Gaslamp Museum at the William Heath Davis House and Park, 1850. Home of the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation.
These photos inside the historic William Heath Davis House Museum were taken a few months ago. I toured the fascinating house during the Fall Back Festival, which is held every year in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
Dated 1850, the William Heath Davis House, like a number of other structures in early San Diego, was built on the East Coast and shipped around Cape Horn. At the time San Diego simply didn’t have the resources and tools required to build a fine wooden house. Various rooms inside the museum show what life was like in New Town a century and a half ago. It was a much simpler time. The small museum now sits in the middle of a gigantic, bustling metropolis.
Please read the photo captions for more info, and click the signs to read them.
Photo of the William Heath Davis House Museum taken from across Island Avenue.Tours of the historic house are available. A museum store contains fascinating gifts.The William Heath Davis House, built in 1850, is the oldest surviving structure from San Diego’s New Town. It is a prefabricated “salt-box” style home, shipped from Portland, Maine around Cape Horn.The 1850 Davis-Horton House was used as a military barracks, county hospital, and was home to New Town’s founder Alonzo Horton and several other families over the years.Looking down the stairs from the second floor. A lady in Victorian attire welcomes visitors to the museum during the Fall Back Festival in November.A look at the first floor living room where family and guests would gather.A small piano, sheet music, teacup and candle. Entertainment in the olden days was simple.The dining table is set for a grand meal in what was then a sparsely populated New Town San Diego.An old sewing machine can be found by a window upstairs.The nursery, with crib, chest and small bed.Three beds for the children have colorful quilts.A desk in the study, framed photos, and a cabinet full of books. No internet back then!An old-fashioned penny-farthing bicycle reminds visitors to the William Heath Davis House Museum of what life was like a century and a half ago in San Diego.
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Adopt Leticia! She’s a silly Chihuahua and Rat Terrier mix who loves fluffy beds and meeting new people!
Lots of potential furry friends are awaiting adoption at the San Diego Humane Society. They’d like to meet you!
I spotted some fun flyers while walking near Balboa Park yesterday evening. They feature some friendly four-legged folk who are waiting to be adopted. Visit the San Diego Humane Society website to find out more!
Adopt Ellie and Bob! These special kitties are best friends who seek a compassionate human who understands the nature of shy cats.Adopt Lacey! She is a calm, loving girl who is really smart.Hey there, I’m Regal! This social gentleman is ready for a home of his own! He loves belly rubs and tennis balls and being with his people!
Walking past public art in Chula Vista’s Bayside Park. The Fisherman is a sculpture of a great egret, created by Stephen Fairfield, 2006.
Look at these cool examples of public art! I spotted them Saturday during my visit to Chula Vista’s Bayside Park.
Some of the artwork, as you can see, is rather strange and surprising! Read the photo captions to learn more!
The Fisherman, by Stephen Fairfield, was a part of a past Urban Trees exhibition along San Diego’s Embarcadero. It’s now part of the Port of San Diego Tidelands Collection.Dark shadow of what appears to be a gigantic egret on a walkway in Bayside Park.One of several tables by San Diego Bay containing a tile chess board.Walking north along the beach area. Downtown San Diego and the Coronado Bay Bridge can be seen in the distance.Still walking north, toward more interesting public art at Chula Vista’s Bayside Park. This is Wind Oars by George Peters and Melanie Walker, 2004.Oars in the blue sky change position in the shifting wind. A kinetic artwork landmark in San Diego’s South Bay.Like rowing through blue water above.At the north end of Bayside Park, we now approach some unusual temporary art. Bench Party, by artists Jose Parral and Tasia Paulson, will be on display through May 20, 2017.Visitors to the Bayside Park might sit here and talk, or take in views of San Diego Bay.A large group of people could sit here and have a bench party!The huge travelift at Marine Group Boat Works in Chula Vista is seen beyond the benches. Super yachts and large boats can be lifted out of the water there.A breakwater by Marine Group Boat Works looks like strange art on the water. Rising in the distance we can see Point Loma.A bird swims past stacked rocks.Feeding birds at a park picnic bench.A second sculpture from an Urban Trees exhibition is also located at Bayside Park. This is San Diego Synergy, by Kent Kraber, 2007.Seabirds soar above fish, their food.A school of fish in the ocean kelp.A silvery tuna between a fishing boat and sailboat, at the base of the San Diego Synergy sculpture in Chula Vista.
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Early morning sunlight reflects from a building’s shining windows in Mission Valley, casting heavenly beams of light through a slight fog.
It was very foggy this morning in downtown San Diego. I had my camera out as I walked from the top of Cortez Hill to the Civic Center trolley station. By the time I reached Mission Valley, the fog had mostly dissipated. I was very fortunate to capture that almost heavenly first photo! Those slanting beams are exactly as they appeared to the eye!
A bird flies past Cortez Blu, which rises into a foggy downtown San Diego sky.Vantage Pointe in downtown San Diego rises into a fog illuminated by the rising sun.Fog and sunlight create a magical morning photo of skyscrapers on B Street in the heart of San Diego.Beautiful light on tall ghostly buildings.
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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!
Just sitting on a bench at the Chula Vista Marina. Masts of sailboats touch the clear sky. Another sunny day by the water.
Last Saturday morning I did some walking around the Chula Vista Marina and the neighboring Bayside Park. It was a perfect day for a leisurely stroll. Sunlight reflected from the water onto the smooth shiny hulls of boats. A forest of masts tickled the blue sky.
I sat down for awhile to drink in the calm and beauty. Another reason to love San Diego!
The Chula Vista Marina and adjacent Bayside Park are perfect places to relax and recreate.An abstract sculpture near the Dockmaster’s Office.The sculpture is titled To Remember Me, by Ross Barrable, 2001. In tribute to Ron McElliott who believed in the potential of the South Bay.Some street art on a nearby utility box depicts a tall ship on the ocean.Sitting at a table by the marina feeding the birds.Hundreds of sailboats and pleasure craft in the Chula Vista Yacht Harbor await an opportunity to glide across San Diego Bay.Walking the dog across Chula Vista Bayside Park’s fishing pier, next to the marina.A fisherman out on San Diego Bay. The Coronado Cays are visible across the calm blue water.A happy sun shines on the marina building.A beautiful fountain on the grass near the Chula Vista Marina office.
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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!
Colorful lion heads in a row. It’s the Year of the Rooster and many throughout the world are celebrating!
I enjoyed strolling around the San Diego Tet Festival today. I arrived a few minutes after the annual free festival, held at Mira Mesa Community Park, opened its gate. People were slowly streaming in, and everyone was happy. It’s the Year of the Rooster!
Here are some colorful photos…
Visitors enter the San Diego Tet Festival as it opens late Sunday morning.A free annual celebration of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, takes place at Mira Mesa Community Park.A dragon near the festival entrance.Many booths in the park had all sorts of glittering goods for sale.A representation of the Hoàn Kiếm Lake Turtle Tower.Model of a small fishing boat used by 69 people to flee the Vietnamese communist regime.History of the Escape Boat. Fleeing brutal communism, the refugees arrived at a camp set up by the United Nations on the island of Galang, in Indonesia. (Click the sign to enlarge it.)Large bronze drum with ornate design. These drums are a traditional symbol of power, used in religious ceremony, festival and war.The Year of the Rooster has begun. It’s the tenth in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.Martial arts students demonstrate some moves for the gathering crowd.Taking photos of the stage on a sunny San Diego day in late January.The friendly martial arts group poses.A representation of the sacred Hùng Kings’ Temple, which is located on the Nghĩa Lĩnh mountain.Lots of Asian food could be found around the San Diego Tet Festival, as well as more ordinary American fare.Pikachu sits protecting a spot where food is picked up.Donations help keep the Tet Festival alive.More area in the park was dedicated to kids games and carnival rides than anything else! Oh, to be young again!A child rides a dragon.A beautiful wishing tree at the San Diego Tet Festival.A wish for abundance of love and health. Togetherness.
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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 lady with flowers in her long flowing purple hair.
Late this morning I went to the San Diego Tet Festival at Mira Mesa Community Park. (I’ll blog about that shortly.) Hoping to avoid crowds, I parked a distance from the park before the festival opened, then spent a half hour or so walking around the area.
I was happy to spy a whole bunch of cool street art in the vicinity of Mira Mesa Boulevard and Camino Ruiz! Naturally, I had to take some photos!
Lovely street art painted on a transformer box in Mira Mesa.A tree behind a white fence seems to bear pencils.Are mushrooms sprouting from the nearby grass?A seeming dream takes the form of mazy images. This street art is on a utility box near the intersection of Mira Mesa Boulevard and Camino Ruiz.Just a big heart and simple blocks of bright color.Looks like a Chargers bolt. Unfortunately, San Diego’s NFL football team bolted.One Love and many symbols atop a utility box in Mira Mesa.A painted Asian landscape. Mountains rise from turbulent water.Another side of the same dramatic box.A happy mug of coffee gives a wink near muffins, beneath musical notes.Happy food and drink!A happy face on a blue teacup!Kid with phonograph sits at base of a pagoda in this unique street art.A bunch of colored circles.A red, geometric, minimalist bit of street art.Colors pieced together like stained glass, and a rising koi on this utility box.Koi, water, sun and clouds.I can’t quite make out the beginning of what is written. I can read: Mira Mesa remain Strong, Brave and Proud!Two colorful electrical boxes along Mira Mesa Boulevard.Looks like a hip hop kid with a big funky cap.An old school phonograph!Looks like one of those trick squirting flowers.Two beautiful flowers.This puzzle-like street art looks both ancient and alien.A touching image of a young girl. She seems to sit alone on the sidewalk.Abstract hills, trees and blue beams of sunshine.More cool street art in Mira Mesa.A flying saucer cat and an orange tabby that doesn’t appear amused.A smiling girl astronaut among happy colorful stars.A dog in a space helmet joyfully rockets above a ringed planet.
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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!
Folks enjoy taking a ride in an old-fashioned covered wagon in Old Town San Diego during 2017 Mormon Battalion Commemoration Day.
I’ve got lots of colorful photos! The annual Mormon Battalion Commemoration Day was held today in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. I covered this event last year, but I love history and scenes from the Old West so much that I swung by again!
San Diego’s history is remarkably diverse, considering our city is relatively new, and that it is situated in what for a long time was a thinly populated, desert-like wilderness. Many peoples and cultures have converged to help shape our dynamic city, including the original Native American Kumeyaay, missionaries from Spain, Mexicans who have called San Diego home, immigrants from Asia, an influx of Italian and Portuguese fishermen, and among many others, the Mormons.
Please enjoy these photos and click the big sign that provides a little more background about the event and the historical importance of the Mormon Battalion in San Diego. More information can also be found on my previous blog post concerning the event last year. Check the related links below!
The public was welcome to swing by the annual Mormon Battalion Commemoration in Old Town. There were many historical reenactments and costumes to see.One tent concerned letters home, featuring historical journals, maps and genealogy.Today we commemorate the first arrival of the U.S. Army in San Diego on January 29, 1847. This detachment was called The Mormon Battalion, recruited from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Click image to enlarge the sign if you’d like to read it.)Lots of interesting historical activities were being enjoyed by a large, enthusiastic crowd.Map shows Mormon Battalion Routes 1846 – 1847. The soldiers, recruited by the U.S. Army to fight in the Mexican-American War, undertook the longest military march in United States history. After arriving, they helped to build early San Diego.People draw the star and bear symbols of the California Republic.I believe these families were making biscuits, a staple of the Old West.Guys in pioneer clothing just kick back by plastic chairs and watch some dancing and musical entertainment during the event.Some colorful, joyful Mexican folklorico dancing on stage in Old Town San Diego!This guy with the huge saw was demonstrating another aspect of life in old San Diego.Visitors to Mormon Battalion Commemoration Day try their hand at sawing a thick log!A bunch of steampunk enthusiasts were attending the historical event!A fez and a golden arm. These guys should be in some sort of cool adventure movie! Perhaps they belong in a blimp!Like last year, a tent showed people how bricks were once made in San Diego.These assembled bigwigs were judging a Dutch Oven Bake-off!Scouts and other youth learn how rope was once made, using twisted fibers from native Yucca cacti.Lots of folks, old and young, were in one tent learning about and making frontier dolls.Some mountain men were camped at the Black Hawk Livery Stable, near the Old Town blacksmith shop.A sign tells about various Western trailblazers, including Jedediah Smith, Kit Carson and Jean Baptiste Charbonneau.Five anvils!Shaping red hot iron in the old blacksmith shop.These guys are keeping the ancient art of blacksmithing alive in a high tech world.Running out onto the wide grassy area behind Seeley Stable. Like travelling back in time.Some beautiful quilts on display during Mormon Battalion Commemoration Day in Old Town San Diego.Kids were learning how acorns were mashed by the Kumeyaay and others in San Diego’s early history.Someone poses for a photo with an old rifle.History, culture, bonnets and period dress. I saw many smiles in Old Town.People in nostalgic frontier garb and a modern t-shirt with a jolting urban message pose together for an unusual photo.Playing lively old frontier music.Kids playing simple, old-fashioned games.Another unique and memorable scene from Mormon Battalion Commemoration Day in Old Town San Diego!
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Purple Trailing Lantana (Lantana montevidensis) attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and a wide range of feeding insects and birds.
Tweet Street park on Cortez Hill has a sign with some very useful information. It shows shrubs and trees that attract local San Diego birds and butterflies.
Please refer to the information on the sign and my photo captions. As you can see, some of these plants are native to San Diego. All are beautiful and would fit nicely in most San Diego gardens. And all naturally attract winged life. Even in the heart of the big city.
A sign at the Tweet Street linear park on Cortez Hill, a neighborhood in downtown San Diego. It shows beautiful plants that attract local birds and butterflies.Jacaranda (Jacaranda acutifolia) is a flowering tree that attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. The trees host insects that are a food supply for insectivorous birds such as finches.Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is a San Diego native. White flowers in March attract hummingbirds and butterflies. In winter, red berries are food for many different birds.Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora “Samuel Sommer”) provides shade and perches for birds. The fragrant white flowers attract bees and hummingbirds.Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii “Purple Passion”) has flowers that are a rich source of nectar, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.Ornamental Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) has flowers, fruit and seeds that make a good food source for many birds.Prostrate Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis “Prostratus”) is an herb that attracts bees, butterflies and insects that many birds eat.Deer Grass (Muhlenbergia rigens) is a native clumping grass. It’s abundant with seeds that birds eat. The tall grass tufts also serve as shelter.Rockrose (Cistus “Sunset”) attracts birds and insects with its magenta color and fragrance.Copper Canyon Daisy (Tagetes lemmonii) is native to Mexico. It attracts butterflies most of the year with its strong lemon-mint fragrance.Torch Lily (Kniphofia uvaria) also known as Red Hot Poker, produces sweet nectar that hummingbirds absolutely love.Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus africanus) is a popular perennial that attracts both butterflies and hummingbirds.
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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 fun and useful photos that you can share and enjoy!
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