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.
…
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)!
How much do you know about the history of El Cajon?
Step into the Knox House Museum and you’ll be transported back in time. You’ll experience what life was like for El Cajon’s first settlers and its early residents.
You’ll learn how, in 1876, Amaziah Knox built a residence and hotel in the seeming middle of nowhere. Rising two stories tall, boasting seven rooms, it was the first commercial structure in El Cajon.
You’ll walk through the parlor, kitchen, living room, sewing room, and bedrooms, furnished as they might have been from 1895 to 1912. You’ll see original objects that were owned by the Knox family, plus many old photographs of El Cajon taken during its early years..
The El Cajon Historical Society operates the free Knox House Museum and welcomes visitors with a great tour of the old house. Check out their website for the location, open days and hours.
My own visit last Saturday was an eye-opener. I peered at photos of a very early El Cajon, with its small handful of structures. I learned that the hotel was cleverly built in a popular camping place for teamsters, miners, and drovers traveling to the Julian gold mines after 1870.
I saw how the hotel and the young city expanded, and how agriculture played an important role in the growing prosperity. Grapes covered many acres in one old photo. They were dried and exported as raisins.
I learned how the home’s parlor served as El Cajon’s very first post office, with Mr. Knox the official Postmaster.
Did you know the United States Cavalry was once stationed in El Cajon, and that El Cajon and Lakeside boasted a stagecoach line?
No? You should visit the museum! Or check out their informative website by clicking here.
My tour guide Rick told me the historical society is looking for new volunteers. Do you live in El Cajon or East County? Would you like to help keep this important history alive? Contact the El Cajon Historical Society here.
Or consider a donation. Worthy organizations like this are struggling, especially after the disruptions caused by COVID.
One last thing. The El Cajon Historical Society is eager to teach young people about the fascinating history of this city they call home. They are offering a slide show for local classrooms! Do you know any teachers? Pass the word!
…
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)!
Those who approach the Hotel del Coronado from the south will see a handsome yellow building that stands beside Orange Avenue. The old building is called The Oxford, and it was built in 1887 near the ferry landing on the other side of Coronado!
The Oxford was Coronado’s first hotel. In 1911 the building was relocated a couple blocks east of the Hotel del Coronado, where the post office is today. It was used to provide housing for the hotel’s female employees.
In 1983 the building was saved from demolition and in 1986 it was moved again to this spot on the hotel property. In 2021 it was carefully restored. The Oxford today is home to the Hotel del Coronado administrative offices.
An old photo on display in the hotel’s Ice House Museum shows the building being moved in 1986. The large structure was temporarily divided into two halves, and obstructions had to be removed from the streets during its move!
…
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)!
This old two-story brick building in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter has a fascinating history.
The property has been home to a factory that made crackers for ships, several other bakeries including the Royal Pie Bakery, and in the early 20th century, an upstairs hotel that was described as a den of rampant immorality!
Standing at 554 Fourth Avenue, the building was most recently home to Dublin Square Irish Pub.
The property’s history is so complex and interesting that one should read this detailed article by the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation.
An aging plaque on front of the building reads:
Royal Pie Bakery 1884
Originally known as the San Diego Steam Cracker Factory, this brick structure has remained a bakery since its construction in 1884. During the first part of the 20th century, when the Gaslamp was deteriorating into a red-light district, the upper floor housed the notorious Empire Hotel, and later the Anchor Hotel. In 1920, Alois Kuhnel and F. A. Smith purchased the bakery. They were partners until 1939. The building was sold to Alois Kuhnel in 1950.
The Royal Pie Bakery finally closed in 1998.
…
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)!
Beautiful murals depicting sea life surround the base of the Ocean Beach Hotel and its parking lot. Painted this year by local artists Carly Ealey and Christopher Konecki, the artwork stretches along Newport Avenue and Abbott Street.
The other day I walked beside long, low walls and the hotel building itself taking these photographs. You might enjoy them!
…
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 Twitter!
Dozens of funny characters are running amok inside the Omni San Diego hotel. They’re swarming up the columns near the front desk and crowding about the elevators in the lobby. They’re even inside the elevators! Amused hotel guests can’t avoid them!
But what do you expect when it’s Comic-Con 2023, and FOX’s Animation Domination has taken over the Omni?
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
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!
Will Comic-Con 2023 goers be able to enjoy the entertainment provided by Vampire Theatre? If the early appearance of graphics applied to the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter hotel are any indication, perhaps!
I walked around this evening and captured more photographs of pre-Comic-Con activity. Perhaps you saw my previous blog post where I shared photos of building wraps that are materializing all over!
Here come a few more photos from my latest walk.
Interview With The Vampire is being applied to one window of the Hilton Gaslamp.
That Amazon Prime Video building wrap at Fifth Avenue and K Street has expanded during the afternoon. Friendly workers putting up the graphics told me the entire Hilton Gaslamp and this building adjoining it on Fifth Avenue will be completely wrapped on every side.
That wrap above when competed will advertise Good Omens 2. I got the following picture of a sample showing how it will appear. You can see where building windows will be in relation to the graphics…
And on the San Diego Convention Center side of the Hard Rock Hotel, a wrap is going up that promotes Yellowjackets on Paramount+ . . .
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
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!
Two enormous parrots are now being painted outside downtown’s Solamar hotel. Why? The property will soon become Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter!
I spotted the new artwork this morning, then returned in the afternoon for more photographs. Several painters were on two suspended platforms creating the huge, colorful murals.
The new Margaritaville Hotel will have a Jimmy Buffett theme. Sunny and laid back. Just like San Diego.
According to its website, the converted hotel will debut this July.
Parrotheads rejoice!
UPDATE!
A week and a half later, this is what I saw…
…
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 Twitter!
The world famous US Grant hotel in downtown San Diego is receiving a façade refresh!
I noticed several workers on scaffolding today as I walked down Broadway.
The hotel opened in 1910–over a century ago. The son of President Ulysses S. Grant oversaw the building of the Grant Hotel, which was designed by architect Harrison Albright. Past guests have included Albert Einstein, Charles Lindbergh and twelve United States Presidents!
Did you know San Diego Comic-Con held their very first convention at the U.S .Grant Hotel back in 1970? Back then the nascent convention was called San Diego’s Golden State Comic-Con.
Here’s a page on the hotel’s website providing a bit of the history, including a period when the elegant building had become sadly neglected.
After the current refresh, the hotel should appear simply glorious!
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 Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 