Fountain of Two Oceans sculpture in front of Wells Fargo building in downtown San Diego.
Perhaps you recall my blog post from early in the summer, where I was astonished at how the Fountain of Two Oceans sculpture in front of downtown’s Wells Fargo building had suddenly turned white! Well, yesterday I saw it has changed colors once again!
I’m guessing a number of people found the weird, mottled white color unattractive. (Personally, I thought it was ghastly.) Today, the human figures appear bronze again, but much darker than before, without the heavily tarnished surface. In my opinion, this is a big improvement. What do you think?
Before the figures were painted white:
Bronze nudes of Sergio Benvenuti’s Fountain of Two Oceans.
Painted white, possibly to resemble marble:
Fountain of Two Oceans sculpture suddenly becomes white!
Now much darker, matching the fountain’s base:
The reclining human figures today have a dark, new bronze appearance!
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A little diving in San Diego grocery store dumpsters yielded lots of good food.
A unique event took place today. It was extremely unusual, fun and enlightening.
Rob Greenfield is an activist working to persuade grocery stores to donate expired foods to local food banks and hunger relief charities like Feeding America. His effort is called Donate Don’t Dump. To raise awareness, he has created unusual, colorful works of art in various cities, using perfectly good food he’s found while dumpster diving.
As part of my walk today, I took a few pics of Rob and his friends creating a fantastic bit of artwork on the grass in San Diego’s Balboa Park.
He told me that some grocery chains are better than others at donating their expired foods. He explained food retailers have nothing to fear from lawsuits should someone sicken from food poisoning, because of the federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. $165 billion dollars of food is wasted each year, enough to fill two Rose Bowl stadiums every single day, according to Rob!
Once the art had been admired, bystanders were invited to eat! The food was great!
Wasted food includes vegetables, baked goods and expired packaged items.Rob Greenfield checks salvaged food to be assembled into activist art in Balboa Park.Rob Greenfield explains his goals on a bench, with Casa del Prado arches in the background.Laying out the food articles into an elaborate, very colorful design has begun!A crowd watches near the Botanical Building as the artistic food creation nears completion.Rob Greenfield explains that more needs to be done to save perfectly good food.
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Nostalgic advertising signs recall the past in what is now trendy, modern East Village.
I always enjoy walking along J Street, between Park Boulevard and 13th Street, in downtown San Diego’s East Village. This where you’ll find the old Wheel Works Building, which is now a hip multi-media incubator and special events venue. What makes the place most interesting to me is all the cool and creative stuff that surrounds it! Take a look at these pics!
Turning a bit left, gazing over bright red bougainvillea at the new Central Library.Large gears on nearby sidewalk with words Art and Industry.I believe this old structure adjacent to Wheel Works is called the Broom Works Building.Rusted parts of machinery on sidewalk are brimming with potted plants.Front door of Wheel Works Building has lots of cogs and gears around it.I believe 21st Century Bob used to be an antique store here.Various industrial contraptions decorate the outside wall of the old Wheel Works Building. UPDATE! I’ve learned these machines belong to the Bob Sinclair Collection. Bob Sinclair was an entrepreneur and visionary who purchased historic properties in East Village for his business enterprises. He collected many fascinating artifacts. He owned both the Wheel Works and Broom Works buildings.South side of nostalgic old building seen from the San Diego Library.
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Photographer near Seaport Village shows me some great stuff.
Yesterday I took a leisurely walk past Seaport Village. I said hello to a gentleman in the nearby Embarcadero Marina Park North who was displaying some stunning framed photographs, hoping for a donation. I’d never seen him there before.
I’m glad I paused to chat. Ralph Guest is one cool dude. (And a much better photographer than me!) In semi-retirement, he’s just begun to show and sell his photographs. He spends a lot of time out east of San Diego in the desert, especially in and around Slab City, which he described for me. He’s taken many amazing photos of the place, and of the people, who are called Slabbers. The folks out in the desert are a laid-back, independent, unique bunch. He described a place out there named East Jesus, where trash is converted into art and power is supplied entirely by solar power. According to Wikipedia, “The inhabitants of East Jesus…provide a refuge for artists, musicians, survivalists, writers, scientists, and laymen. They are dedicated to providing a working model of an improbable improvised community…” Sounds to me like a rather interesting place! Ralph has photos and videos that can be checked out via links on his website.
It’s great to meet new people!
Ralph Guest is a super cool and interesting guy!
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Faded castle on side of San Diego’s old Hotel Churchill.
My walks through downtown often take me past a large, dilapidated building with a giant faded castle painted on its side. This now sad sight was once the splendid Hotel Churchill, the destination of tourists visiting San Diego a hundred years ago.
The Hotel Churchill was built to accommodate visitors to the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in nearby Balboa Park. The Arthurian theme made visitors feel like they’d entered Camelot, much like the Excalibur Hotel does in Las Vegas today. The building has been abandoned for many years. I remember watching the San Diego Fire Department using the tall edifice for practice, breaking through one window from the top of a firetruck’s ladder.
In 2003 the city designated the Hotel Churchill a local historical landmark. There are plans afoot to restore the old building and convert it into affordable housing.
Touristy hotel was built for 1915 Panama California Exposition.Old door with fanciful drawbridge and portcullis is locked shut.Looking up a rusty old fire escape.Hotel Churchill, a local historical landmark, awaits restoration.
Here’s a pic I took in February 2015. The old hotel has been fenced off, awaiting restoration…
Hotel Churchill seen in early morning from across C Street.
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Bronze nudes of Sergio Benvenuti’s Fountain of Two Oceans.
This blog post is long overdue. The interesting pics you see here have been sitting idle on my computer’s hard drive, accidentally forgotten.
I was astonished several months ago to see that the Fountain of Two Oceans sculpture in front of downtown’s Wells Fargo building had completely changed. For the last 30 years, the two bronze figures reclining in the fountain’s basin have looked exactly like…bronze. Then–poof–one day I noticed they’d turned white!
I’m not sure if that’s white paint, or what exactly. It seems the intent was to make the figures stand out more, and appear like marble. To my eye, however, the white coating makes them garish, black-eyed, and almost ghostly. At a distance they look bland and formless.
According to an internet search, The Fountain of Two Oceans was placed in downtown San Diego in 1984. The art, now a familiar San Diego landmark, was created by Sergio Benvenuti, a sculptor from Florence, Italy.
Fountain of Two Oceans sculpture is now white.White coating makes bronze sculpture seem ghostly.
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Clock tower at 12th and Imperial reflected in windows.
I got some unusual photos of the clock tower that stands next to the transit center at the 12th and Imperial trolley station downtown. The clock is one cool San Diego sight that can be seen from many points in the city.
Looking up the interior of the clock tower structure.
You can stand inside the base of the tower and look outward!
Clock tower above musician on Harbor Drive bridge.
I snapped these photos almost directly into the sun. I assumed they’d turn out lousy. But the effect is actually pretty cool! To me it looks like white sails winging through a brightly shining heavenly space!
UFO spotted above Rotary clock at Liberty Station.
I was going through some of the photos I took while walking along the boat channel at Liberty Station. This elegant clock donated by the Rotary Club has always struck me as odd–it stands for no reason on what is essentially a nature path among palm trees.
But something else seemed a bit weird in this pic. There seemed to be a small dot directly above the clock. I magnified the image and discovered a UFO! Looks to me like a distant flying saucer!
I thought the strange dot might be an aircraft taking off from nearby Lindbergh Field, but it’s way too small and doesn’t look like any airplane. What is it???
Cool San Diego Sights! 