The Sheldon House is a very cool sight at the corner of 13th and Island in San Diego’s East Village.
Like most cities, San Diego has its share of cool old houses. Here’s an example of one that’s located in downtown’s East Village neighborhood.
Standing at the corner of 13th Street and Island, the 1886 Sheldon House was designed by the famous architects Comstock and Trotsche, and is an amazing example of the flamboyant Queen Anne style. The grand, extravagant Victorian mansion was built for Dr. F. C. Sheldon and his family, and included a multiple-gabled roof, a large, elegant front porch, and stained glass features in every window. Unfortunately, the doctor died soon after the mansion’s construction. To support the large surviving family, his wife converted the home into a successful boarding house.
Lots of decorative details include an elaborate porch and stained glass crowning every window.View of the sunlit Sheldon House from the east. A skeleton stands in one window!The 19th century Victorian mansion seen from the north, with modern residential buildings behind.
UPDATE!
Years later, I noticed this old photograph projected on a wall at the San Diego History Center. It is of the Sheldon Residence being moved by the Palmer Brother House Movers from 11th and D Streets to Island Street in 1913…
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Awesome street art on a chiropractic office near Cesar Chavez Pkwy in Barrio Logan.
I have some time off from work, so I’m able to do a little more weekday walking than usual. Yesterday I wandered through a gritty but fascinating neighborhood near downtown that’s a bit off the beaten track. A stretch of National Avenue runs through a narrow section of the city between Logan Heights and downtown San Diego, directly east of the rail and trolley yards; I walked from Imperial Avenue to Cesar E. Chavez Parkway, then back.
The area contains many car repair shops, welding shops, warehouses, and other small businesses which occupy modest, often decayed buildings. In a few places, groups of homeless had gathered. Small, neglected shanty-like houses are interspersed with elegant historic old homes and newer apartment buildings. Yet vibrant life was active everywhere. And everyone I met gave me a friendly greeting!
Cool mural on residential building features an eagle, cacti, palm trees.Quaint narrow house on National Avenue near downtown San Diego.Portion of colorful graffiti in a weedy space between buildings.This very cool mural caught my eye as I walked down the street. It’s on Logan Avenue, a couple blocks from National Avenue.Plaque on La Entrada project explains reconstructed Mission Revival facade.The Mission Revival facade on La Entrada apartments is an homage to the region’s history.Local vendor is selling tamales under a canopy by the sidewalk.Mother’s Nutritional Center helps local low-income women with young children.A soccer ball on utility box by a small local market known for their sub sandwiches.One word on this fantastic old wall says it all: Life.
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A tiny barn and rabbits in a narrow garden, located between the sidewalk and a local acupuncture and wellness center.
I recently walked through Bankers Hill, a historic neighborhood just north of downtown San Diego. During my small adventure I got a few interesting photos on and around Olive Street. Like the sights in any city, they form a mixture. Here’s a flavor of Olive in the San Diego cocktail!
Flower at the HERBIN Community Garden Project, among plots where many herbs are grown.Ms. Pacman, Space Invaders and other video game legends hang out on a porch railing.The Amy Strong House, built in 1906 on Olive Street by an enterprising San Diego dressmaker, or couturier.Amy Strong lived here until 1912. The house is in the early 20th century Craftsman architectural style.A few unusual features anticipated the highly eccentric Amy Strong Castle at Mt. Woodson, which she built years later.Future site of Olive Street Park. This small plot of land for years has been the object of contention, as you might have seen on KUSI News’ Turko Files.Huge medical office building between Fifth and Sixth Avenue just north of Olive being demolished.Cool art hangs on residential building at corner of Fourth and Olive.
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Colorful splash of paint on a wall. THE END IS LATE… (AND I WAS PREPARED)
The other morning I took a stroll down Ninth Avenue in downtown San Diego, from the top of Cortez Hill south to hip East Village. My camera was out and ready. Here are a few fun photos that I took as I sauntered through East Village!
Big fuzzy pink gorilla in the Car2Go window.Art that opens eyes. COFFEE IS FOR CLOSERSMessage shouted from store’s rooftop. JUICE SAVESHiatt House, 1886. A tiny place with ample charm (and history).
The Hiatt House, located in East Village near Petco Park, used to contain a cool little eatery named Café Noir. That was a few years ago. According to an article I read, during the first part of the 20th century it was home to several generations of a Japanese-American family. The grounds have also been the site of horse stables and a blacksmith’s shop, and the Latonia Hotel, a modest room-and-board for colored people back in the days of racial segregation. Today the Hiatt House serves as a psychiatrist’s office.
Humulus lupulus (hops) gracefully drape green utility boxes.
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Decorative doors to La Granada Ballroom at the House of Hospitality in Balboa Park.
How many doors are waiting to be opened in one ordinary city? In San Diego, with a population that exceeds one million, there must be many millions of doors.
We take doors for granted, pushing through them like nothing, and yet there is something magical and transformational about each one. Doors represent movement through space and time, from this amazing present to a future, amazing present. As we’re propelled forward in life we pass through many doors, and like the choices we face they are found on every side. Where do we turn our feet? Which doors do we try? Every chosen door leads our restless feet into a beckoning and wonderful unknown.
So, anyway, I just love looking at endless doors. And each unique invitation they present to the eye, while concealing unseen places beyond.
Here’s a variety of doors that I’ve photographed during many walks…
Colorful front door to a small residence in San Diego’s Little Italy.Colors of the Italian flag frame this unusual door on India Street.Imperial Beach surf shop has a door plastered with beach-themed decals and signs.Caged lion in the Gaslamp guards the Hard Rock Cafe, and a door with electric guitar handle.Funky west entrance to the House of Blues in downtown San Diego.Walking past distinctive front of Our Lady of the Rosary church in Little Italy.St. Paul’s Cathedral in Bankers Hill and an elegant red door behind rows of columns.A little shop in Sherman Heights has a plain door invitingly open beside fun pinatas.Artist studio door is wide open and welcoming in Balboa Park’s colorful Spanish Village.International Travelers House has a door that welcomes one and all.Is that a swinging saloon door in Old Town, or a painted version on an ordinary door?This rusted door makes a fashionable statement in downtown San Diego.Just a cheerful orange and bright green door in East Village!
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Habitat for Humanity is building a house in downtown’s Horton Square!
Yesterday–Sunday–I was leaving Horton Plaza when I noticed a small home is being built in the center of downtown San Diego! The house is rising just south of Broadway in Horton Square, the exact spot where a weekly farmers market and winter ice rink are located.
I swung by again early this morning hoping to see volunteers at work, continuing with the construction. One gentleman had already arrived and was carrying tools out of a shed. I asked him when the day’s work would begin. They were forced to work between 9 and 10, he told me, because of the noise of hammering!
The project is called Habitat Off Broadway. The unusual build site provides Habitat for Humanity an opportunity to share their mission with those who live and work in the heart of San Diego.
Once the house is framed, it will be broken down into pieces and transported to east county’s El Cajon, where it will become somebody’s home.
Gentleman preparing the day’s work told me a little about this unique project.Habitat Off Broadway aims to touch those who live and work in San Diego.Sign explains how home ownership is beneficial for families.The house is partially framed and awaits more work later in the morning!
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Approaching the La Casa de Machado y Stewart Museum in Old Town.
It seems most of the tourists who visit Old Town San Diego State Historic Park enjoy the large central grassy plaza and the many interesting buildings immediately around its perimeter. Few, however, go slightly off the beaten track to investigate the several restored old structures that are scattered a few easy steps farther away.
In addition to a very cool one room schoolhouse dating from 1865 (which I remember visiting during a field trip as a child), there is a restored adobe house called Casa de Machado y Stewart which stands as an open museum to any passersby who are curious.
The Casa de Machado y Stewart dates from 1835. It was built by José Manuel Machado, a Spanish (then later Mexican) officer who served at the nearby presidio. Jack Stewart, an American shipmate of famous author Richard Henry Dana Jr., and a pilot on San Diego Bay, married Machado’s youngest daughter Rosa in 1845 and the two moved into the house. Over their many years of residence they made many improvements, including a clay tile roof and wood-paned windows. What today seems a very simple and almost primitive existence was back in those days living in the lap of luxury.
In 1932, the house became an official California Historic Landmark.
Restored 1835 adobe house in San Diego’s Old Town State Historic Park.Sign details history of La Casa de Machado y Stewart.House was built by a soldier from nearby presidio.A spinning wheel in one of the simple rooms suggests what life was like.A modest dining area as it appeared long ago.
UPDATE!
I visited La Casa de Machado y Stewart again in August, 2018, and noticed the exterior had been painted white. When I looked through the front door into the main living room, I observed that new furnishings and artifacts have been added, and others moved about.
I also peered through a window into what appears to be a bedroom.
Here are photos…
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The historic Marston House is nestled among some trees in the seldom-visited northwest corner of Balboa Park. The house museum and its beautiful gardens are truly one of San Diego’s hidden gems.
I strolled about the grounds recently and took a few photos. Roaming about the gardens is free; to take a guided tour of the house’s interior one must pay a small entrance fee.
The house, in the Arts and Crafts architectural style, was built in 1905 by George W. Marston, a wealthy philanthropist who owned a prominent department store. He was also founder of the San Diego Historical Society, and was instrumental in preserving the site of the original San Diego Presidio.
The Marston House was designed by the internationally famous architects William Sterling Hebbard and Irving Gill. Its five acres of lawns and formal gardens have become a very popular wedding location.
Marston House Museum and Gardens in a corner of Balboa Park.Arts and Crafts style house was built in 1905.This beautiful garden is a popular wedding location.Looking from hedge pathway toward Marston House.Small fountain at end of garden.Outdoor archway and oven are part of the delightful scenery.A pic of the lath greenhouse interior.The Marston House is a San Diego hidden gem.
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The historical Villa Montezuma is a Queen Anne Victorian mansion.
Here is a cool sight that I walked past yesterday! Check out the absolutely fantastic Villa Montezuma mansion! You can find it nestled in Sherman Heights, an old, semi-decayed neighborhood just east of downtown San Diego.
Also called the Jesse Shepard house, this architectural marvel was built in 1887. It’s considered by some to be the finest example of Queen Anne architecture on the West Coast, plus it’s rumored to be haunted by two ghosts! In the more recent past it was a museum, but eventually fell into disrepair. It’s currently being renovated. Hopefully it should reopen next year!
Jesse Shepard, born in London in 1848, was a famous, flamboyant European musician. While performing for Alexander II of Russia, Jesse was introduced to the Czar’s medium who taught him how to conduct seances. Shepard became obsessed with spiritualism, and after moving to San Diego at the suggestion of a local spiritualist society, built the Villa Montezuma to his own exact specifications.
Included in the amazing house are highly ornate towers and stained glass windows. It’s interior is just as imaginative, and is said to contain secret passages. Several gargoyles can be spotted should you walk down the sidewalk. Just the sort of place to hold seances! And Shepard held many! He claimed to have spoken with the spirits of Mozart, Beethoven and Shakespeare, just to name a few.
Today it’s rumored that the Villa Montezuma is haunted by a man who hung himself in the observatory tower. And by Jesse Shepard himself! Unexplained piano music is said to be heard coming from the historical mansion late at night!
Fantastic house in Sherman Heights is supposedly haunted.Musician and writer Jesse Shepard worked in the high tower.A closer look at detail on Villa Montezuma’s east side.Gargoyle head on a famous San Diego mansion.Another gargoyle is perched on the roof!
Here are two sunnier photos I took on a later date…
An excellent example of Queen Anne style architecture in Southern California.Photo of Jesse Shepard’s Villa Montezuma in San Diego’s Sherman Heights neighborhood.
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Bankers Hill is dotted with a variety of grand historic mansions. One of the most opulent–and one of my favorites–is the Long-Waterman House. It stands directly across the street from the barn-like Farm House that I photographed for an earlier blog post.
The Long-Waterman House was built in 1889 by famed architect D. B. Benson and is a superb example of the American Queen Anne style. The first owner was John Long, who headed the Coronado Fruit Package Company. He also owned a business which imported exotic woods and manufactured hardwood veneer. As you might expect, the interior of this house, which I’ve been fortunate to briefly see, is absolutely filled with warm, beautiful woodwork.
In 1891 the mansion was purchased by Robert Whitney Waterman, who’d just finished a term as Governor of California. He died only a few months later.
Plaque in front yard of 1889 Long-Waterman mansion.Delightful architecture on Bankers Hill.
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Cool San Diego Sights! 