Tag: history

Nine million women honored on USS Midway.

An exhibit on the hangar deck of the USS Midway Museum honors the approximately 9 million women who stepped forward to meet the nation’s needs during World War II.

Women contributed by serving in the United States military services, and by building the ships, aircraft, ammunition and other equipment necessary to fight the war.

There’s special emphasis on how women helped to build seaplanes and bombers at San Diego’s Consolidated Aircraft Corporation, and how women helped to construct the enormous USS Midway aircraft carrier.

Did you know that by 1945 women made up as much as 40% of the workforce in the nation’s aircraft factories? That was true as well at Consolidated Aircraft.

Did you know that more than 1000 women, working as welders, electricians, machine operators, pipefitters, mechanics and painters helped to construct the USS Midway in just 18 months?

Rosie the Riveter and Wanda the Welder were instrumental in the eventual victory of the Allies!

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Historical police cars at San Diego Automotive Museum!

The San Diego Automotive Museum is now showcasing a fascinating slice of our city’s history. Visitors can check out vintage San Diego police cars!

Yesterday, while roaming about the museum, I came upon these vehicles owned by the San Diego Police Historical Association–the organization that operates the San Diego Police Museum. (Years ago I blogged about the police museum here.)

A complete range of old vehicles is on display. I enjoyed a close look at a very unique 1968 Ford Country Squire Police Ambulance, a 1953 Ford Mainline police car, a 1948 Ford Traffic Supervisor’s Car, and even a 1926 Buick Police “Paddy Wagon.” There are police cars from the 70s, 80s and 90s, too.

Perhaps you’ve seen some of these vehicles in parades or at special events. The San Diego Police Museum boasts a large collection of restored police vehicles. All are in working order. They can be rented out for special occasions. To learn more, visit this webpage.

A few photos taken at the San Diego Automotive Museum…

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War horse, camel, goat and cat in Balboa Park!

Almost a year ago, I posted a blog about the restoration of Balboa Park’s beautiful carousel animals. I walked by today and found carousel caretaker William “Bill” Brown and a smiling volunteer hard at work!

The carved wooden War Horse, Camel and Goat are at various stages of restoration, as you can see. Compare today’s photographs with those I took in June 2025 by clicking here.

First up, here’s the War Horse. The Balboa Park Carousel was originally built in 1910 by Herschell-Spillman, and, fortunately, there is a factory description that still exists. Bill intends to keep the restored version fairly true to that historical appearance.

Here’s an image of how a Herschell-Spillman War Horse appeared in the early 20th century…

Here’s how the restoration appears so far, with a lot of detailed painting still to go…

Here’s a sketch Bill made of the Camel as it may look when finally restored.

Unfortunately, no record exists of how this carousel animal originally appeared over a century ago. The leaves atop the camel’s humps would obviously be green.

The painting of the Camel is getting underway…

The Goat isn’t quite as far along.

As you can see, a lot of sanding is required when restoring these carved wooden carousel animals, they’re so very detailed. Lots of nooks and crannies.

But when the restoration is complete, the animals are amazing! Look how the Persian Cat turned out!

The Balboa Park Carousel is one of San Diego’s great treasures. Thanks to all who are keeping it alive, vibrant, and the source of joy for many!

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Baseball exhibit at San Diego History Center!

With less than a week to go until Major League Baseball returns, it was fun to see the San Diego History Center had a pop-up baseball exhibit in their atrium today. Most of the displays concerned the San Diego Padres. (The team’s Home Opener is at Petco Park next Thursday!)

All sorts of historical photographs and artifacts could be viewed by visitors. There was a fun quiz (I got 3 of 3 questions correct and a high five), plus creative activities for kids.

It was fun to see old photos of Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn and the San Diego Chicken.

I remember listening to Jerry Coleman and Dave Campbell on the radio during the Padres amazing 1984 season. I was a young man way back then. I also enjoyed years of listening to Ted Leitner, and going to games now and then. So many good memories…

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Kumeyaay Nation plaque at La Jolla Shores.

This very beautiful plaque near the beach in La Jolla Shores is dedicated to the Kumeyaay Nation, whose people have lived in our region for thousands of years.

I took these photos of the plaque a while back, during my last walk along the boardwalk near Kellogg Park. You can find the plaque inside the Grand Canyons of La Jolla Educational Plaza.

(To learn more about the plaza, check out a blog I posted a few years ago here.)

Text on the plaque includes:

KUMEYAAY NATION

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS WE HAVE LIVED TOGETHER AS A PEOPLE…from the shores of the Pacific Ocean ~ to the mountains and inland valleys ~ down through the deserts of Baja California Norte, Mexico.

Our cultural and historical roots can be traced throughout the greater San Diego region, dating back more than 12,000 years. La Jolla Shores has always been an integral part of our history and was a vital resource for gathering, fishing and hunting well into the early 20th Century. This area was once part of a lagoon offering a variety of plant life used for food, clothing, medicines, baskets and building materials. Our ancestors were exceptional stewards of the environment as demonstrated in their plant husbandry techniques and responsible use of land and water resources. Beginning with the Spanish invasion of 1769, the Kumeyaay were forced off ancestral lands and now live on twelve of the eighteen reservations in San Diego County. Our historical presence is visible along the shoreline as evidenced by unearthed artifacts, burial sites and remnant of ancient villages.

Offshore, submerged sites are protected by State and Federal Laws in order to keep our rich cultural heritage alive for future generations to learn from and enjoy. The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation dedicates this plaque to honor our past and promote preservation of this unique marine environment.

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Petition to save Chula Vista’s official tall ship!

I’ve recently learned a bit of unsettling news. A petition has been launched to save Bill of Rights as Chula Vista’s official tall ship.

Here is the text of the petition:

The Schooner Bill of Rights has called Chula Vista, CA home for decades. In fact, she is the official tall ship of the city. Recently, we were notified that her home dock had decided to terminate our lease…and we have less than 2 months until the date they’ve decided we have to leave.

The Bill of Rights has been instrumental in thousands of people’s lives, between Sea Cadets, Boy Scouts, and sailors from around the world. We want the lease renewed so we can continue to be an accessible, contributing member of our local community and to the tall ship community as a whole.

If you have known her personally, please share how she has affected you and why it was so important. We’d love to hear from you.

Please, sign and save the Bill!

To visit the petition website, and perhaps add your own name and remarks, click here.

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Rotary Club of Coronado celebrates 100 years.

The Coronado Historical Association museum has a new exhibit. It celebrates the Rotary Club of Coronado’s 100 year anniversary in 2026.

With historical photographs and artifacts, A Century of Service: 100 Years of the Rotary Club of Coronado covers the history of the club, from its founding in 1926 by 21 members to the present day. More importantly, it details how club members have improved the local community, and have worked to help people all around the world.

I was stunned to learn about the sheer amount of charitable work these Rotarians have done!

The Rotary Club of Coronado has worked to train community members in emergency preparedness. During COVID they created a Neighbor to Neighbor program to help keep people informed and connected. They support the Coronado Hospital Foundation. They offer scholarships, mentorship and leadership opportunities to local youth. They support the Rotary Youth Exchange, Model United Nations, Music Scholarship Competitions, Speech Contests, Athlete Awards and more!

Helping people around the world, the Rotary Club of Coronado fundraises to eradicate polio. They support grants for organizations like Tanzania Hospital and Orphanage, Project Mercy Baja, and the Pan American Institute school in Tijuana, Mexico. They support Limbs of Freedom which provide prosthetics in Mexico. They also support Thousand Smiles, providing cleft lip and other care in Mexico, too.

So much good work!

Go check out the exhibit and prepare to be impressed!

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A mystery behind the San Diego Convention Center!

These metal benches line the boardwalk behind the San Diego Convention Center. They face San Diego Bay. They were commissioned in 2008 and created by noted artist Nance O’Banion.

As her website explains: Nance produced 13 original designs, each of which was fabricated, once in its original form and once as a ‘mirror image’, in plasma-cut powder-coated steel. The installation of 26 art benches was titled Reverie.

I took these photos yesterday…

Today, a plaque can be seen embedded in the boardwalk near the benches, very close to the entrance to the Fifth Avenue Landing Superyacht Marina. It resembles the Reverie plaque shown in the gallery on Nance O’Banion’s website. The plaque includes her name and the same 2008 year.

But the title of the current plaque is different!

Why is the title Caesure, and not the original Reverie?

At some point, was the name of the installation changed to Caesure? The Latin word caesūra means “a cutting” or “a separation,” which might apply to the mirrored bench designs, or possibly how these benches were made.

Or . . . does Caesure concern another work of public art somewhere nearby? If so, what and where?

It’s a mystery with no solution that I can find!

If you know more about the history of this art bench installation, and why there have been different plaques with two different titles, please leave a comment!

UPDATE!

During a later walk along the boardwalk, I spotted a plaque titled Reverie. So that leaves the question: What was/is the public art titled Caesure?

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Help preserve history, education in Chula Vista!

The historic tall ship Bill of Rights makes its home in Chula Vista Marina. Launched in 1971, today it offers charters, tours and, perhaps most importantly, it is an asset used for training youth interested in careers at sea. Bill of Rights is used by the U.S. Navy Sea Cadets, Navy Junior ROTC, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and others.

The all-volunteer South Bayfront Sailing Association owns and operates Bill of Rights. An over half-century-old wooden schooner needs a lot of maintenance. Right now the original decking is being replaced. Captain Don Johnson is an expert carpenter, fortunately, but to redeck the beautiful, historic yacht in the most economical way practical still takes significant money.

Lately, the youth organizations that train on Bill of Rights have seen a significant reduction in their own funds. That has placed the South Bayfront Sailing Association in a position of needing donations from local businesses and generous individuals to continue the programs.

Would you like to help preserve both history and education in Chula Vista?

Please visit the South Bayfront Sailing Association website by clicking here. Consider volunteering or making a donation. Simply visiting the tall ship and its nearby gift shop kiosk makes for a fun excursion. They’ll gladly give you a tour, too!

Everything you do helps a lot!

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Pedrorena-Altamirano House in Old Town San Diego.

Whenever I walk through Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, I take photographs of the Pedrorena-Altamirano House. For some reason, however, I never get around to posting those photos!

Here we go, finally. These images were captured at various times under different light conditions.

As a sign on the front porch explains, the adobe and wood frame house was built by Miguel de Pedrorena Jr. in 1869 and deeded to his sister Isabel, wife of José Antonio Altamirano, in 1871. Hence its name. In Spanish the house is called Casa de Pedrorena de Altamirano.

In the 1890s it was remodeled as a Victorian bungalow, and in 1932 the house was listed as a California Historical Landmark. California State Parks rehabilitated the structure in 1982.

Today, as you can see, it’s home of Miner’s Gems and Minerals. That explains the mining equipment visitors discover in back.

The next photos were taken behind the house…

As you can see, there’s a plaque…

The plaque provides more interesting history. It reads:

Casa de Pedrorena de Altamirano

Miguel Pedrorena Jr. built this adobe structure in 1869. It was the final adobe built in Old Town. In January 1871 Pedrorena gave the building to his sister Isabel de Altamirano, joining together two pioneer California families. Isabel and her husband Jose Antonio Altamirano raised their large family in this home. Isabel’s father, Miguel Pedrorena, was a prominent merchant in Mexican California, and represented the San Diego area at the California State Constitutional Convention held in 1849. Jose Antonio Altamirano was born in La Paz, Lower California in 1835, but came to San Diego in 1849 to explore the mining possibilities of the area. He also engaged in stock raising ventures on both sides of the border.

HISTORICAL LANDMARK #70

Now let’s circle around the house and return to the front…

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