TIJUANA, MEXICO: XOLITO & AMIGOS

IMG_2504
“Xolito” by Mauro Carrera

IMG_2507IMG_2497IMG_2508IMG_2513IMG_2511IMG_2534IMG_2533IMG_2532

IMG_2530
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Cathedral. Built in 1909 as a parish church. Designated as a cathedral in 1964.

IMG_2529IMG_2526IMG_2525IMG_2522IMG_2514

IMG_2517
Arco de Tijuana (Arch of Tijuana) is the symbol of Tijuana, located at the beginning of Avenida Revolution. Built in 2000.

IMG_2527IMG_2535IMG_2537IMG_2541IMG_2542IMG_2544IMG_2546IMG_2770IMG_2768IMG_2736IMG_2738IMG_2753IMG_2751IMG_2732IMG_2730IMG_2716IMG_2717IMG_2727IMG_2714IMG_2729IMG_2711IMG_2694IMG_2715IMG_2692IMG_2677IMG_2608IMG_2609IMG_2590IMG_2594IMG_2587IMG_2586IMG_2583IMG_2549IMG_2595IMG_2548IMG_2588IMG_2547

5oct19. Tijuana, Mexico.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: 浪人

“The way you write ronin is with the character for wave and the character for person, which is pretty much how I feel, like a little wave person, floating around on the stormy sea of life.”
Ruth OzekiIMG_2871IMG_2872IMG_2875IMG_2881IMG_2879IMG_2883IMG_2882

9oct19. San Diego (Sea Port,) California

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: HÖPE

IMG_1850
“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering ‘it will be happier’…”
Alfred Lord Tennyson
IMG_1869
Hang in there, the train’s comin’

IMG_2205

IMG_2187
Christo Rey. Est. 1938

IMG_2226

IMG_2225
On Children
by Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet 
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
for they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you,
for life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
IMG_2223
“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” Frank Lloyd Wright
IMG_2356
Old Fire Station 6. Est. 1915. Now the Firehouse Museum. Located in Little Italy.

IMG_2188IMG_1849IMG_1858

IMG_2397
Tin Roof Bar housed in the historic Carriage Works building, est. 1890.

IMG_2398

IMG_2421
Scripps Building, est. 1907.

IMG_2422IMG_2399

IMG_2429
Built in 1914, a designated historic site. Now houses 72 homeless veterans, at-risk youth, and ex-cons. 
IMG_2363
Built in 1913 and houses the Gaslamp Plaza Suites.

IMG_2364IMG_2366

IMG_2360
Old Snyder Building, est. 1923.

IMG_2365

29sep19. San Diego, CA

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: LÖST

DCIM107GOPROGOPR3349.

DCIM107GOPROGOPR3350.
Artists Carly Ealey and Christopher Konecki

DCIM107GOPROGOPR3351.DCIM107GOPROGOPR3352.IMG_1828

DCIM107GOPROGOPR3353.
Bay View Hotel, a.k.a. The Palms Hotel, est. 1869, (originally 25-rooms, 2-stories)

DCIM107GOPROGOPR3355.

sdut-bay-view-hotel-1889-after-it-20160824
Bay View Hotel, 1889, after it had been expanded to 150 rooms and given a Victorian makeover. Note the two towers that were lost in a fire in the early 1900s. — Shapery Enterprises

DCIM107GOPROGOPR3396.

DCIM107GOPROGOPR3390.
Est. 1888
DCIM107GOPROGOPR3389.
This might be my favorite house in San Diego. I’ve featured it in a previous blog post. Can’t stop taking pictures of it. Yellow for bright and happy, flowers for promise, something Norman Rockwellian…

DCIM107GOPROGOPR3388.IMG_1890

IMG_1833
Plastic Kills

IMG_1840IMG_1888IMG_1887IMG_1883IMG_1870IMG_1879IMG_1877IMG_1878IMG_1873IMG_1874IMG_1871IMG_1872IMG_1884IMG_1886

IMG_1808
Artists Gloria Muriel, Bunny Kitty, Persue

IMG_1805IMG_1802DCIM107GOPROGOPR3370.DCIM107GOPROGOPR3369.IMG_1807IMG_1806

sep2019. San Diego, CA.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: BARRIO LOGAN

Barrio Logan, in southeast San Diego, is referred to as el ombligo or navel, the center of the world. It’s the home of Chicano Park, which was the the site of a 1970s demonstration, land takeover, and cultural renaissance for the Mexican-American community. It was designated an official historic site by the San Diego Historical Site Board in 1980 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

n 1871, Congressman John A. Logan wrote legislation to provide federal land grants and subsidies for a transcontinental railroad ending in San Diego. A street laid in 1881 was named Logan Heights after him, and the name came to be applied to the general area. Plans for a railroad never successfully materialized, and the area was predominantly residential by the turn of the century, becoming one of San Diego’s oldest communities. Its transformation began in 1910 with the influx of refugees from the Mexican Revolution, who soon became the majority ethnic group. For this reason, the southern part of the original Logan Heights neighborhood came to be called Barrio Logan. (Barrio is a Spanish word for “neighborhood”.) ~ wikiFFED0F22-E5DF-41CB-BF04-CD9216F945D9B0C99ED4-87A5-4E94-9B4F-3D642AFC4981BE34DA93-CA1C-4D22-A9E5-5B25D9EDEC2D

IMG_1685
Est. 1984
IMG_1708
Ode to Prince. Artist unknown.

IMG_1699IMG_1698IMG_1701IMG_1700

21sep19. San Diego, CA

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: TREES INDEED HAVE HEARTS

IMG_1892
The Spreckels Theater Building was built in 1912. It was constructed to commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal. The number of seats was chosen to correspond with the Panama-California Exposition year, 1915. John D. Spreckels was a philanthropist and sugar heir.The stage was one of the largest stages ever constructed. Originally, it was only going to host live theater performances, but in 1931 it was converted to allow motion pictures. (from reading wiki)

DCIM107GOPROGOPR3381.
Old City Hall, built in 1874. Located at 5th and G Street. “This Florentine Italianate building features ornate 16-foot ceilings, 12- foot windows framed with brick arches, antique columns, and a wrought-iron cage elevator. Two floors were added in 1887 to accomodate the San Diego Public Library. In 1900, the entire city government moved in, with the Police Department on the first floor and the Council Chambers on the fourth. In 1955 stucco was applied to “modernize’ the exterior.” – https://gaslampfoundation.org/virtual-tour/old-city-hall-1874/
DCIM107GOPROGOPR3379.
1891
702 Fifth Avenue
Architect: John Stannard
Architectural Style: Mixed
The site of the current Cole Building, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and “G” Street, is one of the earliest developed properties in the area. Albert A. Cole, an early San Diego capitalist, purchased the property from Alonzo Horton in December of 1868 for $900 in gold coin.                                 The current occupant on the street level of the property is a popular sports bar, restaurant and nightclub named Whiskey Girl. According to the manager, Jerry Lopez, this lively and popular venue also appears to be haunted, as several very unusual occurrences have happened in his office late at night after closing. Additionally, before Whiskey Girl took over the venue, a manager of the previous business, La Strada, quit her job after claiming to have seen a fully manifested apparition.  https://gaslampfoundation.org/cole-block-building/
DCIM107GOPROGOPR3382.
The Golden West Hotel ~ This 1913 building is also known as the “Workingman’s Hotel.” It was built by John C. Spreckels to house work crews for the Southern Pacific Railroad, while rail lines were being laid to connect Arizona with Southern California. The Golden West Hotel’s designer was John Lloyd Wright, son of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. At this time, it serves low-income patrons. – https://sandiegodowntownnews.com/the-golden-west-hotel/
DCIM107GOPROGOPR3298.
“Trees indeed have hearts.”
Henry David Thoreau
IMG_1934
Ralphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 by George Albert Ralphs and Walter Benjamin Ralphs. The original store was located at Sixth and Spring Streets in Los Angeles, California. They’re popular here in San Diego. 

DCIM107GOPROGOPR3380.IMG_1675IMG_1673IMG_1669DCIM107GOPROGOPR3383.

The classic “Don’t Believe the Hype!” mural by Os Gemeos is STILL GOING STRONG after all of these years! Located on G street heading towards 1st.

DCIM107GOPROGOPR3384.

sep2019. San Diego, California.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM: SMURF LOVE & “STARBUCKS ENTERPRISE”

IMG_1385
“The Smurfs” is a Belgian comic franchise by artist Peyo. This is street artist Space Invader’s homage to the comic in the heart of Brussels…

IMG_1384IMG_1382

IMG_1376
Fire

IMG_1359

IMG_1374
Remnants of the first city walls from the 12th or 13th century…
IMG_1358
from 1695, having been rebuilt…

IMG_1354

IMG_1350
Knock, knock, knocking on Heaven’s door…

IMG_1352IMG_1353IMG_1347

IMG_1348
Royal Theatre of the Mint. Built in 1700. Renovated three times since,  in 1856 , 1985 , and 2017.

IMG_1345

IMG_1343
The coolest looking Starbucks I’ve ever seen.

IMG_1438IMG_1483IMG_1431

IMG_1436
Starbucks Enterprise

IMG_1434

23aug19. Brussels, Belgium.