Today was the very first free resident day at the Gaslamp Museum!
On the second Thursday of each month, San Diego residents, active military and seniors now receive free admission to the museum. The Gaslamp Museum is located at 410 Island Avenue in the historic Davis-Horton House.
I last visited the house nine years ago and took some interior photos with an inferior camera. To see those dark photographs, click here. You can also read more about the museum and the house’s rich history.
Today I took a few more inside photos. Visitors can see various rooms as they might have appeared in the 19th century.
If you love history–in particular the history of early San Diego–you should visit yourself!
These friendly ladies in old-fashioned attire were working on a quilt!
They showed me how they’re creating a new quilt that honors the women of Old Town.
The square in my next photograph depicts the three daughters of Juan Bandini, one of early San Diego’s most prominent residents.
As this article explains: During the Mexican-American war and during the United States’ “Conquest” of California, Juan Bandini supported the Americans. His three daughters are even credited with making the first American flag that was raised in the Old Town Plaza on July 29, 1846–the day John Charles Fremont arrived in town.
That explains the inclusion of a United States flag.
The ladies of Threads of the Past are also working on their annual quilt to be raffled during the next Fourth of July celebration in Old Town. Kids have contributed art to many small squares. The project raises funds for the Boosters of Old Town San Diego.
If you’re ever walking in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, look for Threads of the Past. If their door is open, step inside!
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Today, February 4th, is the birthday of civil rights icon Rosa Parks. San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is honoring her heroism by reserving a seat for her on every bus and trolley!
MTS has been doing this for years.
Back in 2022, also on February 4th, I photographed a seat on a bus that was reserved for Rosa Parks. Today, I found a seat on a San Diego Trolley just for her!
Of course, I had to take a photo.
The legacy of a courageous citizen lives on. This sign on a trolley seat is a small but important reminder that one individual with a single act of courage can change the world.
If you’ve recently traveled on the Green Line of the San Diego Trolley between the Morena/Linda Vista and Fashion Valley stations, you’ve seen renewed construction activity to the north of the tracks. That half of the old Riverwalk golf course is being replaced by Riverwalk San Diego, a massive project now under development!
I saw all this activity through the trolley window a couple days ago and took several photos.
If, like me, you’re curious about this project in the heart of Mission Valley, check out their website here and see a map of what is coming. Riverwalk San Diego will include 4,300 homes (including 430 affordable homes), 152,000 square feet of retail, one million square feet of office, and 97 acres of parks and open space, including a restored San Diego River and a 55-acre regional park.
You might notice there will be a new trolley station, too!
We in San Diego are so fortunate. Our city is home to one of the world’s most famous tall ships, Star of India, and one of our nation’s top maritime museums. Why not show your love for these San Diego jewels with a Valentine’s Day gift?
The historic ships of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, like all ships exposed to time and outdoor weather, need continuing maintenance and repair. With love in your heart, you can help out!
Here’s a wish list that supports the museum’s fleet, including Star of India, H.M.S. Surprise, Californian, Pilot boat and San Salvador.
To learn more, or perhaps make a loving donation, send an email to membership@sdmaritime.org.
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During my walk yesterday through SDSU Mission Valley River Park, I was surprised to see members of San Diego State Aztecs Rugby Club getting ready for a game. They would be playing UC Davis out on a wide swath of the park’s grass. It was the second game of their 2026 season.
I remained at the sidelines for a while to watch the beginning of play. Other fans would gradually gather with their lawn chairs and umbrellas.
SDSU Aztecs Rugby Club competes in Division 1-A in the California Conference. Founded in 1958, the team has a long and proud history. They won the 1987 National Collegiate Rugby Championship.
The action I observed was fast and exciting! I don’t know too much about rugby, but perhaps I’ll have to become a fan! The Aztecs would go on to win 31-38.
If you’d like to watch this victory on YouTube, click here.
To go to a future game, you can follow SDSU Aztec Rugby at this website.
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Muchas Manos de San Diego, a group of hand embroidery enthusiasts, is celebrating their 50th Anniversary with an exhibit inside the Mission Valley Library. The library’s large display case is filled with carefully stitched examples of very beautiful embroidery!
If you’d like to join the supportive group and have fun creating amazing, exquisite objects like these, here’s their website! They meet once a month.
The San Diego Museum of Art is celebrating its centennial in 2026. First opening in 1926 as the Fine Arts Gallery, the world-class museum has grown and experienced many remarkable moments over the past hundred years.
That history is remembered in a free exhibition titled SDMA 100 Years. The exhibit opened yesterday in the museum’s Galleries 14/15, which are accessible to the public through a door at Panama 66 in the museum’s sculpture courtyard.
SDMA 100 Years features a timeline of photographs that document the museum’s evolution, from the building’s construction in Balboa Park right up to the present day. There’s also a short documentary video and a display case full of ephemera.
Visitors can observe how the San Diego Museum of Art had its origins in the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, had its successful grand opening in 1926, served as a naval hospital during World War II, and how west and east wings were added for significant expansions.
You’ll see photos showing museum contributions to art education and the San Diego community over the years. You’ll see renowned artists who’ve contributed their work, and relive major exhibitions. You’ll envision what the museum plans for their future, too!
You are invited to contribute to the exhibition! Anyone can submit their personal memories and photographs of the museum. To participate, look for the link at the bottom of this webpage!
SDMA 100 Years will be displayed through 2026, right up to February 2, 2027.
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Every time I visit Balboa Park, I poke my nose into the San Diego History Center. It seems there’s always something new to experience!
In the atrium today I noticed a small, new exhibit titled San Diego Takes Flight! Several displays concern the Curtiss School of Aviation, established in 1911 at North Island, Coronado.
Photographs accompany descriptions of Glenn Curtiss and his students learning about the characteristics of flight on newly invented airplanes, including hydroplanes that took off from San Diego Bay. In that early era, most aviation exhibitions in the United States featured Curtiss graduates flying his planes.
Curtiss’ collaboration with the U.S. Navy in San Diego would be instrumental in the birth of naval aviation.
This exhibit at the San Diego History Center includes the participation of women at the Curtiss School of Aviation and their historic accomplishments.
Years ago, during a walk in Coronado near the Ferry Landing, I photographed a historical plaque marking the birthplace of naval aviation.
To see those photos and read the words on that plaque, click here.
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You have the opportunity to become part of history in Old Town San Diego!
An initiative is underway to support Old Town. Anybody can purchase a customized, engraved brick for the new Old Town San Diego Heritage Walk, which lines the east side of San Diego Avenue. As you can see in my next photo, some bricks are already installed.
Your special brick can honor loved ones, promote a business, or perhaps share an inspiring message.
To learn more about this opportunity, visit this website.
Cool San Diego Sights! 