County Center/Little Italy trolley station contains a fascinating exhibit. Just inside the Cedar Street door, a glass display case holds rows of antique bottles. These old bottles were discovered in 2014 during the early stages of the building’s construction.

A nearby sign explains why these bottles are on public display…

Artifact Display Project

The display to your right contains a sample of artifacts recovered during the summer of 2014 as construction began on the Cedar/Kettner Parking Structure. These bottles date from the late 1880s to early 1900s and contained various kinds of milk, carbonated and alcoholic beverages, oils, inks, perfumes and pharmaceuticals.

The area where this building now stands was a densely populated multiethnic neighborhood of predominantly Italian and Portuguese immigrants working in the fishing industry. Residents’ homes were in close proximity to stables, dockyards, boarding houses and second hand shops. In the early 1900s, the area began to develop as a commercial and industrial center supporting the nearby waterfront and railroad.

…

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.

Thank you for sharing!

Big smiles at MTS Free Ride Day!

Passengers on buses and trolleys in San Diego have a lot to smile about today. Because it’s October 2, 2024, otherwise known as MTS Free Ride Day!

Those getting off the Green Line trolley at the Gaslamp Station before the Padres’ big Postseason Game had another reason to smile. Free bottled water for the game! A fun chance to take a photograph looking through the windows of a tiny trolley car . . . right next to a smiling Yu, Tatis and Manny!

Yeah!

…

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.

An exciting Trolley Dance at the Gaslamp station!

The Trolley Dances are back in 2024! The San Diego Dance Theater has been putting on the iconic event for 26 years now, and the dances this weekend are more exciting than ever!

Today and tomorrow, mobile audiences will gather at the Old Town Transit Center and follow tour guides on the trolley’s Green Line to various stations, where dances are performed. Cool idea, right?

I hung out at the Gaslamp trolley station and took some photographs of the first dance. The stage was Gaslamp Square, beneath the big new MTS video board! The three “brick” columns supporting the video board were vital parts of this unusual outdoor stage.

If you’d like to learn more about the 2024 Trolley Dances, check out their website here! More dances tomorrow–Sunday!

…

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.

Copper Line trolley gets ready to open!

A new line of the San Diego Trolley is set to open tomorrow–Sunday, September 29th!

The Copper Line will run from the El Cajon Transit Center to the Santee Town Center trolley station, taking over a short stretch of the present Green Line. The change is being made by MTS to provide better, more reliable service.

I happened to be walking through downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp trolley station this morning when I spied these workers replacing some signs. The old signs on this side of the tracks indicated To Santee. The new signs tell passengers the Green Line will now end at El Cajon!

A big smile appeared for my camera! The San Diego Trolley is number one!

…

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.

Cool new murals at Grossmont trolley station!

Two very cool new murals were recently painted at the Grossmont Transit Center in La Mesa. One mural, titled Float On, faces the trolley tracks, and the other, titled Succession, can be found on the opposite side of the same wall, facing nearby bus stops.

Check out these photos!

Both murals were created by San Diego graffiti artist Maxx Moses. He has already painted colorful art at several other trolley stations along the Orange Line: the Encanto station, 47th Street, Euclid Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue.

These two new murals at the Grossmont Transit Center are the latest additions to the Color the Corridor project of Metropolitan Transit System (MTS).

…

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.

Destination JOY and the art of David Gomez!

Destination JOY was a wonderful, very unique event held today in San Diego. San Diego Trolley riders could enjoy diverse entertainment and activations while on the trolley or at select stations!

The event included music, art, poetry readings and more at the Iris Avenue Transit Center. Inside a dark trailer, a makeshift art gallery presented The Goldie Collection by local artist David Gomez (@the_art_of_controversy).

Check out some photographs of his shining mixed media artwork. As a sign explained: The paintings in this collection tell a story of innocence lost, betrayal, hope and a friendship that spans generations… While the story and images might appear a bit exotic, the themes are universally human. Cool art, right?

David was also painting outdoors for the Destination JOY trolley event. I’ll be blogging about this fun San Diego event in my next post!

…

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.

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)!

The Weather Channel covers flooding in San Diego.

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!

…

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 labyrinth under the San Diego Trolley!

I know some of my readers like to walk winding labyrinths. Here’s a new one that anyone can enjoy–under the elevated tracks of the San Diego Trolley!

The new river park at SDSU Mission Valley has many recreational features, from basketball courts to exercise stations to a large children’s playground. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover this cool labyrinth while I explored the newly opened park!

You can find the beautiful labyrinth by walking west from the Stadium trolley station about a quarter mile (my estimate). Look for a cluster of picnic tables.

A relaxing way to meditate while walking off lunch?

…

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)!

Holly Jolly Trolley coming for the holidays!

Father Christmas and children in a winter wonderland. Happy needlework at the House of Germany.

Something new is coming to San Diego this coming holiday season. The San Diego Trolley will be offering a free family event called Holly Jolly Trolley!

How fun is this?

Embark on a ride through downtown San Diego on the “Holly Jolly Trolley”, our vintage 1001 Trolley decorated in style for the holidays. Picture yourself stepping into a different era as you board our decked-out vintage Trolley and embrace the spirit of the season with family and friends.

This seasonal trolley ride through downtown can be enjoyed on Saturday, December 9, 2023. After every ride, passengers will get free hot cocoa and cookies at the Gaslamp Quarter station, then decorate their own Christmas tree ornaments!

I wonder. Will Santa Claus be there?

If you’d like to experience this free event, make your advance reservation 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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!