Visitors to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park look into a restored room of La Casa de Estudillo.
Four years ago I posted photos of La Casa de Estudillo, a famous adobe house in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park that was originally built in 1827. That blog was called Ramona saved Casa de Estudillo in Old Town and concerned the fascinating history of this structure.
Over time various parts of the casa have undergone restoration and new rooms have opened up to public view. These rooms now appear furnished as they once might have been, in the very early days of San Diego.
I recently walked through La Casa de Estudillo and peered into a few of the rooms…
Sign describes the dining room of La Casa de Estudillo.The eventual prosperity of the Estudillo family is reflected in their elegant dining room.Expensive furniture and tableware imported by ship from distant places fill the otherwise simple room.Sign describes commerce in the casa. Francisco de Paul Rodriguez rented space from the Estudillos for a store.The store, or tienda, contained shelves of goods that might be purchased by the residents of Old Town San Diego. Much of the merchandise came by ship from the East Coast around Cape Horn.More shelves against one wall contain iron tools and basic furnishings like candlesticks for sale.Sign describes how the Estudillos adapted to life on the frontier in the 1830’s and 1840’s.A bedroom inside La Casa de Estudillo contains a wealth of comfort, unusual in early San Diego, which was located far away from developed centers of commerce.Several additional rooms at La Casa de Estudillo are undergoing restoration.Sign describes how the casa started as a modest two-room structure and eventually grew into an expansive U-shaped building with a courtyard and outbuildings.Photo of the Casa de Estudillo’s tower from the central garden courtyard.Looking across the south end of the courtyard toward the outdoor oven and Seeley Stable beyond.Sign explains how the Estudillos cared for a growing family including many children.Frozen Charlotte dolls, ca. 1850’s. These china dolls were popular in the Victorian era.A look into the children’s bedroom.Sign describes the Estudillo kitchen and pantry. The family’s ranchos provided meat, game, vegetables and fruit.Jars, pots, sacks of flour and fruit are among the many items seen in the rather primitive kitchen.The kitchen inside La Casa de Estudillo provides an idea of what life might have been like in early San Diego.
UPDATE!
Here are additional photos of information signs that I took in June 2019…
Sign showing architect Hazel Wood Waterman’s design for the Casa de Estudillo includes a photo of the Casa under construction.Four generations of the Estudillo family lived here between 1827 and 1887. Don José Maria Estudillo was former Comandante of the Presidio.An Estudillo tradition of public service.People living in San Diego in the 1800s struggled with natural disasters like torrential rains, floods, droughts, earthquakes and disease.A display in the courtyard of the Casa de Estudillo.A place to grind wheat and corn. Members of the Mormon Battalion built a large adobe horse-mill near the Casa.
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Children gaze at the beautiful fountain and sculpture Woman of Tehuantepec by Donal Hord, in the courtyard of Balboa Park’s House of Hospitality.
It’s difficult to find words that adequately describe Balboa Park. Endless scenes of beauty open up everywhere. Every walk is a different voyage through wonder.
Many of these photos were taken recently. A few have been residing in my computer waiting for the perfect moment.
There Are Places I’ll Remember All My Life. A colorful banner near door to the Balboa Park Visitors Center.Gigantic bubbles form like magic in the Plaza de Balboa.The House of Charm’s tower rises above the Alcazar Garden.A twisted, wonderful Australian tea tree on Balboa Park’s West Mesa.Walking through the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages.Wedding photos are taken at one end of the beautiful Lily Pond, or reflecting pool.Sunlight reveals natural beauty at the House of Hospitality.People head up toward the Casa del Prado’s outdoor courtyard to enjoy another special event in Balboa Park.I took this striking photo yesterday at the San Diego Fern Society Show inside the Casa del Prado.People relax and picnic on the lawn near the Botanical Building.A scene of great natural beauty in the Japanese Friendship Garden.Visitors to Balboa Park head toward the Plaza de Panama.Walking along. More things to see.Gazing toward Balboa Park’s Pepper Grove from a pathway inside the Japanese Friendship Garden.Abundant beauty at the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden.Resting at tables in the Plaza de Panama near the front of the San Diego Museum of Art.San Diego sunshine highlights arches inside the Casa del Prado.Sitting along the colonnade at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion during an outdoor concert.Walking past the magnificent facade of the Casa del Prado Theater.Flowers brighten a window at the International Cottages.A leisurely stroll through Spanish Village.The amazing tile dome of the California Building, home of the Museum of Man.The Bea Evenson Fountain lit at night.Balboa Park contains endless scenes of amazing beauty.
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Early morning in Balboa Park is a time of quiet and new light. Golden beams from the rising sun crown each beautiful tower and building. The park appears freshly created, bright, magical.
These photographs are from a walk through Balboa Park that I took today around sunrise.
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People walk past mural in Chula Vista titled Lemon Capitol of the World, 1900-1945. By local artist Bob Teague, 2003.
As I walked about Chula Vista’s Lemon Festival yesterday, I was excited to discover some cool public art!
There are probably more examples of art to be found along the Third Avenue business district between E Street and G Street, but I photographed what I happened to stumble upon.
(Note: you will see two different sculptures. One represents sunrise, the other sunset.)
Enjoy!
Plaque by mural explains the role of lemons in the history of Chula Vista. Many grand old orchard houses can still be seen around the city.Section of Lemon Capitol of the World mural that shows the historic orchard house that still stands at 210 Davidson Street.ChromaSol (sunrise), an impressionistic interpretation of the sun’s colors and intensities. Public art in Chula Vista by artist D. Alan Gjerston, 2006.A photo of the translucent “sunrise” sculpture from a different angle.ChromaSol (sunset), an impressionistic interpretation of the sun’s colors and intensities. Public art in Chula Vista by artist D. Alan Gjerston, 2006.Sunlight shines through the “sunset” sculpture. I see the green flash!Mural on wall of Mangia Italiano on Third, by Danos Designs.Lovers embrace on a balcony by the ocean; another couple holds hands over Italian food.The Vogue Theater, an historic 1945 Chula Vista movie theater designed by architect Frank Hope Jr., awaits renovation.Artwork on the front of The Vogue Theater in Chula Vista appears to depict a night out at the movies.
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The Centre City Building, which rises just north of Civic Center Plaza in San Diego, was built in 1927. The fourteen story office building was designed by noted architect Frank W. Stevenson, and once was the tallest building in all of downtown. Today the historical landmark can seem lost among dozens of more recent high-rises.
Whenever I walk pass this building to the east or north, I like to look up at the elegant decorative brick and granite facade. The much more plain and faded west and south sides of the building provide a fascinating visual contrast.
Light at different times of the day can either make the building seem golden and regal, or like a gradually vanishing page from San Diego’s history.
Here are a variety of photos that I’ve taken during several walks.
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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!
Sculpture of a winged cherub sits above a service entrance to the Horton Plaza shopping mall on Fourth Avenue.
Whenever I walk around town, my eyes are constantly roving, searching.
During the past few days I spied a variety of cool sights. Many were familiar but observed with fresh eyes; others to my eyes were entirely new.
Almost all of these photographs were taken in downtown San Diego. If you read the captions, you’ll note that one photo was taken in Mission Valley.
Every day is a new voyage of discovery.
Late light on Pacific Soul, a fantastic new sculpture by Jaume Plensa.Light fixtures mingle with reflections. Magic in one window of Urban Lighting.Magic Shop San Diego and a street lamp that seems to have mysteriously materialized inside their store.A colorful Rabbitville bunny that celebrates San Diego inside a window of the Hilton Gaslamp.Lucha Libre masks peer down from an upper level of Petco Park.Cool ornamentation on a building at the corner of Fourth Avenue and E Street.Looking up at one of the geometrically fascinating Pacific Center towers in Mission Valley.Ornamental detail at entrance to the elegant 1928 San Diego Trust and Savings Bank Building, now home to Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown.Late light on San Diego’s iconic 1938 County Administration Building.Gazing straight up toward the roof of the elaborate 1929 Samuel L. Fox Building at Sixth Avenue and Broadway.A tangle of rope inside the window of Crab Hut on Broadway.Stained glass windows add character to the Goorin Bros. Hat Shop – Gaslamp.Medallion-like relief sculpture of explorer Cabrillo’s galleon San Salvador on a corner of the 1924 John D. Spreckels Building.
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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!
An architectural masterpiece, the First Church of Christ, Scientist building by Irving Gill.
The First Church of Christ, Scientist building, designed by renowned architect Irving Gill and completed in 1910, is considered by many to be a masterpiece. I often pause a minute or two to admire its simple, rhythmic beauty when I walk near Second Avenue and Laurel Street in Bankers Hill.
During the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s 2018 OPEN HOUSE event a couple weekends ago, I ventured inside the church for the very first time.
I was interested to learn that when it was completed over a century ago, the mayor of San Diego considered the building such an amazing architectural accomplishment that he showed it to visiting dignitaries. I also learned that the church underwent a “modern” remodel in the 1950’s, which removed archways, windows and the beautiful glass dome. Thankfully the building was restored to its original appearance in 1998.
To my fascinated eyes, the arches, windows and tower are elegant, like notes of music. The white stucco enhances every perfect line and curve, as if a cloud were carved precisely with the architect’s pencil.
I took some photos! Read the captions for additional information.
Simple arches and lines mount skyward like a cubist painting.First Church of Christ Scientist 1909. I believe the 1904 signifies the year of their first small downtown building, which stands at Third Avenue and Ash Street and is now occupied by the attorney King Aminpour.Balloons outside the entrance indicate this church is a participant in the annual San Diego Architectural Foundation OPEN HOUSE.Arched windows inside admit light and create an impression of heavenly space. I’m reminded of a jewel’s bright facets.Like a crown of gold, organ pipes dominate the altar of a light-filled sanctuary.The amazing stained glass dome above the church sanctuary.A large poster containing photographs of the building’s 1950’s appearance and historic restoration. (Click image to enlarge.)The poster’s legend. The restoration brought back much of the natural light admitted by the original archways and glass dome.Photo of the sanctuary in the 1950’s. Perhaps at the time this was considered tasteful, but today it seems very drab.Old photo of this famous Irving Gill building, the dome just visible on the rooftop.I was told these are some of the original Irving Gill blueprints. The are displayed with other documents and historical photos in a hallway near the church sanctuary.An architectural marvel in San Diego’s Bankers Hill neighborhood.
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View of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral from across Fifth Avenue.
I swung by St. Paul’s Cathedral in Bankers Hill a couple weekends ago during the San Diego Architectural Foundation 2018 OPEN HOUSE event. A friendly gentleman named Bob who belongs to this Episcopal church showed me the original Great Hall which was completed in 1929, then the impressive interior of the cathedral, or “big house” as he called it, which was finally completed in 1951.
St. Paul’s Cathedral was designed by architect Philip Frohman, who is best remembered as the designer of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The building contains elements of both Gothic and Romanesque architecture. The original pipes of the historic church organ date from 1887. They were brought by ship around Cape Horn, to serve as the first organ in Old Town San Diego.
The cathedral was visited by Queen Elizabeth II in 1983 during her trip to San Diego aboard Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia. I was told that she spoke to the congregation and enjoyed listening to Evensong.
I gleaned a few odd bits of information during the informal tour and have included them in my photo captions.
Looking north at the impressive cathedral and its many stained glass windows from Nutmeg Street.St. Paul’s Cathedral in San Diego was designed by famed architect Philip Frohman.Ladies exit through an arcade of elegant columns.A gentleman in the church’s courtyard greeted visitors during the weekend architectural event.Construction of St. Paul’s parish house or Great Hall began in 1928.The most notable thing I saw in the Great Hall is the incredible original wooden beamed ceiling, which is showing signs of age.Turning my camera for another shot of this amazing ceiling.Sunlight enters through a rose window.A plaque in the courtyard area between the Great Hall and cathedral. This garden commemorates the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh to this church on February 27, 1983.Inside the beautiful cathedral, looking east from the nave toward the chancel and historic Great Organ.People have quietly entered the sacred place. The gray interior walls allow light from the stained glass lancet windows, created by Judson Studios in Pasadena, to fill the eyes of worshipers.This small Lady Chapel to the east was built in 1975. It’s used for weddings and other celebrations. It contains a smaller organ.The cathedra, or bishop’s seat, off to one side.More resplendent stained glass, like celestial visions shining through darkness.
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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!
Photo of Santa Fe Depot as it appears today. Some changes to the historic building are possibly in its future.
I went on a short tour of the Santa Fe Depot last week during the San Diego Architectural Foundation 2018 OPEN HOUSE event.
I’ve posted about the depot several times in the past. One fact-filled post concerned an historical exhibit inside the waiting room; another shared hundred year old photos of the building. During our tour I learned even more and enjoyed looking at additional old images.
This downtown San Diego landmark was designed by Bakewell and Brown to welcome the many anticipated visitors to the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. The depot’s construction began on May 28, 1914. The building officially opened on March 7, 1915. Materials that were used include a steel frame with wood trusses, concrete slabs, brick arcades and hollow clay tile infill walls. The architects Bakewell and Brown also designed San Francisco City Hall, the Coit Tower and Pasadena City Hall.
During the course of its history, there have been various changes to the building and its forecourt. The original arched forecourt, pictured in some of the following photos, was demolished in 1954 to make way for a parking lot. The current outdoor plaza featuring a fountain and colorful tiled benches replaced the parking lot in the 1980s.
The gentleman providing the tour indicated that recent new ownership of the Santa Fe Depot has opened up the possibility of future development. I learned an unused second story of the depot, once containing a manager’s apartment, telegraph room and railroad worker bedrooms, might be converted into office spaces, but an elevator, heating and electricity are now lacking.
I learned that the fountain in the forecourt’s plaza is leaking and permanently turned off. This valuable property between the main depot building and Broadway might be developed into a space for downtown eateries.
I also learned the large iconic Santa Fe sign atop the depot dates from the mid 50’s, and that there are plans to light it up at night using LED lighting.
Read the captions for some additional fascinating facts about this architectural marvel!
Looking up at one tile-domed tower. The black material is holding together cracked terracotta columns on chicken wire. The 1915 depot was built for the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park.Our tour group and a few Amtrak passengers move through the Santa Fe Depot’s large waiting room. The building’s architecture is in the Mission Revival style with Spanish Colonial Revival influences.We learn about the beautiful tilework throughout the depot.The depot’s glazed Kaospar tiling was created by California China Products Co. of National City, the same company that produced all of the tile for Balboa Park’s 1915 exposition.Raised levels of these gorgeous tiles each feature a different color!We’re shown an old postcard image of the original Main Waiting Room. Ticket and vending kiosks lined the west side of the depot’s interior. There used to be a Fred Harvey lunch room near the current ticket area at the building’s north end.Looking up at the amazing ceiling. Most of the woodwork has never been painted. The original bronze light fixtures have an appearance that is masculine and sturdy.More handsome woodwork around a door that leads to an old Stair Hall on the waiting room’s east side.Our group heads outside to the forecourt’s sunny plaza.Looking at the south side of the depot. Sadly, the fountain leaks and is turned off.We are shown more old images. This is an illustration of the original arched forecourt structure on Broadway. I also see the tower of the original 1887 Victorian station to the west (the other side of the tracks) before it was demolished.Here’s the old parking lot. (I see the distinctive County Administration Building to the left.)Streetcars used to run along Broadway right up to the old forecourt!A photo of the now unused second floor of the Santa Fe Depot.Another historical photo. This can be found on one side of the information kiosk presently inside the depot.Our tour guide collects old postcards. Here’s another that shows the arched west side of the depot, beside the railroad tracks.Information sheet shows map of the Santa Fe System and the San Diego Depot. Today the depot is the 3rd-busiest train station in California and 13th-busiest in the Amtrak system. (Click image to enlarge it.)Gazing from the forecourt’s plaza over a tiled bench toward America Plaza and buildings along Broadway. This area might soon undergo changes!
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 