1955. Sixteen shade trees were planted at the Casa de Lopez, a San Diego landmark.
Did you know there’s a visitor information center in Old Town San Diego on the second floor of the La Paloma marketplace? In addition to useful tourist info, the center features a wall of interesting historical photographs.
Find the La Paloma marketplace near the intersection of Twiggs Street and San Diego Avenue. The building stands where Old Town Trolley Tours vehicles line up. Proceed through the front door, go up some stairs, and you’ve arrived at the Old Town San Diego Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center.
During my last visit, I gazed at the old photos, trying to imagine how early San Diego once appeared. As you can see, the small town was established in a scrubby place in the middle of nowhere.
The Whaley house, the oldest brick house in California. Built in 1854.About 1935. Casa de Lopez, located at Twiggs and Jefferson Streets. In the early days, the San Diego River flowed at its back where the Santa Fe Railroad track are now.Old Town…1898. From Fort Stockton, now the site of Presidio Park, looking south toward Point Loma.About 1880. Old Town Estudillo House, Ramona’s Marriage Place original condition.
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Travelers at the Old Town Transit Center might find themselves walking through an underground passageway. The tunnel safely crosses beneath the San Diego Trolley and train tracks. In this shadowy place curious eyes will encounter public art titled Archaic Passage.
Not in a hurry to catch your bus or other transportation? There are plaques on either end of the passageway that you can read. They provide information about this unique art…
“ARCHAIC PASSAGE”
COMMISSIONED BY SAN DIEGO METROPOLITAN TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT BOARD JUNE 1996
DESIGNED BY SAN DIEGO ARTIST PAUL HOBSON, “ARCHAIC PASSAGE” CELEBRATES THE ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY OF OLD TOWN, FROM NATIVE AMERICAN TO CONTEMPORARY TIMES. ART MATERIALS USED–CARRIZO CANE, WOOD, STUCCO, ADOBE, BRICK, CLAY ROOF AND DECORATIVE TILES–REPRESENT BUILDING MATERIALS USED TO BUILD OLD TOWN. EACH GEOLOGICAL STRATA-LIKE WAVE REFLECTS A SIGNIFICANT ARCHITECTURAL STYLE.
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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.
Is it possible that more hidden treasure will be found in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park?
The adobe walls of a room inside the Casa de Machado y Silvas are undergoing restoration. Do these walls contain additional secrets?
During a past restoration of the same Machado y Silvas building, an incredible treasure was found. Important historical papers concerning early San Diego resident Allen Light were found inside the adobe walls!
As I explained in a past blog post: Historical documents discovered by archeologists hidden in the Casa de Machado y Silvas shed light on the life of San Diego resident Allen B. Light. He was also know as the “Black Steward.” Allen arrived in California during the 1830s, aboard the sailing ship Pilgrim, the same vessel that brought Richard Henry Dana Jr. who would later write Two Years Before the Mast.
One document was “a sailor’s protection,” which proclaimed Light was a “coloured man, a free man, and a citizen of the United States of America.” The second document was his commission from the Mexican Governor of Alta California to investigate illegal sea otter hunting along the coast.
If you’re curious what might be found during the present restoration, you can follow Old Town San Diego State Historic Park’s Facebook page here or their Instagram here.
Will a stash of coins be found? A skeleton? More valuable documents? Nothing at all? You can submit your best guess by clicking here!
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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.
What would Independence Day be without an old-fashioned 4th of July in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!
The big celebration of our nation’s birth (249 years ago) would attract hundreds of visitors, including many families. A little after 11 o’clock in the morning, the American flag was raised by Scouts on the central plaza’s flagpole and the event kicked off!
There would be live old-fashioned American music on the stage, Victorian era lawn games like sack racing and tug-o’-war, and booths where kids could make 19th century scrap books or create telegraph Morse code bracelets or pioneer dolls.
A watermelon eating contest would take place later, as well as the annual quilt raffle!
I arrived before the event would begin, checked out the Boosters of Old Town table, walked around the California State Park for a bit, observed the flag raising, then hung around for a while watching the fun!
The Boosters of Old Town San Diego had lots of great stuff for purchase at their red, white and blue table!
And a free smile!
At Threads of the Past, I learned about the quilts that are made here and raffled to raise funds every year. They are modeled after historic Sanitary Commission quilts from the Civil War.
If you ever see the following label on an old quilt, buy it immediately! They are extremely rare.
Now I’m just walking around…
Heading over to check out the blacksmith shop…
Many Old Town blacksmiths were busy on the Fourth of July!
This friendly gentlemen allows kids to pound away on clay, shaping it as if it were red hot iron.
Almost 11 o’clock. The assembled Scout color guard is ready in the doorway of the Casa de Estudillo.
Here we go…
Now to raise the flag of the United States of America on Independence Day…
A welcome speech was followed by nostalgic old-time music performed by Billy Lee and The Swamp Critters, plus lots of family fun, crafts and games!
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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.
Would you like to win a beautiful handmade quilt? You have that chance if you enter the raffle at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!
A colorful community quilt was made with the help of volunteers, visitors, and California State Park staff, who sewed together a checkerboard of different patches, including many that are hand illustrated. The quilt will be raffled on the Fourth of July. (A variety of fun outdoor activities will be enjoyed by park visitors on Independence Day, too!)
You can view the quilt inside the park’s Robinson-Rose House Visitor Center, which is where you purchase the raffle tickets. One dollar buys a single ticket; five dollars gets you six tickets.
It appeared to me today that people have a decent chance to win this amazing quilt. The small glass jar containing tickets was perhaps a quarter full.
The cool thing is proceeds from the raffle will help fund the activities of the volunteers at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!
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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.
A special Flag Day Celebration was held today in San Diego. People gathered on the grounds of the Mormon Battalion Historic Site to observe both Flag Day and the 250th Anniversary of the United States Army.
There was an Invocation, March On the Colors, a greeting, remarks, patriotic music, and a stirring recitation of “Old Glory.” But the most important part of the ceremony paid recognition to four honored Veterans, three of whom served in the Army.
Those attending the Flag Day event heard of the sacrifices made by SGT Danny Lee Foster, U.S. Army; SFC Carlos Jesse Taitano, U.S. Army, Ret.; LT Robert “Bob” W. Conger, Jr, U.S. Navy; and Brigadier General Dean J. Mallires, U.S. Army, Ret.
All four received standing ovations.
Then there was a ceremonial cake cutting up near the stage.
After the ceremony ended, guests were invited inside the Mormon Battalion Historic Site to partake of the cake, and view displays concerning the four honored heroes.
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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.
To celebrate California State Parks Week, outdoor games that were popular in the 1800s were being enjoyed in the park’s historic plaza!
Tug of War, Hoop and Stick, Graces, Sack, Egg and Wheelbarrow Races–park visitors were invited to take part in these fun old-fashioned pastimes!
I hung around for a few minutes and watched the action! Participants who won each game or took second place were awarded ribbons!
Who will win this game of Tug of War?The game of Graces involves launching and catching a small wooden hoop with two wands.Hoop and Stick is a fun way to pass the time. In 19th century San Diego, there were no television shows or video games.During an Egg Race, one must balance an egg on a spoon, while hurrying along toward the finish line!
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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.
Parking Lot C in Old Town San Diego will soon attract bees, butterflies, birds and other beneficial insects. That’s because the bed of soil along the Twiggs Street sidewalk is newly planted with native vegetation suited to pollinators!
Three other beds at this parking lot will be planted, too, according to a sign that I saw while walking today. Not only will this newly created habitat benefit pollinators, but it will add natural beauty, help stabilize soil, save water and provide educational opportunities.
If you’d like to learn more, check out this webpage. It concerns the Old Town San Diego Chamber of Commerce’s Pollinator Pathways project. You’ll find there are various ways for you to help out!
(As you can see, I took these photos very early this morning before many cars arrived at the parking lot.)
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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.
I met Dan Beaman today. He was with his bicycle at the Old Town Trolley station. His bike had an Iowa state flag, so I had to approach him and satisfy my curiosity!
I learned that Dan is biking all the way across the United States, starting in San Diego and ending in Daytona Beach. The ride begins in several days and should take about two months. He’s on a continuing quest for the best cookie in America! See his website and follow his progress by clicking here.
He had his traveling stuff in tow, including a tent. He told me he plans to ride a bit over 50 miles per day, and it’s mostly for the adventure of it. Taking a south route across the continent, he’s eager to see the Alamo, New Orleans and other fun places. He likes it warm and flat, so once he crosses our local mountains, he should really like the desert in Imperial Valley east of San Diego!
Substantial improvements are being made to Heritage County Park near Old Town San Diego. The grassy upper area will soon feature a new outdoor meeting space/classroom, new walkways, trees and shrubs, and a new event gazebo perfect for weddings. The project is scheduled to be completed this summer.
I took photos over the construction fence a couple days ago. Hundreds of potted plants are in position and ready to be planted.
The historic Victorian-era structures in Heritage County Park will also be improved according to the park’s website.
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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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 