Christmas decorations have already popped up all around Old Town San Diego State Historic Park! I took a short walk through the historic park today and snapped these photos.
As you can see, three very colorful wise men have arrived at the Fiesta de Reyes stage. And a couple of jolly Santas have arrived elsewhere in the park, too!
I learned that the Casa de Estudillo will be putting up their Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving. I suspect even more holiday decorations will be appearing at various museums and shops.
What free holiday activities can be enjoyed in Old Town San Diego this year? The following will take place outside of the State Park:
A festive Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held beside the Whaley House on December 7, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
The 65th Annual Las Posadas procession will take place in Heritage County Park on Friday, December 8, 2023, starting at 7:00 pm.
A couple of large wreaths welcome everyone to Fiesta de Reyes.A wreath with Mexican flavor hangs by a shop window.Many holiday wreaths along the balcony of the Cosmopolitan Hotel.Santa Claus welcomes visitors to Toby’s Candle & Soap Shop in Old Town.Moon and sun kiss behind a wreath’s red ribbon in front of El Centro Artesano.Merry Christmas! Good old Santa has returned to Old Town Market on his wagon!
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A crowd of thousands gathered this evening in Old Town San Diego for the annual Día de los Muertos procession.
The candlelight procession would begin around sundown in front of the Immaculate Conception Church and move slowly down San Diego Avenue to the historic El Campo Santo cemetery.
I walked from Old Town San Diego State Historic Park to the cemetery and back again as people were still gathering for this very popular event.
What did my camera find?
Face painting at many stations, as living faces were decorated to look like colorful sugar skulls. And beautiful chalk art in the State Park left over from last weekend’s Day of the Dead event. And many costumes, elegant Catrinas and walking skeletons.
An altar was set up in the El Campo Santo cemetery, and there was the old wall and a special board where people could draw hearts and write messages for deceased loved ones. The graves were joyfully decorated, too.
As I returned toward the State Park, people had already begun to line San Diego Avenue to view the coming procession. But it was rapidly becoming too dark for my camera. So this series of photographs ends with a smile at Fiesta de Reyes in the State 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!
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You’ll find many smiles this weekend in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park during their big Día de los Muertos celebration!
I walked through the State Park yesterday as the event was ready to open and found artists painting colorful murals, an arriving chalk artist, a sugar skull creation station and more. I watched as the big Community Altar was set up at one end of Old Town’s historic plaza.
There are forty Day of the Dead altars in all–most inside the State Park. Others can be enjoyed along San Diego Avenue and elsewhere around Old Town. There’s face painting everywhere you turn, live music at several restaurants, and even a 19th century magic lantern show at Seeley Stable!
The big event continues today–Sunday–so head on down to Old Town if you can!
In addition, there will be a candlelit procession this Thursday, November 2, starting at the Immaculate Conception Church just outside the State Park. At 6 pm the procession will head down San Diego Avenue toward El Campo Santo cemetery. That event will include blessings and traditional dances by Danza Azteca Atlachinolli.
Enjoy these photographs taken inside Old Town San Diego State Historic Park yesterday as Día de los Muertos got underway…
Old Town San Diego Boosters raise money by selling gifts in front of the Robinson-Rose House Visitors Center.Canopies set up on the grassy plaza offer several Day of the Dead activities.State Park employees get the big Community Altar ready in Old Town.Spreading marigold petals, to lead departed souls toward the Day of the Dead altar.The beautiful Community Altar.Smiling muralist Belen Islas was working on her beautiful canvas.Artist Juliet Elise Rodriguez paints many colors into her mural.Symbolic marigolds for sale.The San Diego Public Library was there with fun for the family!Color your own skull mask!Kids love painting small sugar skulls.Here are three finished ones!It’s a smiling Isabel Garcia! You’ve seen some of her beautiful murals on Cool San Diego Sights!
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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)!
The Old Town San Diego Foundation is a non profit that supports school field trips to Old Town–a program that is available to over 11,000 students each year.
Perhaps you remember your own 4th Grade field trip to Old Town, and how your eyes opened wide to San Diego’s rich history and the many cultures that come together where we live.
The State of California has brought back in-person school field trips and educational tours to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park after the disruption caused by COVID. So it’s time to get those awesome school trips back in gear!
Thank you for helping our fourth grade class go on an awesome, wonderful, super fun field trip! All of us fourth graders had an amazing time. My favorite part was going to see the amazing things the blacksmiths made. I also learn a lot from the Mormon Battalion!
Sincerely,
Elliott
Bay Park Elementary
And below are some of the awesome people I met at Old Town’s Dia de los Muertos event who are helping to make this all happen!
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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)!
Spider webs, skeletons, monsters, pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns!
Signs have popped up around San Diego indicating Halloween is around the corner!
I took these photos during a very long walk today. I wandered through downtown, Little Italy, Old Town and Bay Park…
A community pumpkin patch in Waterfront Park is readied by Parks and Recreation.An ornate ceramic jack-o’-lantern in Old Town San Diego.Sign promotes special event in Little Italy: Trick or Treat on India Street!These horrific creatures appear a bit sleepy. I spotted them inside a window of the San Diego Visitor Information Center near Broadway Pier.Yes! Halloween lights are right here. Get your black lights, fog machines and mirror balls!Will the firefighters at Bayside Fire Station No. 2 use their ladder to save this dangling skeleton?
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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)!
A wall and a fence by a parking lot in Old Town San Diego have been decorated with murals by artist Memuco (@memuco). I spotted them today during a short walk.
You can see these creations for yourself near the intersection of Congress Street and Twiggs Street.
A gentleman I spoke to at nearby shop The Art of Cigar told me Memuco used both spray paint and brush for his colorful rendition of Quetzalcoatl, which was finished a couple weeks ago.
Painting on the fence’s many vertical slats must have been an interesting undertaking. The snaky, scaly effect he achieved is quite wonderful!
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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)!
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is already getting ready for Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos. Today I noticed that bigger than life Catrinas in beautiful dresses were being set up on barrels outside Fiesta de Reyes and Barra Barra!
I watched as a Catrina’s calavera (sugar skull) was removed from one figure, then attached to a second. Need to match those colors!
I was told that for Día de los Muertos, there will be a total of 51 Catrinas and skeletons set up at Fiesta de Reyes and Barra Barra!
I was also told that the celebration of Día de los Muertos in Old Town this year will be bigger and better than ever! The State of California’s Arts in Parks program is inviting local artists, culture bearers, chalk artists, piñata artists, traditional craftsmen and musicians to play a role!
I can’t wait to go! It’s a little over a month away. Meanwhile, lots of very fancy Catrinas will be greeting visitors to Old Town!
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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)!
Does the roof of the 19th century Verna House in the above photo seem unusual? Perhaps that’s because it’s a uniquely sloped mansard roof, one of very few built on the Pacific Coast in the Victorian era.
The quaint little house stands at 2476 San Diego Avenue in Old Town. Today it serves as the Whaley House Museum Shop, where visitors can purchase museum admission, books and assorted gifts. Like the nearby Whaley House itself, the shop in the Verna House is operated by Historic Tours of America, the folks behind San Diego’s popular Old Town Trolley Tours.
I knew nothing about this house and its history until I spotted the above plaque while walking down San Diego Avenue several days ago. The plaque was placed on the house’s exterior earlier this year. It reads:
The 1870’s French-Mansard style home was named after San Diego restaurateur Cesare Verna and his wife Maddalena Daniele. In 1965, after the death of Maddalena, the house was moved from 319 West Ash Street near Downtown and placed next to the Whaley House to be saved from demolition. Today the Verna House is a vital part of the Whaley House Grounds and county park, and is a shining example of San Diego’s rich architectural history.
Twenty years ago, when the Verna House was maintained by the Save Our Heritage Organisation, the old structure was restored. Here’s an interesting article that provides description and photographs.
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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!
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James W. Robinson was hanged for stealing a rowboat from San Diego Bay. He was convicted of grand larceny. He was buried in San Diego’s Old Town, a short distance from where the hanging took place.
Perhaps you know James Robinson from his nickname, Yankee Jim. The hanging ground where he was executed in 1852 is now occupied by the Whaley House Museum. The historically important Whaley House lays claim to being the most haunted house in America. Some say Yankee Jim’s ghost can still be seen in and around the museum.
A plaque was placed on the south side of the Whaley House earlier this year. I took photographs of it a couple days ago. It describes the hanging of Yankee Jim, shortly before Mr. Whaley bought the old hanging ground to build his house.
The plaque reads:
On the 18th of September, 1852, James “Yankee Jim” Robinson was the last man to be hanged at this site after being convicted of grand larceny. The simple gallows consisted of two posts, a horizontal beam, and a mule-drawn wagon. Catholic priests conducted the final ceremonies and Yankee Jim was allowed time to deliver a farewell speech to the crowd that had gathered. Undersheriff Crosthwaite gave the order, and a whip was applied to the mules, leaving Yankee Jim to hang. Mr. Thomas Whaley, present during the execution, purchased this property shortly afterward. By all accounts, he built his brick home where the gallows originally stood.
Many years ago I visited the El Campo Santo cemetery where Yankee Jim was buried. I documented many of the gravesites, including his. I revisited the early San Diego cemetery again after discovering the Whaley House plaque.
The grave marker, which appears to contain errors, reads:
James W. Robinson, who was known as “Yankee Jim”, suffered the extreme penalty for stealing the only rowboat in San Diego Bay. The verdict of the jury was as follows: “Your jurors in the within case of James W. Robinson have to return a verdict of guilty and do therefore sentence him, James Robinson to be hanged by the neck until dead. Cave J. Courts [Cave Couts], foreman of the jury.
The poor fellow could not believe that he was to be hanged until the very last moment. He appeared to think it all a grim joke over, at worst. A serious effort to impress him with the enormity of his evil ways. He was still talking when the deputy sheriff gave the signal. Then the cart was driven from beneath him, and he was left dangling in the air. Surely the punishment was far more wicked than the crime. Yet the example must have proved effective in discouraging theft.
Yankee Jim converted to Roman Catholic Church prior to his death, thus his baptismal name of Santiago (Spanish for James). His godfather was Philip Crosthwaite, the deputy sheriff who gave the signal for his execution.
Information compiled from the History of San Diego, by W. E. Smythe, and other sources.
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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)!
Whenever I visit Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, I like to walk over to the Blacksmith Shop to see what might be new. Then I explore the old wagons, carriages, anvils, a tyre bender, and other remnants from the past that are gathered nearby in a sheltered area.
This afternoon the first thing I spotted was two coffins!
When I asked Todd in the Blacksmith Shop why coffins had strangely appeared, I learned they’re props to be used in the State Park during Día de los Muertos. (The one that appears newly painted had me worried!)
I then learned something new concerning the wooden carriage that will be constructed for El Capitan, the historic Spanish cannon that used to sit in the middle of Old Town’s plaza.
It has been a couple of years, but now the carriage project is definitely underway. A new carriage will be built with the help of the Maritime Museum of San Diego!
Todd held up a small cannon model made with a 3D printer. Once completed, El Capitan’s new carriage should appear somewhat similar. (The current carriage, built in the 1980s, has deteriorated quite a bit because it never was painted.)
To read more about Old Town’s 18th century Spanish cannon and this slowly developing project, check out thesetwo past blog posts!
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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!
