I was exploring the neighborhood near Balderrama Park in Oceanside when I spied this quaint old structure at 1510 Lemon Street. I had stumbled upon the historical 1893 St. Mary’s Chapel.
The location of today’s much larger St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church, near the Oceanside Civic Center, is where this old chapel was originally built. The wooden chapel, affectionately called the Capillita, was completed in 1896.
The city of Oceanside was incorporated a few years earlier, in 1888, when its population was only 1000.
After the city had grown and a larger church was built in 1927, the chapel served as Parish Hall. The small chapel was later moved to its present location. It was restored in 1977.
Should you walk down University Avenue in City Heights, you might notice bright, colorful artwork in the alley just east of Mid-City Church of the Nazarene. Turn into the alley and you’ll discover three positive murals that promote love and hope!
I made this discovery myself on Saturday, as I walked through City Heights during the Beautify the Block community cleanup. When I circled to the rear of Mid-City Church of the Nazarene, I met one of the friendly pastors engaged in their twice a week food distribution. She told me the artwork was completed very recently!
I know you’ll enjoy seeing these murals, too.
I notice the first mural, Better Together, is signed @littlehouseink and is a collaboration with Mid-City Nazarene and LoveWorks. That name is appropriate. In essence, the work of art is about love.
This next mural with rainbows threading through a heart contains Hope in many languages. It’s signed Rachel Venancio and Loveworks.
(I walked past this second mural for the above alley photo. You can glimpse the first mural in the distance to the right, next to University Avenue.)
And a bit farther down the alley we have a wise quote by Martin Luther King Jr.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.
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A major project to modernize and beautify Lemon Grove’s Parsonage Museum was recently completed. The home of the Lemon Grove Historical Society has a brand new paint job! And new interior lighting!
You might recall how the exterior of the historic structure used to be almost entirely the same yellow. The new paint job tastefully adds a bit of texture and Victorian personality, with the addition of different yellows (including one that seemed to me slightly lime green), and small green highlights. (Appropriately for historically agricultural Lemon Grove, the colors of citrus fruit!) You can see for yourself in my photographs, which were taken today.
LED lighting has also been installed in the ceiling of both floors of the museum, providing much more light (particularly upstairs) with, importantly, no damaging ultraviolet output.
If you’ve never visited the Parsonage Museum, you really should. The old house’s history in Lemon Grove (it began in 1897 as the community’s first church) is on display, as well as exhibits concerning notable people, places and events in Lemon Grove.
Soon, I was told, a new exhibit will be installed concerning the 2012 Lemon Grove Little League Senior Division’s amazing run all the way to the Senior League World Series, where they won the West Region Tournament!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
If you drive up La Jolla Boulevard, just north of Bird Rock, you might see the impressive building in these photographs.
When I visited the La Jolla Historical Society a while back, I learned something very surprising. This ornate building–the main chapel for the La Jolla United Methodist Church–was once a railroad station and power substation for San Diego Electric Railway, the San Diego streetcar line established by John D. Spreckels!
I’ve found several great articles concerning this history. Here and here and here.
The 1924 Spanish Colonial architectural style San Carlos Train Station served streetcar Route 16, which ran from San Diego to La Jolla. Route 16 was the San Diego Electric Railway’s last major rail line expansion. In addition to downtown San Diego and La Jolla, the route included stops in Mission Beach and Pacific Beach. The streetcars ran through 1940.
The San Carlos terminal building would then be used for several years as an art school. In 1954, the La Jolla United Methodist Church bought the building.
Check out the first and third links above for a few old photographs. You’ll see how the train station and substation stood alone in undeveloped land a century ago.
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Did you know that a very famous rodeo used to be held in Lemon Grove? And that it attracted legendary celebrities like Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Jack Haley who played the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz?
Lemon Grove’s Mission Rancho Horse Show (Rodeo and Fiesta) was held every July from 1941 to 1957. The event was the brainchild of Monsignor Daniel O’Donaghue, the Pastor who founded Saint John of the Cross Catholic Church in 1939. Rodeo week was held near the church, and featured, according to this great article, English dressage events, children’s competitions, bull-dogging and other Western events, Roman riding by the 11th U.S. Cavalry…
Monsignor O’Donoghue raised money from the rodeo to build a parish school, and eventually to build a larger church.
Until yesterday I didn’t know this Lemon Grove history. I learned about the famous old rodeo during my visit to Lemon Fest, an annual festival at Saint John of the Cross Catholic Church. Many framed historical photographs in the church’s hall show Western celebrities and rodeo action.
The above photo is of Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger. The photo below is of Buffalo Bill Cody shaking hands with Monsignor O’Donoghue…
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
This weekend, after a five year absence, Lemon Fest returned to the city of Lemon Grove!
The community festival, held at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church, featured tons of food, a cool car show, live music and entertainment, a baking contest, kids games, vendors, a huge rummage sale, a plant sale, an auction . . . and many people wearing yellow and big smiles!
I was told that St. John of the Cross has had a Fall Festival since 1940, the year its church building was dedicated. The festival was temporarily suspended during COVID, but is now coming back. Next year the plan is that the Lemon Fest is even bigger and better, as it was before the pandemic!
I walked around enjoying the smells of food and the sound of music. Lots of families were at the tables eating great food and enjoying company. What a fun time!
The team Steel Magnolias is Making Strides Against Breast Cancer! They’re walking on October 27th. You can support this team by clicking here!
The Old Memories Sur San Diego car club had some very cool cars on display at Lemon Fest.
Kathy Villalobos of Gift of Dance was selling a piano with an amazing history. She explained how this Miraculous Brewster Piano, once the property of an opera singer, has produced many unexpected blessings. Funds from its sale will go toward repairing flood damage in the church.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
A beautiful sunrise illuminated San Diego this morning. Walking through Old Town, I watched scattered clouds to the east turn brilliantly yellow and orange.
The present-day Immaculate Conception Catholic Church stands adjacent to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
A modest adobe chapel that was built nearby in 1851 would be replaced by this church building. Its construction was begun in 1868 and, after various setbacks, was completed half a century later, in 1917.
In these photographs, you can glimpse a bit of the church’s façade and bell tower, elements of its Spanish Mission style architecture.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Sacred Architecture of San Diego and Tijuana is a free exhibition now showing at the La Jolla Historical Society’s Wisteria Cottage. The exhibit features stunning architectural photographs in the cottage’s museum-like galleries.
You won’t see photos of “old” church architecture–with ordinary steeples, gothic decoration and the like. San Diego is a relatively young city. Many places of worship in our region were built in the 20th century, and consequently reflect a more modern, unadorned, experimental style.
I noticed that much of this “sacred architecture” makes use of simple geometric forms like triangles, circles and waves. The basic forms feel simple, elemental and universal, and yet the structures are often a bit strange: elongated as if striving heavenward, or modest and sheltering near the earth where we stand. Much of the architecture produces a sense of wonder–at least for me.
Notable architects highlighted in the exhibition include Irving Gill with his masterful protomodern designs, and midcentury modernists Richard Neutra, Albert Frey and Jaime Sandoval. Postmodern buildings include a church by Charles Moore. La Jolla’s own Sim Bruce Richards is also represented.
The exhibition is being presented in conjunction with San Diego/Tijuana’s selection as World Design Capital. These stunning architectural photographs will be on display through September 1, 2024.
In San Diego, I’ve enjoyed architectural tours of several prominent places of worship. You can read descriptions and see photographs by clicking the following links:
The fascinating history of Carlsbad includes its very first church, St. Michael’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church, built in 1894.
St. Michael’s By-the-Sea is located on Carlsbad Boulevard at Christiansen Way, a block south of Magee Park.
During a recent adventure in San Diego’s North County, I walked around the church’s original structure, which stands by several other later buildings.
I paused to read this plaque…
The first church built in Carlsbad was St. Michael’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church. Originally erected in 1894 overlooking the ocean on Oak Avenue, the quaint Gothic structure was moved to its current site in 1959 when Florence Shipley Magee donated an adjacent site for a new church.
Original redwood paneling, oak pews, and a Victorian pump organ are all still in good condition. The only alterations are a new entry, replacing one which led directly into the choir area at the front of the chapel, and a new heating and air conditioning system.
Far from being a relic of the past, the chapel is used for regular Sunday and weekday services as well as for weddings and funerals.
PLAQUE COURTESY OF THE CARLSBAD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
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I recently learned that the historic Old Adobe Chapel in Old Town is being repaired and restored by the City of San Diego. I was told the roof leaks and a long, very serious crack was discovered along one wall. (I believe you can see it in one upcoming photo.)
I happened to be walking through Old Town yesterday when I remembered being told this. So I walked to 3963 Conde Street to see for myself.
The Adobe Chapel (also known as the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception) is designated California Historical Landmark No. 49. It was originally built in 1850. Initially the structure served as a home, then in 1858 it was turned into a church that would become a center for activity in early San Diego.
The old chapel has a rich history. It was said to be the wedding place of the character Ramona in Helen Hunt Jackson’s wildly popular 1884 novel of the same name. The Adobe Chapel would later be bulldozed and rebuilt in the 1930’s. To learn more about its history, visit the Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) website here and here. To enjoy a fascinating gallery of images, click here.
The Adobe Chapel is presently operated by SOHO. It is both a museum and special event venue. According to their website, it should be reopening, after repairs, sometime in 2022.
(UPDATE! I was told in late 2024: I just saw a post of yours from when SOHO was running the Adobe Chapel in Old Town. We no longer operate it and haven’t since 2020. Here is updated text for you: In 2020, SOHO ceased operating the Adobe Chapel due to structural and public safety concerns with its need for earthquake retrofitting. The City of San Diego is still, four years later, studying these needs, but the chapel remains standing today, awaiting its next chapter. We encourage city officials not to forget its duty towards this important beacon of spiritual, cultural, and community life.)
I see a long crack!Photo of historical plaques and sign taken from a nearby parking lot.
ADOBE CHAPEL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
ORIGINALLY BUILT AS THE HOME OF SAN DIEGO’S JOHN BROWN IN 1850, THE HOUSE WAS CONVERTED TO A CHURCH BY DON JOSE AGUIRRE IN 1858. FATHER ANTONIO D. UBACH, FORMERLY A MISSIONARY AMONG THE INDIANS, WAS PARISH PRIEST HERE FROM 1866 TO 1907. IT IS SAID THAT HE WAS THE MODEL FOR “FATHER GASPARA” IN HELEN HUNT JACKSON’S RAMONA. IN 1937 THE WPA REBUILT THE ADOBE CHAPEL CLOSE TO ITS ORIGINAL SITE.
Old Adobe Chapel
BUILT IN 1850 AS A PRIVATE RESIDENCE. DEDICATED A PARISH CHURCH NOVEMBER 21, 1858 by FATHER JOHN MOLINER.
IN 1866, FATHER ANTONIO UBACH, THE PARISH PRIEST, WAS “FATHER GASPARA” OF HELEN HUNT JACKSON’S FAMOUS NOVEL “Ramona”
REBUILT BY UNITED STATES WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION 1937
A view of the Old Adobe Chapel from Conde Street in Old Town San Diego.
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 