Tag: history

Building a chuck wagon at Escondido history center!

The Escondido History Center is always full of surprises!

Imagine my own surprise today when I discovered guys building an old-fashioned chuck wagon at the history center’s Bandy Blacksmith & Wheelwright Shop!

The retired volunteers, working on the project, let me step into the wheelwright shop to see exactly what they’re up to.

Check it out! The chuck wagon is being built from scratch and will be faithful to designs used over a century ago in the Old West. They hope to have it ready in time for Escondido’s 2025 Grape Day Festival, which will take place this September in Grape Day Park.

A chuck wagon is a horse-drawn wagon operating as a mobile field kitchen….They were included in wagon trains for settlers and traveling workers such as cowboys or loggers…

As you can see from my photos, this wagon is going to be awesome when finally completed!

First, here’s the old blacksmith and wagonworks building on the Escondido History Center‘s Heritage Walk, where the chuck wagon is being built…

Next is an old photo of a typical chuck wagon (without its cloth covering).

The guys working in Escondido will create a covering for their chuck wagon using duck cloth. You can see how the rear of the old chuck wagon in the photo has compartments used for storing food and cooking materials.

Now, inside the busy wheelwright shop today…

In the next photo, the wooden section that folds down near the front of the wagon is the foot board. The wagon’s seat will be mounted there behind it.

Next is the chuck box, which will be mounted to the rear of the chuck wagon. The combined cupboard and fold-down workspace stores cooking utensils, spices, and essential ingredients for cooking out in the field.

(Think of an old-fashioned tailgate party–featuring baked beans!)

The box-like pan boot is mounted under the chuck box. It typically held pots and pans and other cooking necessities such as a Dutch oven…

The opposite side of the chuck wagon under construction appears slightly different…

A barrel for water or other “liquid refreshment” will be mounted to this side!

The adjacent Penner Barn had its door opened by one of the friendly guys so I could take a peek inside…

The chuck wagon’s undercarriage is ready to go!

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Old Globe’s 90th Anniversary sculpture in Balboa Park!

A cool sculpture has appeared in Balboa Park at the center of The Old Globe theatre complex. It celebrates The Old Globe’s 90th Anniversary!

San Diego’s “flagship arts institution” has created countless great memories over nearly a century.

Cherished memories can be shared by anyone over a live feed in The Old Globe’s plaza. Go to this website, type in your Old Globe memory, and share it with other theatre lovers!

The sculpture contains images of theatrical productions over the years. So much history has been made at The Old Globe. A series of banners leading down to El Prado celebrates that history.

As one banner states: From Stephen Sondheim to August Wilson to Arthur Miller, The Old Globe has showcased the visions of the world’s greatest theatre-makers. Premiering new work, honoring the classics, and celebrating the craft of the stage, the Globe defines American theatre at the hightest level.

Another banner recalls: More than 30 Globe-launched productions went on to Broadway success, earning national acclaim...

What are some of your Old Globe memories?

I remember watching a play at the Cassius Carter Centre Stage (now called the The Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre) as a young person. I was struck by how the actors, encircled by the audience, had somehow become integral to my world and my life–at least for a time. It seemed as if these strangers had suddenly become family, bringing out the true potency of “familiar” things.

On that day I discovered the magical power of theatre. Does that make sense?

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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.

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Anniversaries celebrated by OB community murals!

Ocean Beach has a wonderful public art tradition that started in 1999. If you’ve visited this colorful seaside neighborhood, perhaps you’ve noticed.

The Murals of OB was the brainchild of local artist and activist Rich James. The idea was for the community to come together and create beautiful murals that would be mounted on walls and buildings around town. Over the years, many of these murals have been painted during the annual OB Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off.

This webpage describes the many murals and includes a walking tour map.

During my own walks, I’ve noticed that some of these community murals celebrate important Ocean Beach anniversaries. I’ll now share four that I’ve found.

The first mural (my previous and following photo) celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Ocean Beach Farmers Market.

The popular farmers market got started back in 1992. (Here’s a timeline of certain OB events.) The mural was painted in 2017.

Today, in 2025, people swing by the market every Wednesday, from 4 pm to 8 pm, on the 4900 block of Newport Avenue.

The next two photos show a mural that celebrates 100 years of the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club. It was painted in 2024.

Learn about the club’s fun events and philanthropy at their website here.

The next three photos are of a mural painted in 2012. It celebrates 125 years since Ocean Beach was founded in 1887.

Curious about the image of Wonderland on the right side of the mural? You can read about the short-lived amusement park and the very unique history of Ocean Beach by clicking here.

Finally, the fourth mural I’ve photographed celebrates the 50th anniversary of the OB Pier. The artwork was painted by many hands in 2016.

I happened to take photos back in 2016 during the pier’s big anniversary event. See that blog post by clicking here!

So, you might ask, what does it look like when people in the Ocean Beach community come together to paint one of these amazing murals?

In 2015, it looked like this…

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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.

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Harvesting the Ocean at Maritime Museum.

An exhibit about the history of fishing in San Diego opens today at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

Harvesting the Ocean expands upon pre-existing displays in the museum. The new exhibit follows the rise and fall of our city’s commercial fishing industry, and celebrates contributions by native people, immigrants and resilient fishing families to that rich history.

In addition to informative signs containing historical photographs, the exhibit includes artifacts used by fishermen who’ve harvested the ocean over the years.

I enjoyed an early look at the exhibit. If you’re interested in this very important aspect of San Diego history, you need to experience it, too.

The opening of this exhibit corresponds with the launch of a new seafood cookbook created by over a hundred contributors from the San Diego community. San Diego Seafood: Then & Now is available at the Maritime Museum’s gift shop. It contains over 75 recipes and includes essays, stories and photographs that bring our city’s extensive and diverse fishing history to life.

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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.

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La Jolla plaque honors San Diego’s underwater pioneers.

A plaque honoring San Diego’s underwater pioneers is embedded in a boulder a short distance west of La Jolla Cove. It was placed above Boomer Beach next to Ellen Browning Scripps Park last year.

People walking beside the ocean on the scenic boardwalk might see the bronze plaque near a bench.

The plaque reads:

Since 1933, offshore from this beach access, the seafloor bears memorial markers to name and honor San Diego’s most heralded underwater pioneers. The San Diego Bottom Scratchers Dive Club.

The Bottom Scratchers dedicated every dive to preventing the waste of sea life and to helping others appreciate the wonders of the sea. All who enter here fall under oath to do the same.

Plaque donated by San Diego Freedivers.

Here’s a great article about the Bottom Scratchers Dive Club, which began almost a century ago. It explains: The name “Scratchers” came from the members’ habit of scouring the ocean bottom for food… The Bottom Scratchers either invented or were the first to use the basic freediving spearfishing gear still employed today… Soon club members became local legends… Everything the explorers experienced was new…

There are some great old photographs in the article, too.

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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.

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History at First Avenue Bridge in Bankers Hill.

San Diego history can be viewed during a walk across the First Avenue Bridge in Bankers Hill.

Two identical bronze dedication plaques remain at either end of the arched steel bridge, which was built over Maple Canyon in 1931. The impressive structure was originally called the Peoples Bridge.

Today, looking down into Maple Canyon, you can also observe history being made. The Maple Canyon Restoration project has been underway for a couple years, replacing storm drains in the canyon, and expanding the channel to establish streambed and riparian habitats along the canyon floor.

Ten years ago I walked down Maple Canyon Trail and under the First Avenue Bridge. You can see photographs that I took here.

First Avenue Bridge…Length 463.24 feet…Height 104 feet…Erected by property owners under Improvement Act of 1911…R.E. Hazard Contracting Co…Tom Johnson Allen, Civil Engineer…R. Robinson Rowe, Structural Engineer…John C. Shaw, Consulting Engineer…R.M. Gregory, Superintendent of Streets

STANDARD IRON WORKS SAN DIEGO is indicated in many places along the 1931 steel bridge that spans Maple Canyon in Bankers Hill.

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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.

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Filipino food and culture served in Balboa Park!

Hungry during your weekend visit to Balboa Park? Do you love Filipino food, such as pancit and lumpia?

Head over to the San Diego History Center, where they’re serving up authentic Filipino food and culture!

Taste San Diego: Filipino Culinary Journeys is the name of the museum’s free exhibition, where displays tell the story of Filipino-American identity through the rich flavors of cuisine. It’s also where, on Saturdays and Sundays, tasty food is available for purchase at the Bataan Café!

What’s on the menu? Pancit, Shanghai Lumpia, and for dessert, Ube Crinkle Cookies and Dubai Ensaymada. Beverages include Ube Cold Brew, Calamansi Lemonade, Ginger Beer, and alcoholic Ube Wan and Jeepney.

When I swung by for lunch on Saturday, I was met by smiles and a neighborly vibe.

A family was enjoying their meal at a very special table. The table’s surface is actually a large video screen. Its looping video shows a Filipino boodle fight: a communal Filipino meal where food is placed directly on the table and eaten with bare hands. (My own table had me eating delicious lumpia by hand, but the pancit noodles made their way into my mouth by fork.)

I recommend you visit Taste San Diego: Filipino Culinary Journeys at the San Diego History Center. In addition to the great food served on weekends, there are walls full of heartwarming displays. They tell stories of Filipino family life and culture in San Diego.

Service with a smile!

I took the next photograph on a weekday, when the café is closed. My photo shows the scale of this exhibition at the San Diego History Center.

On weekends you’ll find people at the tables enjoying Filipino food!

The museum exhibit includes many displays.

This historical photograph shows how social fiestas help Filipino immigrants and Filipino-Americans stay connected to their roots and share rich traditions…

One display shows ingredients that are often used in the making of Filipino food…

Okay! It’s now the weekend and I’m hungry!

Time to eat!

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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.

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The San Pasqual Valley Agricultural Preserve Trail.

The San Dieguito River Park’s long Coast to Crest Trail runs through San Pasqual Valley, southeast of Escondido and northwest of Ramona. Much of the San Pasqual Valley is part of an agricultural preserve owned by the City of San Diego, where active farming can be observed.

The San Pasqual Valley Agricultural Preserve Trail is a segment of the Coast to Crest Trail that passes swaths of this farmland.

Yesterday I hiked perhaps a mile of this fascinating trail. As I walked east past an informative sign that I photographed, I observed farm workers planting a new crop to my left, and trees and vegetation along Lake Hodges/San Dieguito River to my right.

You can find a trail map in .pdf form here. You might have to rotate the map clockwise to orient yourself. The trail segment is almost 9 miles, and I explored only the west part of it, starting from the vicinity of Mule Hill. The sign that I photographed is where the wedge-like black arrow is on the map.

Here I am approaching the sign…

The San Dieguito River Park’s information includes:

The San Pasqual Valley Agricultural Preserve Trail runs through what once was called the valley of eagles. The In-ke-pah tribe called this valley Mo-culoch-culoch, which means “one stone on top of another.” In the late 18th century, the Spanish Franciscans renamed the valley for Saint Pascal.

The City of San Diego leases the land for farming, a use that helps the city maintain water supplies and protect water quality while preserving the rural character of the valley and continuing the tradition of agriculture in the San Pasqual Valley.

San Diego County maintains the second highest number of farms in all counties in the United States. It also leads the nation in the production value of nursery crops, floriculture and sod.

To read the above sign, enlarge my photograph.

Now I’m continuing my walk past it, getting my first glimpse of farmland ahead. The weather was pleasantly overcast on this early June morning. I saw several mountain bikers during my walk…

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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.

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Restoration of Balboa Park Carousel animals!

Carved wooden camel of the Balboa Park Carousel is being lovingly restored.

The restoration of the Balboa Park Carousel’s carved wooden animals is an ongoing project. William “Bill” Brown, who has been operating and tending this historic carousel since 1972, showed me four animals that are being restored in 2025.

The first–a camel–you can see above. Feast your eyes on the amazing sculptural detail!

The Balboa Park Carousel was originally built in 1910 by Herschell-Spillman, whose factory created many of these same animals for different carousels.

Restoring the carved animals involves removing layers of paint, repairing dents and scrapes caused mostly by dangling feet, then returning these true works of art to their former glory. Bill accomplishes this by using images he obtained from the archives of the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum, which he once had the opportunity to visit.

Bill was very kind and showed me the animals undergoing restoration during a brief lull in the carousel action.

The Persian Cat, in the next photo, is the animal nearest completion.

Here’s an image of how the Persian Cat might have appeared as it left the Herschell-Spillman factory over a century ago. (Through the years, the basic design would undergo certain changes, including coloration.)

The restoration pays close attention to original details.

Next is the carousel’s War Horse, now stripped of old paint…

Many of the animals have “side images” such as a warrior with shield in this case.

A carousel goat is also being restored!

Bill also showed me several carved animals whose restoration was completed last year! They look absolutely fantastic!

First up, this tiger. Look how bright and colorful it now is! Remember the famous 1882 short story The Lady, or the Tiger? That explains the side image.

Then there’s a beautifully restored stork, with a baby ready for delivery!

And look how amazing this restored stag appears! A hound appears on its side.

Bill, by carefully tending and restoring the Balboa Park carousel, has been bringing joy to generations of San Diegans. Thank you!

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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.

Feel free to share!

History, flag and roses at Ingram Plaza.

Ingram Plaza is a special place at Liberty Station in Point Loma. It can be found very easily by looking for the large American flag. Like all of Liberty Station, Ingram Plaza used to be part of Naval Training San Diego, which closed in 1997.

Words that wandering visitors can read describe the history and significance of the place.

A plaque can be found beside an anchor, steps away from the plaza. It reads:

INGRAM PLAZA

THIS PLAZA IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF OSMOND K. INGRAM, GUNNER’S MATE FIRST CLASS UNITED STATES NAVY, WHO SACRIFICED HIS LIFE IN AN EFFORT TO SAVE HIS SHIP AND SHIPMATES DURING AN ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE U.S.S. CASSIN AND A GERMAN SUBMARINE ON OCTOBER 15, 1917. “GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS.”

After pausing at the anchor to read its plaque, I walked into the plaza’s center near the flagpole, where there are beds of roses. (I took these photos in spring.)

A nearby sign…

This plaza served as a “detention camp” when the base first opened to isolate new recruits…to make sure any contagious disease…did not circulate among the entire base. During this time, they were transformed into trainees with new haircuts, clothing and initial instruction…

Among the roses is a time capsule with a plaque…

To commemorate the Centennial of Liberty Station and the former Naval Training Center, a time capsule was buried here on October 29, 2023, to be opened in 25 years.

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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.

Feel free to share!