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!