World Map (Ptolemy), Johann Schnitzer, 1482 or 1486.
I was surprised to learn recently that a world-class map museum is located in San Diego. The Map and Atlas Museum of La Jolla is considered to be one of the best dedicated map museums in the entire world!
Out of curiosity, I swung by the small museum yesterday and lingered for at least an hour. I could have spent the entire day looking at the amazing collection of historical maps that fill several themed galleries.
Many of the rare maps are antique, dating from centuries ago when the world’s outlines were unknown, and sea monsters inhabited the watery margins. Every map in the collection is original and authentic, including the first map ever printed!
As I stepped through the door I was greeted by Richard, the friendly director of the museum. I learned that this free museum was founded by Michael Stone, a local businessman and collector with a love for maps. In his youth he collected baseball cards, stamps and coins, before maps and cartography became his passion. At any given time, about ten percent of his vast collection is on display. I was told that Michael is one of the top half dozen map collectors in the world.
There are antique maps showing Earth as the center of Creation, maps from the Age of Exploration, maps from the Revolutionary War, Victorian maps, tourist maps, even maps showing early San Diego. There’s a woodcut map that was created by Benjamin Franklin! There are artistic maps, humorous maps, playing card maps, practically every variety of map or atlas ever conceived by the human mind. There are also historical instruments used by the old explorers and map makers.
For history lovers, the Map and Atlas Museum of La Jolla is a jaw-dropping delight! Visitors might feel they’ve stepped into the vaults of the Smithsonian or National Archives. The collection is that extraordinary!
Richard wandered about the museum during my visit, greeting people and providing tidbits of fascinating information. He informed me many students come by the museum, where they can study history, cartography, design and art.
The museum contains such an abundance of cool stuff, I don’t know where to possibly begin. To provide an idea of what you will see, I offer a sampling of photos. I’ve roughly arranged these maps in chronological order. Read the captions!
In my opinion, this little-known attraction in San Diego is an absolute must see! You can find it in the lower courtyard level of the office building at 7825 Fay Avenue in La Jolla. Check out their website for hours and more info, including special exhibitions.
Visitors look at an amazing collection of historic maps at the Map and Atlas Museum of La Jolla.I was shown the museum’s work room, containing a library of books that the public can access. A variety of museum projects like the scanning of maps and historical documents is also done here.
The following is a tiny sample of the many original, rare maps you’ll see when you visit the museum:
The world’s first printed map of a certain date, 1472. This woodcut T-O shaped world map is from Isidorus Hispalensis (Isidore of Seville).World Map, anonymous, 1491. This map was often hung in medieval monasteries or palaces. It first appeared in the Rudimentum Novitiorum of 1475.World Map (Ptolemy), Martin Waldseemuller, 1513. Even after the discovery of America, Ptolemaic maps devoid of a Western Hemisphere were still printed.North Atlantic, Jacob Ziegler, 1532. Information for this map was obtained from two Archbishops in Rome. Newfoundland is Terra Bacallaos, or land of codfish.America, Sebastian Munster, Basle, 1540. This depiction of North America came from reports by explorer Giovanni da Verrazano.Eastern North America, Girolamo Ruscelli, 1561. Little was known about the inland geography.North America, Paolo Forlani, 1565. A map that shows America and Asia separated with a strait.China, Japan and Korea, Jodocus Hondius, 1606. Copperplate engraving from the Mercator Atlas.View of Macao, Theodore de Bry, 1607. A stylized map, the first published image of Macao.The Low Countries in the Form of a Lion, Petrus Kaerius, 1617. A map of the Netherlands and Belgium.Northeast North America, Jan Jansson and Nicholas Visscher, 1655.Second Hemisphere with the Christianized firmament, Andreas Cellarius, 1660. The twelve apostles supplanted the old zodiacal constellations in this map.The Sizes of the Celestial Bodies, Andreas Cellarius, 1660. The heavenly bodies compared with Earth, according to Ptolemy.English colonies, Richard Daniel, ca. 1679. The first printed map of the colonies depicting roads.California on early maps was depicted as an island.Southern and Southeast Asia, Frederick de Wit, ca. 1680. A standard Dutch published map.Eastern North America, Hermann Moll, 1715. Beautiful illustration on what is commonly called the beaver map, which was copied from an earlier 1698 map by Nicolas de Fer.Nova Orbis Terraquei Tabula Accuratissime Delineata, Pieter Van Der Aa, 1713. I love the extensive Latin name given to this highly ornate copper-plate engraving Dutch map!A display case at the Map and Atlas Museum of La Jolla includes geographic playing cards from the early 18th century.Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, Benjamin Franklin, 1733. Franklin likely cut the woodblock himself. The map shows the newly delineated boundaries of Maryland and Pennsylvania.Battle of Long Island, Samuel Holland, 1776. A section of a map that shows the plan of the first major battle in the American Revolution.New Jersey and Pennsylvania, William Faden, 1777. Plan of the Operations of General Washington, against the King’s Troops in New Jersey.Philadelphia, William Faden, 1777. Lower half of the map includes copy of the earliest known printed image of Independence Hall.The Wonderground Map of London Town, MacDonald Gill, 1915. This small section shows some of the delightful retail map’s humor.Mission Beach, San Diego, 1915. Map of the projected development of Mission Beach.San Diego, Joseph Jacinto Mora, 1928. Corner of a map containing illustrations of local history and important places, like the pictured Union Station (now Santa Fe Depot), Horton House (where the U.S. Grant Hotel stands today), Army and Navy YMCA, and Casa de Estudillo in Old Town, which was then called Ramona’s Marriage Place.Another section of the same map showing areas around San Diego Bay including downtown, National City, Coronado and Point Loma.A Map of Ceylon showing her Tea and Other Industries, MacDonald Gill, ca. 1934.Mail Steamship Routes, MacDonald Gill, 1937.The Time and Tide Map of the United Nations, MacDonald Gill, 1948.Southern California, Roads To Romance, a tourist map ca. 1958.Thomas Jefferys’ brass theodolite, part of the museum’s collection. Jefferys was geographer to King George III. The antique theodolite is pictured in the extraordinary book The Cartographical Collection of Michael R. Stone.The Location of the Earth, Encircled by the Celestial Circles, Andreas Cellarius, 1660.
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Spaces from Yesterday is a collaborative exhibition at the SDSU Downtown Gallery featuring the art projects of three San Quentin inmates. (Click image to enlarge for easier reading.)
There’s a fascinating exhibition right now at the SDSU Downtown Gallery. It’s titled Spaces from Yesterday and features the artwork of three San Quentin inmates.
The artwork was created in collaboration with San Quentin State Prison art teacher Amy M. Ho, who also has a few related pieces in the exhibition. But the work that I found most interesting came directly from the hands of the inmates.
All three of the artists summon happy memories from their childhood. These images are warm, but also hard-edged and unpeopled. One work, The Hallway by Dennis Crookes, almost looks like a long, harsh, narrow prison hallway that finally leads to a home’s light-filled kitchen.
I could find no explanation why these three were incarcerated in the San Quentin correctional complex, which contains California’s only death row for male inmates. That would seem to be an essential part of the story, and might explain certain qualities of the art. But the anecdotes that are written do reveal a common yearning for a past life that is fondly remembered.
The following photos show a description of each piece, followed by the actual artwork.
Spaces from Yesterday will be on display through January 28, 2018. Those interested in art, creativity, and often hidden aspects of human life should check it out. Admission to the SDSU Downtown Gallery is free.
Prison art teacher Amy M. Ho and Dennis Crookes began planning The Hallway collaboration while Crookes was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison.The Hallway, Dennis Crookes, acrylic on canvas, 2016.The Garage, a collaboration with inmate Bobby Dean Evans, Jr., contains warm memories from a playful childhood.The Garage, Bobby Dean Evans, Jr., mixed media on cardboard, 2016.Chanthon Bun painted memories from a childhood that included a play fort in an abandoned lot, comic books, baseball cards and a fish pond he created with his siblings and young relatives.The Last Summer, Chanthon Bun, acrylic on canvas, 2017.
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Visitors to the San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park walk under four large temporary murals recently installed above the 1935 California State Building’s entrance.
The 1935 California State Building in Balboa Park, home to the San Diego Automotive Museum, is slowly being restored to its former glory. Four temporary murals were installed above the entrance several weeks ago. They are based on murals that decorated the building during the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition.
Much of the California State Building’s original ornamentation no longer exists, including the four original murals. They were created for the exposition by Hollywood set designer Juan Larrinaga. Painted on fiberboard to appear like tilework, they depicted California’s commerce, scenic beauty, agriculture and industry.
Balboa Park’s Committee of 100 will be raising funds to recreate the historic murals with beautiful ceramic tiles. Meanwhile, these four amazing temporary murals will welcome visitors to Balboa Park’s San Diego Automotive Museum.
To learn more about this project, and other work being undertaken by the Committee of 100 to restore and enhance Balboa Park, including the Palisades area where the 1935 California State Building is located, visit their website here.
A depiction of California’s commerce originally created for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition.California’s abundant natural beauty is depicted.A depiction of California’s agriculture, which feeds many around the world.The fourth mural from 1935 depicts California’s industrial activity.
UPDATE!
On a later walk I noticed a new sign on the building. It provides a detailed explanation of these four murals…
Sign near entrance to the San Diego Automotive Museum explains the murals.
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Photo of the rustic Sikes Adobe Farmhouse on a sunny November day.
This morning I drove up to Escondido. One highlight of my day was walking around the historic Sikes Adobe Farmhouse, which is located near a popular trailhead of the San Dieguito River Park’s long, not-yet-complete Coast to Crest Trail.
The Sikes Adobe, built around 1870, is a City of San Diego historic site. It contains a museum which is open every Sunday. Also on Sundays, the farmstead is where the North San Diego Certified Farmers Market is held.
As I walked around Sikes Adobe, I happened upon some interpretive signs which explain the history of the farmstead. I took photos if you’re interested. Click those sign images and they will expand for easy reading.
People had very different lives long ago in California. Fresh air, hard work, quiet hours, simple pleasures. And wild, untrod paths. I believe I would have loved that life.
The historic Sikes Adobe Farmhouse is located near a trailhead of the Coast to Crest Trail, just east of Lake Hodges.The trail past the farmstead is popular with hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians.A sign shows proposed improvements to the Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead Park, including event space and a reconstructed barn.Scarecrows stand guard inside a community garden near the rustic farmhouse.Approaching the Sikes Adobe. One can tour the inside on Sundays, from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm.In this photo you can see the small creamery building and the base of the restored windmill.A simple adobe house, typical of the early American era, shortly after California had achieved statehood.View of the farmstead structures from the nearby trail.Zenas and Eliza Sikes, with six children, arrived in 1870 and began their wheat farm here between the communities of Escondido and Rancho Bernardo.A small vegetable garden near the restored windmill and creamery.Old rusty farm equipment in a corner of the farmstead.Between 1860 and 1893, wheat was California’s first bonanza crop. The creamery at Sikes Farm was built in the 1880s as their farm diversified and became more generalized.A small town called Bernardo used to be located a couple miles southeast of the Sikes Adobe. The construction of the Lake Hodges Dam spelled the end for that town.Looking from the nearby trail past prickly pears at the farmhouse.Some horses have arrived at the trailhead’s dirt parking lot.Sikes Adobe depends on your support. Become a docent or volunteer!The Sikes Adobe Farmhouse rises behind a row of green grape vines.
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Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Gazing up from Union Street at the unique new Superior Court building in downtown San Diego.
Yesterday I walked past our beautiful new downtown courthouse. The opening of the high tech half billion dollar San Diego Central Courthouse has faced several delays, but the very unique exterior has already added more character to San Diego’s gleaming skyline.
Here are some photos. The rooftop canopy is rather unusual, as you can see. The crystal-like lattice of geometric reflections and shadows that it produces delights the eye.
The new San Diego Central Courthouse is nearly completed. It stands north across the C Street trolley tracks from the Hall of Justice. A pedestrian bridge connects both buildings.Flags in a pleasant breeze. The new courthouse, most expensive in California, has faced various construction delays.This new Superior Court of California building is across Union Street from the old, less-functional courthouse, which will be torn down.Fascinating reflections and shadows on glass windows beneath a projecting rooftop canopy.
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Golden light on the steam ferryboat Berkeley, hub of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. I believe I took this photo a year or two ago.
Over the years, I’ve taken many photos around and aboard the historic steam ferryboat Berkeley. The beautiful old ship is the hub of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of these photographs. Read the captions to learn a little about the Berkeley’s fascinating history.
Berkeley, built in 1898, was originally operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad on San Francisco Bay. It was used to ferry up to 1700 passengers per trip between the transcontinental train terminus at the Oakland Pier and the San Francisco Ferry Building across the bay. The Berkeley was also used after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to rescue thousand of refugees, which were brought out of the fire-devastated city safely over to Oakland.
Berkeley was acquired by the Maritime Museum of San Diego in 1973, and today she houses a large number of fascinating historical exhibits on her lower deck. She is both a National Historic Landmark and California State Historical Landmark, and a cool sight that many like to visit on San Diego’s Embarcadero.
Personally, I love to head up the stairs to the McKinney Deck, where passengers used to cross the water in elegance. I have often seen ferry visitors and members of the Maritime Museum of San Diego sitting on the beautiful wooden benches simply reading or enjoying a relaxing moment. It’s like being transported back into another era. The atmosphere is quite amazing, as you will see…
Plaque in front of the ferryboat Berkeley, which was the first successful West Coast-built ferry to be driven by a screw propeller as opposed to side wheels.Downtown San Diego skyscrapers and masts of museum ships HMS Surprise and Star of India can be seen in this photo of the Berkeley’s upper passenger deck and one of two pilot houses.Southern Pacific Lines logo on one pilot house.Photo over the roof of the ferryboat, with a black funnel projecting into the blue San Diego sky.I’m getting ready to look inside the pilot house on the west end of the Berkeley. I see the County Administration Building.The wooden wheel, binoculars and other instruments used to pilot the ferry.Many forms of communication were used during ferry operation. The Berkeley’s pilot houses contained radio receivers, the ship’s whistle, and two voice tubes.Standing outside, peering into the elegant Dan McKinney Deck of the Berkeley.Visitors aboard the Berkeley look at the beautiful long wooden benches and art glass windows of the upper passenger deck.Different art glass windows on the ship fill the passenger deck with many-colored light.More exquisite art glass. Passengers would cross San Francisco Bay in style.Walking through the passenger deck.Sunlight on one comfortable, warm wood bench. Wouldn’t you like to sit here?A painting of the ferry Berkeley and a relic from its history.More beauty aboard the old ship, which is now docked in San Diego Bay.I assume the fancy B is for Berkeley, but I’m not sure.Refreshments used to be purchased here during bay crossings. Today the Berkeley is often used for special events and drinks are still served.Over the years, countless thousands of passengers were served.Ferryboat Berkeley,1898, has been designated a National Historic Landmark. This vessel possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America.One of four old photos on the passenger deck. Berkeley was launched on San Francisco Bay on October 18, 1898.Berkeley was never a car ferry. The open deck below carried luggage carts for passengers transiting between the end of the railroad at Oakland and San Francisco across the bay.The Berkeley was heroine of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake story. She carried refugees to safety nonstop for three days and nights.In 1973, Berkeley was towed down the coast to San Diego to begin a second life as floating museum.And what a beautiful museum she is! I haven’t included them in this particular blog post, but many cool exhibits can be seen on the lower deck, where ferry passengers used to park their luggage carts.Gazing down some steps at a museum workshop aboard the Berkeley.Gazing from the passenger deck outside toward San Diego Bay. Other museum ships, including Californian and San Salvador, are docked along a float west of the Berkeley.One of the ferry’s old lifeboats.Looking up at the pilot house on the steam ferry’s bay-facing end.Some folks on the other end looking out at downtown San Diego and the Waterfront Park.An old sign above one doorway says Lunch and Grill Room on Lower Deck.That old sign was uncovered beneath accumulated paint. Working on an old vessel is a bit like an archaeological dig.Looking from the Embarcadero at the Berkeley, over the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s deep diving submarine USS Dolphin.The handsome steam ferryboat Berkeley now greets visitors on San Diego Bay.People walk through history aboard a beautiful old vessel.
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Two vaqueros chat during an event in Old Town San Diego that reenacts fascinating Californio history.
I enjoyed the Trades That Shaped the West event in Old Town San Diego last Saturday so much, I decided to return today to experience another Stagecoach Days event: Days of the Vaqueros!
Days of the Vaqueros invited curious visitors to experience what life was like when San Diego was a part of Mexico. The emphasis was on the vaqueros–the first true cowboys. During the era of the Californios, wealthy ranch owners employed vaqueros to manage their stock.
For a couple of decades–from the early 1820s to the mid-1840s–cattle hides were the primary export of Alta California. Merchant ships from the East Coast (and other places about the Pacific Ocean) would trade the plentiful hides for finished goods that were in high demand in early, geographically isolated, sparsely populated towns like San Diego.
Someone checks out Days of the Vaqueros activities. The banner hangs on the Robinson Rose House in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.Taking place during Old Town’s summer weekend Stagecoach Days, today’s event celebrated life in San Diego when the small town and Alta California were part of Mexico.Ladies pass by in period dresses. One of many cool sights at the Days of the Vaqueros event in Old Town San Diego.Tables contained information about life during the era of huge Mexican land grant ranches worked by vaqueros. Vaqueros, the first true cowboys, were mostly indigenous people employed to manage cattle by the wealthy land owners.A vaquero shows a visitor to Old Town how to properly handle a rope.The visitor successfully lassoes his cow–the rear end, that is–first try!A gentleman who used to work for Buck Knives makes unique knife handles out of elk antlers. He has developed his own technique, which takes great skill and precision.A hat maker shows how beaver felt material was steamed then pushed over a hat-form block.What’s cooking on the campfire? Some tasty pozole, I was told!Pozole is a traditional Mexican soup or stew, made from hominy, meat and various vegetable seasonings.Decorating eggshell cascarones. Near the end of a fiesta, Californios flirted by cracking eggs filled with scented water or confetti over the startled head of someone they liked.A group called Los Californios played authentic early California music–tunes that were preserved over a century ago on wax cylinder sound recordings made by Charles Lummis.A couple dances to the happy, gentle music.Publications by a nonprofit project called San Diego Friends of Old Time Music. Author Vykki Mende Gray is helping to preserve the musical history of California.A display of braided ropes and rawhide, once commonly used by vaqueros as they worked on the large cattle ranches around San Diego.On this table I see more ropes, a canteen, iron brands and boot spurs.A gentleman who teaches school students visiting Old Town about history holds up an illustration of bear-baiting, which early Californians found entertaining.These guys were making adobe bricks. I learned earth and water are mixed, and straw or manure are often added for strength and cohesion.Authentic adobe bricks take weeks or months to properly dry. When hard, these bricks will possibly be used in new construction or to restore existing exhibits inside Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.Traditional dancing in the courtyard of Casa de Estudillo of Los Camotes (which translates the sweet potatoes), a tune from old Mexican and Spanish California.
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
