Tag: walking

Stained glass panels beautify Paseo Santa Fe!

Take a look at this beautiful new public artwork in Vista, California!

Colorful stained glass mural panels, by artist Buddy Smith, are being installed along S. Santa Fe Avenue, between Vista Village Drive and Civic Center Drive. They’re part of the City of Vista’s ongoing Paseo Santa Fe green street improvement project.

A lot of public art has already been added to one section of S. Santa Fe Avenue, including many of these stained glass panels in new information kiosks. A once blighted part of downtown Vista is being revitalized!

I took photos of some finished panels as I walked around today. I saw depictions of Vista’s flowers, birds, natural landscapes, and historic places!

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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 Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Transit mural shows our common humanity.

Years ago a pair of murals were painted under Friars Road, one on either side of Mission Center Road. Both show scenes related to San Diego’s public transit system.

On one mural there is a bus; on the other, a trolley. People stand near a bus stop, or a trolley station, or walk along, or simply engage in busy urban living.

I looked at the time-stained murals this morning and realized they emphasize our common humanity.

Diverse figures appear as simple silhouettes. As you pass through the darkness under the Friars Road bridge, you see these outlines of ordinary citizens to your right and to your left. All moving through the city together.

I’ve tried to ascertain who painted these murals–they are signed Duff 1997. If anyone knows more about them, please leave a comment!

Camera in hand, I walked beside the murals and took photographs of the mysterious silhouettes.

We can’t see the faces. But we can absolutely see the humanity.

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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 Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

May love prevail.

This morning, as I walked through downtown to catch the trolley, I observed something near my feet.

I saw litter. I saw a raised fist. I saw the large words: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE.

May the latter message–the one that promotes love–prevail.

The sun rises again over San Diego.

The reliable sun rose again this morning. It cast its warm light over San Diego.

The sun promised to eventually climb above downtown skyscrapers.

Breathing in fresh air, moving between long shadows and seeping sunlight, I aimed my camera eastward and took a few photographs as I walked along the Embarcadero.

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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 Twitter!

After the riot, the bright green of Spring.

This morning, during my walk to work, I witnessed a strange contrast.

I began by walking through downtown, heading down the length of the Gaslamp Quarter. I saw a few broken windows, many boarded up businesses, much graffiti.

After a crowd of thousands gathered downtown on Sunday, peacefully protesting the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police officers, a few hundred rioters brought chaos to our city after dark. These people moved at random down streets and around corners, vandalizing businesses and looting. A peaceful and quite powerful protest had been hijacked by a relative few and made ugly.

Later this morning, as I neared work, I walked a short distance along the San Diego River. The sun was up, illuminating the bright green growths of Spring.

A thought-provoking morning experience.

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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 Twitter!

A few amusing words in the city.

On a Starbucks chalk board: When you feel Depresso... Have a little Espresso!
On a Starbucks chalk board: When you feel Depresso… Have a little Espresso!

During my walks around the city, I’m always searching for anything unusual.

If you’d like to begin your Friday with a smile, here are a few amusing words and phrases that I recently sighted.

Written on plywood by the sidewalk: Help. Lost! Need help finding my mind. Before it's too late.
Written on plywood by the sidewalk: Help. Lost! Need help finding my mind. Before it’s too late.
In a San Diego Reader newspaper box: Reverse Zonies. (San Diegans would understand this.)
In a San Diego Reader newspaper box: Reverse Zonies. (Most San Diegans can deduce what this means.)
In a window: Nerdy Barber.
In a window: Nerdy Barber.
On a t-shirt in a shop window: Dude, did you eat the last unicorn? No.
On a t-shirt in a shop window: Dude, did you eat the last unicorn? No.

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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 Twitter!

A rambling Sunday walk along Morena Boulevard.

Graphic on wall of Coronado Brewing Company San Diego Tasting Room. WISH YOU WERE beer.
Graphic on wall of Coronado Brewing Company San Diego Tasting Room. WISH YOU WERE beer.

Today I took a rambling walk along Morena Boulevard. These photos start around Knoxville Street in Bay Park and proceed south to the area where Morena and West Morena split.

You might notice few people in the photos. It’s Sunday and many businesses are closed. And of course there’s the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, keeping many at home.

If you ever drive through the Morena District, you’ll probably recognize some of these sights. Many of the old shops and small businesses along the street aren’t much to look at, but there are a few that stand out!

(I took this walk in order to photograph two really great murals in particular. I’ll post those pics shortly. I also wanted to check on the status of a mysterious, possibly historical wooden tombstone by a parking lot that I’d seen years ago. The mystery has deepened, as you’ll see in another upcoming blog post!)

Now let’s walk…

Sculpture of lady tending her garden in front of the Armstrong Garden Center.
Sculpture of lady tending her garden in front of the Armstrong Garden Center.
Another look at the gardening sculpture.
Another look at the gardening sculpture.
Beautiful bloom between the Knoxville Street sidewalk and Armstrong Garden Center.
Beautiful bloom between the Knoxville Street sidewalk and Armstrong Garden Center.
The Cordova Bar. This must be the place!
The Cordova Bar. This must be the place!
Mermaid door handles at the entrance to The Cordova Bar.
Mermaid door handles at the entrance to The Cordova Bar.
Sign on fence near U.S. Karate Academy encourages people to Be Your Best!
Sign on fence near U.S. Karate Academy encourages people to Be Your Best!
Banner on lamp post invites people to Shop for Home Decor in the Morena District.
Banner on lamp post invites people to Shop for Home Decor in the Morena District.
Cool motorcycle graphic on wall of Sidecar Bar.
Cool motorcycle graphic on wall of Sidecar Bar.
There's a T. Rex on the roof of Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital! It must've escaped!
There’s a T. Rex on the roof of Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital! It must’ve escaped!
This cool graphic of a van with a surfboard is on the side of Bird Rock Coffee Roasters.
This cool graphic of a van with a surfboard is on the side of Bird Rock Coffee Roasters.
Clouds and palm trees reflected on angles of window glass.
Clouds and palm trees reflected on angles of window glass.
Now I'm walking along near the Valero gas station.
Now I’m walking along near the Valero gas station.
A colorful mural near the front door of Nico's Mexican Food.
A colorful mural near the front door of Nico’s Mexican Food.
Super cool surfboards hang out beside the front door of Bird's Surf Shed.
Super cool surfboards hang out beside the front door of Bird’s Surf Shed.
Mural at Bird's Surf Shed was painted by Skye Walker in 2014.
Mural at Bird’s Surf Shed was painted by Skye Walker in 2014. Tubular, dude!
Vintage automobile parked alone in corner of a parking lot.
Vintage automobile parked alone in corner of a parking lot.
Looks like a farm around the entrance to Bull's Smokin' BBQ. Fun sculptures greet passersby on West Morena Boulevard.
Looks like a ranch around the entrance to Bull’s Smokin’ BBQ. Fun animal sculptures greet passersby on West Morena Boulevard.
Two bulls and one pig.
Walking beside two bulls and one pig.

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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 Twitter!

A thousand abstract paintings on one wall.

This morning I had to hurry through downtown to catch the trolley for work. Given more time, I could’ve taken a thousand photographs of abstract paintings on one fantastic construction site wall.

(Okay, there are fragments of wood and old peeling paper. So you might say some of these “works” are mixed media collage.)

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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 Twitter!

More art discovered while walking about La Jolla!

A beautiful, serene face painted on a utility box on Prospect Street in La Jolla.
A beautiful, serene face painted on a utility box on Prospect Street in La Jolla.

Here are additional art discoveries I made today while walking about the Village of La Jolla–the central, downtown part of La Jolla. I’ve enjoyed other meandering “street art walks” in the past, and you can see those photos here and here.

During this most recent walk, I photographed a few more of the ever-changing Murals of La Jolla, plus some fun trashcan art I hadn’t noticed in years past. Plus a few other cool finds!

Enjoy!

Two of five colorful sculptures, on a patio in front of 1261 Prospect Street.
Two of five colorful abstract sculptures, on the patio in front of 1261 Prospect Street.
A third fun sculpture!
A third fun sculpture!
A flowery head in the window at Robina Apparel and Accessories.
A flowery head in the window at Robina Apparel and Accessories.
A cute dog peers from trashcan street art in La Jolla.
A cute dog peers from a trashcan in La Jolla.
Another trashcan down the sidewalk has been painted with flowers.
Another trashcan down the sidewalk has been painted with flowers.
Once Upon a Time in the West, 2017, by artist Kota Ezawa. Louis Kahn, master architect who designed La Jolla's Salk Institute, is thinking.
Once Upon a Time in the West, 2017, by artist Kota Ezawa. Louis Kahn, master architect who designed La Jolla’s Salk Institute, appears to be deep in thought.
An ornate bench in the courtyard outside the rotunda of the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library. A small plaque on the bench reads In Memory of Genevieve Ferguson from Friends.
An ornate bench in the courtyard outside the rotunda of the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library. A small plaque on the bench reads In Memory of Genevieve Ferguson from Friends.
One scene on the metal bench seems to depict a villager working in a field.
One scene on the metal bench seems to depict a villager working in a field.
More trashcan street art. This painting is wildly colorful.
More trashcan street art. This abstract painting is wildly colorful.
I walked down the outdoor corridor of the Arcade Building and found two pieces of beautiful metalwork. This one is alive with turtles and a fish.
I walked down the outdoor corridor of the Arcade Building and found two pieces of beautiful metalwork. This one is alive with turtles and a fish.
One of three similarly painted electrical boxes in a row. An artist's folksy rendition of La Jolla shops.
One of three similarly painted electrical boxes which stand in a row on a sidewalk. An artist’s folksy rendition of Village of La Jolla shops.
Stylish, jazzy posters on a building advertise the Manhattan of La Jolla restaurant.
Stylish, jazzy posters on a building invite guests to enter the Manhattan of La Jolla restaurant.
Is All That it Proves, 2015, by artist Marcos Ramirez ERRE. Thomas Paine's famous quote as an eye exam chart, asserting opinion is simply opinion.
Is All That it Proves, 2015, by artist Marcos Ramirez ERRE. Thomas Paine’s famous quote as an eye exam chart, reminding us opinion is simply opinion.
Small mural on the outdoor patio of Bernini's Bistro shows pizzas being prepared.
Small mural on the outdoor patio of Bernini’s Bistro shows pizzas being prepared.
Close-up photo of one of the Murals of La Jolla. Bill 2, 2019, by artist Alex Katz. A celebration of modern dance choreographer Bill T. Jones.
Close-up photo of one of the Murals of La Jolla. Bill 2, 2019, by artist Alex Katz. The subtle facial expressions of modern dance choreographer Bill T. Jones.

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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 Twitter!

Complex people in a complex city.

The immense complexity of the city and its people is evident in every one of my walks.

A city is like a small slice of the larger human world. Many individuals heading in different directions, or forward together…talking or silently thinking…interacting in the places where they work, rest, shop, live. You see the complexity in the streets signs and the architecture, in restaurant menus and colorful store windows. You see it on the active sidewalks, in styles of dress, facial expressions, postures of ambition or resignation. A city and its people are too complicated to ever adequately describe.

Much of the complexity rises from the ongoing tangle of human desires, predilections, emotions. One thing that seems constant in the world is human yearning. And those yearnings often create tension.

Today I walked around downtown. I came upon a political rally at the County Administration Building. Roused citizens, desiring liberty, were chafing at the slow reopening of society during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. They expressed their reasons. They yearned for individual liberty. But others in our society yearn for collective security. It’s that never-ending political conflict.

As I continued my walk, I turned my eyes upward to see the mysterious, ordered windows where different people work and live. And I looked at the intersecting streets and sidewalks, where separate lives move forward.

All that human complexity makes a city what it is. It also makes every single walk every single day fascinating. And thought-provoking.

Even during the current COVID-19 pandemic, when the city seems more lonely and troubled than usual.

He was simply resting in the sun.

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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 Twitter!

If the above images feel almost like a poem, it was my intention. To read a few philosophical stories I’ve written, click Short Stories by Richard.