The Hotel Del Coronado

The Hotel Del Coronado. 1500 Orange Avenue, Coronado. 

Such a picturesque resort, from the red turrets to the dark wooden lobby. Miles of beaches with wispy strands of grass and Navy freighters rolling past in the Ocean only add to the grandness of this destination resort. A beautiful Victorian building, “The Del” is plagued by tourists and expensive shops. Which of course was the design of the founders, Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story, who dreamed of the grandest hotel in the West. If the history of politicians and celebrities doesn’t entice you to visit, then come for the Monet in the lobby, or the salt water taffy in a sweet shop downstairs.

San Diego City and County Administration Building

San Diego City and County Administration Building. 1600 Pacific Highway.

What can I say? I like old buildings with fountains in front. The San Diego City and County Administration Building, now called the Administration Center was built at the end of 1938 by 4 architects in an art deco style (typical of a city to chose a committee for the design). The building overlooks the San Diego Bay with the words “The Noblest Motive is The Public Good” carved above the entrance. In front is a fountain with a statue sculpted by local Donal Hord from a 22-ton granite block, in memory of Helen M. Towle, also in the art deco style. The great patron of the arts is the "Guardian of Water", standing with a pot of water on a pedestal with mosaics of flowing fountains in a bountiful land. There is a pretty good documentary that can be found here: www.sdcounty.ca.gov/cob/cacs/guardian_of_water.html

What I didn’t get to see were all the landscapes of Charles Reiffel (1868-1948). The building houses a number of works by this great artist in the Plein Air style, which to me is pretty much like French Impressionism, but with a California landscape and colors. According to the city’s website, these paintings were restored to their original glory, but a citizen can only enter if they have business with the administration. I will find a way!

Urban Trees Exhibition

Urban Trees. Harbor Drive Promenade.

I think it’s so great when cities commission art to adorn their streets. It brings life and culture to an otherwise gray environment. In this case, the Port of San Diego (www.portofsandiego.org/public-art/) commissioned a unique take on a tree. A series of 30 sculptures in planters are exhibited from Hawthorne Street to the Seaport Village. Outdoor gallery displays such as this are fantastic in a place where the weather is so fine. 


Apparently, this is the sixth installment of such an exhibition, and previous artworks can be found in homes and corporate offices. Not only does the Port of San Diego's site have a map of the location of all the artworks, but it also has the price of each sculpture for purchase. I suppose in 10 years, if the sequels continue, San Diego will become the "city of trees." 

Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Park

Cancer Survivor's Park. Harbor Island.

I’ve never come across a Cancer Survivor’s Park before, but according to the Bloch website, blochcancer.org, they are all over the nation. The parks were created to celebrate the will to live, and are meant as “a peaceful, forgiving sanctuary... in a sea of stress.” This monument to the living  on Harbor Island is entitled, “Cancer...There’s Hope” and is sculpted by Victor Salmones. It depicts a patient and her family entering the maze of cancer on one side, and then a joyful survivor on the other side after her successful treatment. It was a beautiful sculpture, and I stopped to take a picture. 

Maritime Museum of San Diego - San Salvador

Keel Laying of the San Salvador. Spanish Landing Park.

On my way to Coronado, I saw a lot of people and news vans on Harbor Island. I had come across the ceremony for the keel laying of the San Salvador, which was the ship that founded San Diego in 1542. I can't escape history here, and with the mayor and other city officials giving speeches and toasting with champagne, I don't know why I would want to. The mayor added that it would be “a proud addition to the Maritime Museum” which is why I have included this ceremony in my gallery listings, but I will also visit the Maritime Museum (www.sdmaritime.org) in its entirety for a future posting. 

Among the speakers were Kumeyaay tribal leaders, which made me feel like I was in Seattle for a bit. During the Kumeyaay Birdsinger’s Blessing, the name of Highway 8 suddenly made sense to me, the Kumeyaay Highway, running right in the middle of the Kumeyaay Nation territory. The Kumeyaay were included because the San Salvador was the first ship which brought Europeans and West Coast Native Americans into contact. There will also be a small Kumeyaay village built (another tourist destination). 

I’m excited to see the progress of the ship being built, especially since it is located on a great biking trail that runs along the waterfront. It will be a full-scale, working replica of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s flagship. 

Martha Pace Swift Gallery

Martha Pace Swift Gallery. 2820 Roosevelt Road.

I’ll admit, I had a hard time finding this gallery. It is located at the former Naval Training Center in Point Loma, called the NTC Promenade (www.ntcpromenade.org), above the ARTS (a children’s activity center). Less of a gallery, and more of art displayed in a hallway surrounded by offices, the Martha Pace Swift Gallery was hosting an exhibition entitled The Party Whites and Other Works by Larry Caveney. His works are abstract sculptural forms, composed of fabric and paper. My impression in person was that the works were all white, and the white walls detracted from the interesting forms, but looking at the photo above, I see more of the subtler hues. Still, the white walls made the flesh-colored squares stand out, which are pasted in a sort of collage on many of the works. I even found a couple erotic bits, which was very unexpected. The discovery heighten my feelings of dirtiness that the thick works gave me, and made it feel like the morning after a Pabst beer party. 

The exhibition was described as “a continuing process of aesthetic inquiries,” meaning that the artist continually added layers of fabric and paper to the works (since 1998), a technique which provided the most interest to me. That considerable effort makes any of the pieces a bargain for the prices listed.

ARTS - A Reason To Survive

ARTS. 2820 Roosevelt Road.

I was drawn into the building by a van that had the letters v-a-n-g-o painted on the side with colorful pictures - it was a word-play on the artist van gogh and the fact that a van goes. Clever and cute, I had to see what was inside, after all I was on an art mission. It turns out I had stumbled upon ARTS (www.areasontosurvive.org) A non-profit center dedicated to teaching art to children to transform their lives. It was a great and positive place that had a couple musicians jamming out, painters in a studio, and a gallery (among other things). 

The gallery contained a variety of media, including cloth “dolls”, with quotes because not all had arms or legs, or human heads. Also there were unique dream catchers/chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, a few paintings, and an old grill painted red, with alien-esque eyes popping out of the lid. All in all, I found the pieces highly creative and fun. I remember when I participated in an after school arts program in the fifth grade and my paintings were displayed in a gallery in my neighborhood. I felt so proud to see it in that setting, with the gallery light shining on my purple watercolored flowers. Really, a great place to admire the works of the next generation, or to send your own child to.