Bronze audience listens to a Bob Hope comedy routine.
Perhaps you fondly remember Bob Hope. Millions do. I do.
In San Diego, a fantastic tribute to the legendary comedian can be found on the Greatest Generation Walk, just south of the USS Midway Museum. Sixteen life-sized bronze figures show Bob doing a comedy routine for assorted American service members from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. An outdoor speaker plays old recordings of him telling his inimitable jokes. For five decades Bob Hope entertained the troops during his many USO tours.
Thanks for the memories.
The famous profile of legendary American comedian Bob Hope.USS Midway can be seen behind the bronze service members.USO tours by Bob Hope over many decades are recalled.Man poses with bronze sculptures of American military heroes.Bob Hope entertains troops by the USS Midway Museum and the Unconditional Surrender “Kiss” statue.A National Salute to Bob Hope and the Military.
The scene downtown is constantly fascinating. The kaleidoscope of colors, thousands of people on the move, the crazy, seemingly random whirl of activity…
Over the years, the buildings themselves participate in this dance of life. New structures rise into the shining skyline like spring flowers, and old, crumbling derelicts are torn down to make way.
The time-worn Brake Depot is being torn down. Once the pride of the block, it’s being swept away to make room for new development. Here are some photographs:
The now empty remains of Brake Depot on B Street.Instruments of urban destruction sit idle.Glass skyscraper shines behind a sadly destroyed wreck.A big hole in one wall of the former Brake Depot.
UPDATE!
Brake Depot is long gone. But look what’s rising in late 2015!
A new downtown San Diego project, called Blue Sky, is rising where Brake Depot used to be. Blue Sky will be downtown’s largest apartment building, with 939 units!Blue Sky’s two towers will be located on B Street between Symphony Towers and Vantage Pointe (in the background), which is currently San Diego’s largest apartment complex.
This morning around seven I walked over to the grassy park just south of the USS Midway Museum. I wanted to see The Wall That Heals.
A half-scale traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the black wall is inscribed with over 58,000 names. Each name belongs to a serviceman who made the ultimate sacrifice during that war.
I’m sure the weekend crowds will be huge, but early on a Friday morning very few people were about.
The Wall That Heals and several thought-provoking displays that accompany it will remain in San Diego through Sunday.
If all of the names could be in one place…Helmet and boots from Vietnam War era.Friends of the Forgotten, remembering those who sacrificed.The Gold Star Bike on public display.Welcome to The Wall That Heals.Flowers and the names of over 58,000 who gave their lives.
UPDATE…
I took the following photos Sunday afternoon around one o’clock.
Half-size replica of Vietnam Veterans Memorial in San Diego.People read names inscribed on The Wall That Heals.
Sculpture and cannon at entrance to the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.
Just east of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park one can find the Mormon Battalion Historic Site, an attraction created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The location itself seems a bit arbitrary, as the Mormon Battalion manned Fort Stockton up on the hill by the old, abandoned Presidio when they arrived in San Diego in 1847.
Young lady missionaries guide visitors through a series of rooms and outdoor areas which are designed to tell a sympathetic version of the Mormon Battalion’s difficult 2000 mile march from Iowa. The ulterior motive is to promote their beliefs, and there are frequent religious references, but there is no hard sell and the tour guides are warm and friendly. One can absorb a little bit of history while experiencing a good-humored, Disney-like presentation.
A friendly missionary lady comes outside to welcome a new visitor.Girl in a pioneer dress begins the tour with talking, moving portraits.
Much of the tour is spent watching professionally produced dramatic videos. Several real historical artifacts can be found near the tour’s end.
Taking pictures of visitors with a large antique camera.Girls pose for a picture in front of a western scene.
A lot of families and kids were smiling and enjoying the tour. Many appeared to be members of the LDS Church.
Young visitors near end of the tour pan for glittery iron pyrite.Covered wagon in front of the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.
Several colorful Victorian houses were relocated to Heritage Park.
Lovers of architecture, Victorian houses and San Diego history should swing by Heritage Park, a small county park located next to Old Town.
Several historic homes representing Italianate, Stick-Eastlake, Queen Anne and Classic Revival styles were relocated to this eight acre park by the Save Our Heritage Organisation. Only the exteriors of the structures have been restored, with the exception of the Burton House and Senlis Cottage, which are open to the public.
Group of ladies walking past the Sherman-Gilbert House.
John Sherman, cousin of General William Tecumseh Sherman, built the Stick-Eastlake style Sherman-Gilbert House in 1887. Over the years, many world-famous entertainers appeared at receptions in this house, including ballet dancer Anna Pavlova and pianist Artur Rubinstein. This was the first structure moved to Heritage Park, in 1971.
Bushyhead House was an Italianate residence built in 1887.
Edward Wilkerson Bushyhead, a Cherokee Indian with a Scottish ancestor, was an important historical figure in San Diego. He served as Chief of Police years after being publisher of the San Diego Union newspaper. He built the Bushyhead House as a rental in 1887.
Christian House, built in 1889, seen beyond large tree.
The Christian House is a colorful Queen Anne style house built in 1889.
Girl on porch of the Classic Revival Burton House.Side view of the 1893 Burton House in San Diego’s Heritage Park.McConaughy House, a Stick-Eastlake built in 1887.People emerge from San Diego’s first synagogue, Temple Beth Israel.
This 1889 Classic Revival building constructed by the Congregation Beth Israel was also used by several religious sects before it was finally relocated to Heritage Park.
Heritage Park is located adjacent to historic Old Town San Diego.
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Front of the Seeley Stable Museum in Old Town San Diego.
Perhaps my favorite part of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is the Seeley Stable Museum.
The huge old barn and surrounding area were once owned by Albert Seeley, who ran the San Diego-Los Angeles Stage Line from 1868 to 1877. His Concord stagecoaches left San Diego at 5 am, stopped overnight at San Juan Capistrano, and arrived in Los Angeles at 4 pm the next day. Eventually competition with the railroad put him out of business.
Sign on the Blacksmith Shop behind Seeley Stable.
Behind the Seeley Stable is a cool blacksmith shop, where tourists can watch skilled hobbyists demonstrate the shaping of red hot iron. The hammers ring loudly and the sparks fly! Unfortunately it wasn’t open the day I took these photos.
Covered wagon, anvils and relics of the Old West behind Seeley Stable.
Across from the blacksmith you’ll find this. Very cool!
Several unrestored wagons.Peering through old wagon wheels.Donkey awaits young visitors to historic Seeley Stable.
On the south side of the stable you’ll find a couple of donkeys, which are used by park rangers to teach children about life in the Old West.
Concord stagecoach from the Los Angeles to San Diego route.
Finally, we’re inside the museum! You can see many different wagons and stagecoaches inside the dark old barn, plus other artifacts from life one and a half centuries ago.
Museum display with horse and saddles recreates the old stable.Huge freight wagon on display at Seeley Stable.Old Wells Fargo wagon once used to transport the mail.Old Town San Diego State Historic Park ranger chats with friendly lady at the ticket window.
The Seeley Stable Museum is free!
UPDATE!
Here are a few more interesting and informative photos that I took inside the museum in August 2017…
Roscoe E. “Pappy” Hazard was a developer and rancher who collected stagecoaches, carriages and wagons from the Old West. Many are displayed today in Old Town’s Seeley Stable Museum.In 1869, Albert L. Seeley transformed the nearby Bandini adobe into the two-story Cosmopolitan Hotel, which became Old Town’s stage depot and social center.Photo of Seeley Stable’s barn and yard taken from Presidio Hill in 1872. The Cosmopolitan Hotel can be seen on the right.Map shows important stagecoach routes, including the Butterfield Overland, and the Birch’s Line from San Antonio to San Diego.Signs and old photos concerning freight wagons in the Old West, which often employed large teams of mules.Spaniards introduced mules to America along with the horse. Hardy pack mules were used by trappers to haul furs, and by gold miners to move supplies and equipment.This delivery wagon was brought to San Diego by Frank Kimball in 1868. It was used to show passengers land that he had for sale in National City.This old Park Wagon was used by cattle rancher Walter Vail. He owned a land in Arizona, Santa Rosa island off the coast of California, and Warner’s Ranch northeast of San Diego.How a corner of the stable might have once appeared. Stable hands had many chores, including feeding, watering and grooming animals, and cleaning stalls.
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A carefree day near the center of San Diego’s Old Town!
Just some random pics taken around the central plaza of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park…
Shoppers emerge from pottery shop in Old Town central plaza.Silver jewelry, beef jerky and root beer!The Robinson-Rose house is the park Visitor Center.Tall flagpole at the center of historic Old Town.The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant.The Rust General Store with patriotic red, white and blue.Folks walk past historical buildings in Old Town’s plaza.Tourists pose for a picture in an old covered wagon in Old Town.
The Old Presidio Trail leads up a steep hill from San Diego’s historic Old Town.
Please join me as I walk from San Diego’s Old Town up a short but very steep trail to Presidio Park. We’ll see all sorts of interesting monuments, views, and of course, the location of the old Spanish presidio, whose ruins are no longer visible. The top of Presidio Hill is now home to the Junipero Serra Museum. Follow me!
We begin near the trailhead, beside the small Presidio Hills Golf Course, on the east edge of historic Old Town.
One of several signs along the Old Presidio Historic Trail. This one explains that soldiers and families used to walk down from the Spanish presidio to tend gardens and livestock near the Casa de Carrillo, which is now the pro shop at Presidio Hills Golf Course.The Indian sculpture by Arthur Putnam in Presidio Park.
The first interesting thing we see is this sculpture, titled The Indian. It was created by famous American artist Arthur Putnam in 1905 and placed at the site of an ancient Indian village. The small village was discovered and named San Miguel by the explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542.
The Padre Cross was erected near the spot where Junipero Serra established California’s first mission.
Up the hill from The Indian stands the Padre Cross. It was raised in 1913 by the Order of Panama and is made up of tiles from the Presidio ruins. The cross marks the strategic location overlooking San Diego Bay where Franciscan friar Junipero Serra chose to establish a Spanish Catholic mission in 1769. (The mission was moved several miles up the San Diego River 5 years later.)
Bronze statue titled The Padre by Arthur Putnam.
Nearby among some trees we find a memorial to the mission’s friars. It’s a bronze statue titled The Padre, completed in 1908 by renowned sculptor Arthur Putnam.
The Serra Museum rises beyond billowing Spanish flag.
Our legs are starting to feel the climb as we reach three flagpoles overlooking Mission Valley.
Looking down at a red trolley in Mission Valley.
Turning north for a moment, we see the trolley!
View of the Serra Museum on Presidio Hill in San Diego.
Now we’re getting close to the Serra Museum, which was built in 1928 on this historically very important hill. The museum was built, and the land containing Presidio Park was purchased and preserved for posterity, by philanthropist George Marston.
San Diego was born in 1769 at the old Presidio, a Spanish fort in a desert-like wilderness very far from European civilization. It was located just below the Serra Museum.
Serra Museum employee looks down the grassy hill.
Not many people are about at the moment. Most tourists never venture up this way.
The Serra Museum is packed with numerous historical exhibits. You can climb the tower for views of San Diego Bay, the San Diego River and Mission Valley.
Row of Mission Revival style arches.Large wine press outside San Diego’s fascinating Junipero Serra Museum.Looking downhill from atop grassy Presidio Park.
Now we’ll wander along the hilltop to nearby Fort Stockton, the short-lived camp of the famous Mormon Battalion.
Where a cannon once overlooked Old Town at Fort Stockton.
Decades ago, when I was a young man, I remember seeing a cannon set in this concrete overlooking Old Town. I believe that same cannon is now on display in the nearby Serra Museum. Given the name El Jupiter, it was one of ten cannons that originally protected the old Spanish Fort Guijarros on San Diego Bay at Ballast Point.
(A second surviving cannon from the fort is named El Capitan. Today it can be found near the center of Old Town San Diego’s Plaza de las Armas.)
Mural at Fort Stockton of the Mormon Battalion.
In 1846, President James K. Polk asked Brigham Young of the Mormons to send a few hundred men to San Diego to help in the Mexican-American war effort. On January 29, 1847 five hundred men and about eighty women and children arrived at Fort Stockton after a very difficult 2,000-mile march from Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Mormon Battalion Monument by Edward J. Fraughton.
I hope you enjoyed our walk!
UPDATE!
In 2021 the two sculptures The Indian and The Padre were moved from Presidio Hill to the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. To see my blog post concerning this, click here.
Victorian house once owned by San Diego’s historically important Scripps family.
Here are several pics of the very cool Britt-Scripps House in Bankers Hill, a neighborhood just north of downtown San Diego. The large townhouse, a great example of the Victorian Queen Anne style, is reputed to have been designed by Stanford White, the architect of New York’s second Madison Square Garden.
Completed in 1888 by prominent lawyer Eugene Britt, the magnificent house was purchased in 1896 by newspaper publisher E.W. Scripps, half-brother of Ellen Browning Scripps, the famous La Jolla philanthropist. After 1907 it was used as a guesthouse and second residence to supplement the newly-built Scripps ranch in Miramar. The lavish exterior includes a high conical tower and three elegant brick chimneys.
Britt-Scripps house as seen from Fourth Avenue.
Until recently the house served as a Bed and Breakfast. In the above photo you can spot one of the most interesting features: an amazing two story stained glass window.
Nearby carriage house behind flowers.
Britt-Scripps house is a very cool sight on Bankers Hill.
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This afternoon I enjoyed watching a good portion of San Diego’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade. Every January, MLK’s dream of racial equality is celebrated downtown in one of the largest parades of its kind in the United States. The parade route runs down Harbor Drive on San Diego’s waterfront.
I got a whole lot of photos. Please feel free to share and enjoy them!
Crowd gathers for annual San Diego MLK parade.
MLK Parade kicks off with many local politicians.
A cool police car fitted with hydraulics.
A vintage fire truck rolls down Harbor Drive.
This cute little dog is a member of law enforcement.
Watching the parade from the announcer platform.
Goodies are handed out by an MLK Parade participant.
Candidate for San Diego Mayor, David Alvarez.
A huge Homeland Security armored vehicle.
Border Patrol agents on all-terrain vehicles.
Coast Guard patrol boat towed along parade route.
Patriotic colors precede bagpipes.
Attending to sound board beside the announcers.
People watch parade from hotel balconies across the street.
Here comes the Gadsden Elementary School marching band.
Tuba players march in the San Diego MLK parade.
Gecko celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. birthday.
Crowd enthused by a great parade performance.
A dance routine on Harbor Drive.
Kids perform a fun routine for MLK Parade onlookers.
Looking very elegant.
The UCSD band passes by.
Young kids have difficulty with SDSU letters.
SDSU Aztec Warrior at MLK Parade in San Diego.
Veterans for Peace parade a drone.
Members of a lodge parade on by to loud cheers.
Marchers honor the Martin Luther King Jr. dream.
Colorful dancers from the House of Panama.
Drummers perform with pride on parade route.
Poster on side of truck shows historic MLK speech.
Some guys having fun in yellow mini cars.
Inflatable float from USS Midway Museum.
Children determined to achieve great things.
Another fun performance by kids for the parade announcers.
Banner holders stand up for human dignity.
Music and youthful energy on parade.
Folks in back of a truck celebrate MLK and his dream.
King and Queen of San Diego MLK Parade.
A beautiful parade queen waves to the large crowd.
Pooches with American flag bandanas.
Mr. Black San Diego greets the crowd.
Inspirational messages head down the Embarcadero.
Students from City College are agents of change.
A smiling beauty perched high atop a parade float.
MLK impersonator recreates famous speech at Lincoln Memorial.
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