Tag: historic places

Hotel del Coronado’s industrial complex.

What’s that tall brick smokestack near the world-famous Hotel del Coronado?

It’s the most noticeable part of a historic industrial complex!

I walked around the Hotel Del’s old laundry building, ice house and power plant last month during the San Diego Architectural Foundation Open House event. I discovered several plaques that provide information about these three buildings, which, clustered south of the hotel lobby entrance, are called the industrial complex.

The brick building shown below once provided the Hotel del Coronado’s laundry service. It’s now home to The Laundry Pub!

Laundry, established 1919.

The original hotel laundry opened on the second floor of the Power Plant in January 1888. The Laundry occupied the majority of the second floor and employed 20 women. In 1919 this brick structure was built to house the laundry operation, which had expanded to serve all of Coronado Island with a fleet of five laundry trucks and a branch location on Orange Avenue. Laundry services were provided here for the hotel until 2018.

The next photo is through the window of The Laundry Pub, which features an 1880s-era bar and the laundry’s early conveyor system above restored wood floors.

North of the brick laundry building is the hotel’s old ice house.

The ice house is now home to the fascinating Ice House Museum of the Hotel del Coronado, where you can view historical displays and artifacts, plus photographs of the many celebrities, movie stars and United States Presidents who’ve visited the Victorian resort over the years. I blogged about the museum two years ago here.

In the rear of the ice house is this plaque…

Ice House, established 1889.

Ice was originally produced with a small machine inside the Power Plant until this masonry structure was built to house a new 10-ton De Coppet ice machine. Renowned for excellent tasting ice, the De Coppet system was cutting edge technology at the time and allowed The Del to manufacture and supply ice throughout Southern California. In 1909, the building was converted into a storeroom with later uses including an upholstery shop and offices.

Lastly, north of the ice house is the old power plant with its tall, striped smokestack.

Power Plant, established 1887.

Built in 1887 to house the incandescent electric light plant, laundry, and engine house, the Power Plant supplied electricity to all of Coronado Island until service was established with SDG&E in 1922. The Power Plant housed five Mather dynamos, two Hazelton boilers, and heavy pumping and heating machinery. To this day, a utility tunnel connects the Power Plant to the historic hotel.

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Two unusual rooms in a San Diego hotel!

A luxurious hotel in downtown San Diego contains two huge rooms that are quite unusual. One used to be a basketball court, and another was an indoor swimming pool!

The Guild Hotel occupies the historic 1924 building that was originally home of the Army-Navy YMCA. For decades, tens of thousands of sailors and military men would head to this location on Broadway, not far from the waterfront, to recreate. They’d play basketball, run around an elevated indoor track, and swim in a basement pool.

The Guild Hotel, when it moved into the iconic building, creatively repurposed two large indoor spaces. The huge basketball court was converted into the grand Grace Ballroom! The swimming pool was turned into the Society Ballroom!

I was shown these spaces several weeks ago during the San Diego Architectural Foundation Open House event.

Just inside the front entrance of the luxurious The Guild Hotel in downtown San Diego.

The Guild Bar in the hotel lobby.

To the left of the bar, a door opens to the unusual Grace Ballroom.

The Grace Ballroom at The Guild Hotel was originally an indoor basketball court. Military men shot hoops here for decades when the building was an Armed Services YMCA.

An elevated platform intended for jogging or running continues to surround the hotel ballroom!

Beautiful tiles along a stairway that descends from The Guild Hotel lobby to a lower level.

An old photograph of the large swimming pool that once occupied the Army-Navy YMCA’s basement.

The swimming pool is gone, replaced by the Society Ballroom! The historic space was set up as a meeting room when I toured the hotel.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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Tintypes of Old Town folks in period attire!

Employees and volunteers at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park have posed for old-fashioned tintype photographs, while dressed in period attire!

I spotted this display recently in front of the Robinson-Rose House Visitors Center. The “nineteenth century reproduction clothing” in these photographs reflects Old Town’s interpretive period, which is between 1821 and 1872.

If you want to see more photos of California State Park folks in period attire, click here. Or head over to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park and simply walk around. You’ll likely meet staff and volunteers who appear to have emerged from our city’s early history!

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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!

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San Diego’s historic Balboa Theatre turns 100!

This coming Thursday–March 28, 2024–the Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego will have been opened for 100 years!

Those walking down the sidewalk past the historic building might notice some intriguing graphics that celebrate the big anniversary.

Look at my first photograph, taken this morning. Beside the stage door on Fourth Avenue you can see promotional material from 1924.

The Opening Night of San Diego’s Newest Motion Picture House Finished at Cost of $800,000 would feature Lilies of the Field. The film’s stars, Conway Tearle and Corinne Griffith, would also make a personal appearance.

Over the course of a century, the Balboa Theatre has undergone many changes, all the while remaining an important part of life in downtown San Diego.

Read the fascinating history here.

Additional graphics along the sidewalk tell more of the Balboa Theatre’s unique story:

The Balboa Theatre’s Famous Morton Organ

…The organ has more than 1400 keys and is connected to a series of 2,000 pipes that produce the sounds of a range of musical instruments, including drums, trumpets, and a xylophone!

Because of its unusually ornate “wedding cake” console carvings and unique details, the Balboa ‘s is believe to be the first of only five Wonder Morton Organs ever built and one of only four that survive today…

Balboa Theatre organist Edward Swan, who provides organ accompaniment for up to 12 hours every day, claimed that the Morton organ was the finest he had ever played.

In 1929, the original Balboa Theatre organ was relocated to the Fox Theatre, now Copley Symphony Hall.

The 4-manual, 23-rank Wonder Morton Organ currently installed at the Balboa was constructed in 1929 for the Loew’s Valencia Theatre on Jamaica Avenue in Queens…

There will be a special showing at the Balboa Theatre this Friday to celebrate the big 100 year anniversary. The Flying Fleet, a 1929 silent movie that features scenes in San Diego, will be accompanied by the current Wonder Morton theatre pipe organ.

You can learn more about the event by clicking here!

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Celebrities, ghosts and history in Bankers Hill!

The Hawthorne Historic Inn in Bankers Hill is a picturesque old Victorian. Built circa 1900 in the Dutch Colonial style, the building attracts the eyes of those passing down 1st Avenue.

A public tour of the Hawthorne Historic Inn was offered last weekend, as part of the San Diego Architectural Foundation Open House event, and I took full advantage of the opportunity!

Not only could visitors explore the interior, with its long, bright skylight and beautifully furnished rooms for rent, but we learned that the building has a very rich and surprising history!

A handout provided by the property owner explained how Mr. Jones, a movie starring Richard Gere, was filmed here in 1993. You might recall scenes of Richard Gere’s troubled character on the rooftop.

It also recounted how Mohammed Ali and Sammy Davis, Jr. stayed at the inn in the 1960s and 70s. Back then, unfortunately, African Americans had difficulty obtaining rooms in other establishments.

Another tidbit that interested me is that in the 1980s, the Hawthorne Inn was one of three officially haunted places in San Diego! (I saw no ghosts during my tour.)

The inn was originally called “The Plainsman” in an old classified ad. It was a boarding house. It is one of the few Working Man’s hotels remaining from the turn of the 19th century.

The second owner, last name Warren, was a women who was a Theosophist. She was likely involved in the founding of Lomaland, the Theosophical community located in Point Loma.

I learned the property has had its ups and downs, but is currently on the upswing. Today it’s a fine apartment building with great views of downtown and San Diego Bay from its upper floor and an outside balcony.

The Hawthorne Historic Inn is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also a California State Historic Landmark.

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

History inside old San Diego bread factory!

Industrial baking equipment can be viewed inside the building in Logan Heights that once housed a San Diego bread factory. The old building, at 1955 Julian Avenue, is now home to Bread & Salt, a cultural hub that features multiple art galleries, plus a brewery and coffee shop.

Today’s coffee shop–which occupies the oldest part of the building–is where Cramer’s Bakery operated a century ago. Read its history here.

The bakery expanded over time and eventually produced Weber’s bread, as you can see in my photograph of the building’s front entrance.

I stepped into Bread & Salt today because the public was invited to tour the historic building during this weekend’s San Diego Architectural Foundation Open House event. While I enjoyed viewing artwork in the various galleries, I was most intrigued by the remaining old baking equipment.

I’m no expert, so I can’t explain all that I saw. No information was available. Perhaps knowledgeable readers can leave a comment.

I did observe how bread dough would be sent from large steel “funnels” hanging from the ceiling into large bread-making ovens (one oven remains behind the coffee shop counter). A machine against a nearby wall appears to have been used for making or mixing dough. I also recognized an old-fashioned printing press. I don’t know if it was utilized in the factory–perhaps for advertising.

Step through the following door to make your own discoveries:

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Elegant beauty returns as Botanical Building rebuilt!

The shapely, elegant beauty of Balboa Park’s Botanical Building is returning!

San Diego’s iconic wood and steel structure, which was badly in need of repair, is in the process of being rebuilt.

I took these photographs today. Compare them to photos I took months ago. You can view those here.

New wood lath now forms the airy roof of one wing. When it was built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, Balboa Park’s amazing Botanical Building was one of the largest lath structures in the world!

I can’t wait to see it finished!

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

A visit to the Oceanside Historical Society.

Walk along the north side of the Oceanside Civic Center and you might spy the door of the Oceanside Historical Society. The unobtrusive glass door is a portal to Oceanside’s past!

Inside Oceanside’s small history center you’ll find dozens of old photographs on several walls. A glass display case contains historical artifacts. One corner of the room is occupied by a model of Oceanside’s famous Top Gun House. Just inside the front door, stairs wind upward and end mysteriously at a wall.

The space occupied by the history center was originally the home of Oceanside’s police department. Those stairs that end in a wall once climbed to a jail on the second floor. Where the jail was located is now part of Fire Station 1, which occupies the same building. The building was designed by famed architect Irving Gill, who apparently didn’t take into account that drunks and belligerents headed for jail would be ascending those steep, winding stairs! And there was a skylight in the jail, too, very convenient for escape!

During my visit earlier this week, I learned the nearby Oceanside Museum of Art will be expanding into both the fire station and history center, and the latter two will be relocated to Civic Center Drive.

Kristi Hawthorne, Director of the Oceanside Historical Society, also told me a little about the police and firefighter artifacts in the display case, including material confiscated from bootleggers during Prohibition. She maintains a great blog called Histories and Mysteries, where you’ll discover all sort of fascinating photos and little known stories from Oceanside’s history.

She explained that the society maintains a huge archive of historical photographs, and is presently digitizing tens of thousands of documents.

I also learned the Oceanside Historical Society leads downtown history walks!

The free walks are held the second Saturday of each month, April through September. If you’d like to participate, check out this web page. (You can also download a guide for a self-guided tour.)

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Celebrating the 109th birthday of the Spreckels Organ!

A special concert today in Balboa Park celebrated the 109th birthday of the Spreckels Organ!

San Diego Civic Organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez performed a crowd pleasing assortment of music, and received another standing ovation. Our city is fortunate to have a charismatic, world-class organist increasing the popularity of the Spreckels Organ, the largest outdoor musical instrument in the world!

During the free concert, audience members were invited to file through the organ building to watch and hear the incredible pipe organ in action. I myself entered as Raul began a medley from The Sound of Music. I wanted to take another look at historical photographs that line the walls of the building’s central hallway.

(You can see behind-the-scenes photos I took of the Spreckels Organ nine years ago by clicking here.)

The Spreckels Organ made its debut on January 1, 1915, at the opening of the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. The organ was donated by the Spreckels brothers to the people of San Diego and the people of all the world. They stipulated that all concerts must be free.

Free concerts can be enjoyed 109 years later every Sunday at 2 pm!

Crowd listens to Spreckels Organ 109th birthday concert during the holiday season.

The San Diego Union newspaper, Friday Morning, January 1, 1915. John D. Spreckels Gives to San Diego America’s First Out-Of-Door Organ.

Mr. Edward Crome, Spreckels Organ Installer, 1914.

Mr. Harrison Albright, Architect, Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

Dr. Humphrey J. Stewart, City Organist, 1915-1932.

The Spreckels Organ Pavilion Under Construction – 1914. The only surviving picture.

A 1915 Concert. Note the hooded console and umbrellas.

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Christmas colors illuminate U.S. Grant Hotel!

You know it’s the holiday season in San Diego when Christmas colors illuminate downtown’s U.S. Grant Hotel!

During the night the hotel turns bright green and red. I took these photographs as I walked down Broadway very early this morning, while it was still dark.

You might notice some scaffolding. The building’s exterior is presently undergoing a refresh.

Did you know the U.S. Grant Hotel was built by the son of President Ulysses S. Grant, has hosted twelve United States Presidents, and was the very first location for San Diego Comic-Con?

Learn more about the elegant hotel’s amazing history here.

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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!