Those are the words that welcome lovers to the wedding arbor at the San Diego County Administration Center’s Waterfront Park.
A plaque beside the wedding arbor states:
The ceremonial wedding arbor is provided for civil wedding ceremonies performed at the County Administration Center and was dedicated on Valentine’s Day 2001.
The Latin phrase in the arbor translates to “Love Conquers All.”
Gregory J. Smith
Commissioner of Civil Marriages
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The late 19th century was a transformative time in San Diego. The arrival of the transcontinental railroad and a wave of real estate speculation sparked great changes to the character of downtown. Those who walk through the Gaslamp Quarter can see many historic old buildings that were built in the 1880s.
One of those historic buildings is the Hubbell Building, located at 813-823 Fifth Avenue. Its construction began in 1886 and was completed in 1887.
Yesterday, while walking through the Gaslamp Quarter, I realized that, after almost 13 years of blogging about San Diego, I’ve never taken photos of the Hubbell Building.
So here we go…
A plaque near the front door reads:
The Hubbell Building, 1886
The Hubbell Building is a three-story brick building constructed in the Victorian style. The lower floor has been used mainly for retail, particularly clothing stores. Some of the more notable shops were The Arcade, specializing in ladies’ fancy goods, City of Paris Clothing, and George Marston’s Gentleman’s Furnishings. Marston’s was very successful in San Diego, and operated here until it moved into its own building next door. The upper floors were leased to the Grand Army of the Republic from 1904 to 1926.
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So far I can find nothing about this mysterious, corroded plaque marking an old bike lane in Del Mar.
The marker is easy to miss. I happened to see it earlier this summer while walking from the Solana Beach train station to the San Diego County Fair. The almost half-century-old plaque, mounted on a boulder, stands in some shrubbery near the intersection of Via de la Valle and Camino del Mar, north of the Brigantine restaurant parking lot. Considering its position, my impression is the bike lane in question ran east down Via de la Valle.
The plaque reads:
THE RITA DAVÉ MEMORIAL BIKE LANE
MAY 6, 1955 – MAY 9, 1979
Who was Rita Davé?
The plaque was placed here well before the advent of the internet and isn’t readily observed. I can’t find anything about it.
Does anyone out there know the history of The Rita Davé Memorial Bike Lane?
If you do, please leave a comment!
In the next photo, I’m beginning east down the Via de la Valle sidewalk. The marked bike lane on the street is clearly more recent.
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Perhaps you’ve seen this bench on the Oceanside Pier and wondered, like me, who Jerry Stapp is.
A beautiful bronze plaque with an image of Stapp’s face adorns the bench. On the bench are inscribed the words: IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD. RELAX AND ENJOY.
I found this article about the life of Jerry Stapp. For many years he was a community champion. Among other endeavors, he was a big supporter of the Oceanside Boys and Girls Club.
What a beautiful place on the Oceanside Pier, overlooking the beach and the wide, blue Pacific Ocean. What a fine tribute to somebody who made a positive difference in people’s lives.
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At the southeast edge of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park stands a building with a very interesting history. Beginning in 1908 as St. Joseph’s Rectory in downtown San Diego, it was moved to Old Town in 1940 where it became Old Town Convent.
Today, Historic Tours of America (Old Town Trolley Tours) operates a gift shop inside. The building contains one part of their Old Town Market, along with the adjacent Casa De Aguirre and Carriage House. The second floor is home to a Visitor Center operated by the Old Town Chamber of Commerce.
This website explains: Originally built as the Saint Joseph’s rectory at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Beech Street in downtown, the building was moved through the streets to Old Town San Diego in 1940. Once in Old Town San Diego, the building was a seminary, convent, community center, and, during World War II, it was a USO. The building was restored in 2003 by Historic Tours of America and is registered as San Diego Historical Site Number 323.
The photos I’ve included were taken at various times over recent years.
Visitors who walk through the front entrance will discover a display that tells The Story of The Old Town Convent, in the words of Sister Catherine Louise LaCoste in the early 1980s…
…a three-story edifice known today as the Convent of the Community of the Holy Spirit… The Convent soon became the permanent quarters for the first diocesan junior seminary, called St. Francis, when eight young men moved in on November 3, 1941… Plaster soon covered the wooden structure…
…During World War II, in 1942, a group of soldiers was quartered in the basement. They prepared meals for the anti-aircraft and searchlight batteries located in the area…
…the Religious of the Sacred Heart came to San Diego to open a College for Women, now known as the University of San Diego. The sisters were given the building to use as a rent-free convent that they called St. Madeleine Sophie Barat…
In front of the building is a sign that shows a timeline of Old Town’s history. It includes this:
Curious visitors might spy this interesting plaque on one wall, too…
This exhibit exposes the original redwood clapboard siding of the Convent when it was St. Joseph’s Rectory, built in 1908. The Craftsman-style structure also featured wood shingle siding on the upper stories. When the three-story building was moved to this site in 1940 it was surfaced with stucco and painted to match the exterior of the Immaculate Conception Church across the street.
One other plaque I’ve found…
Old Town Convent Preservation
The restoration and preservation of the Old Town Convent was made possible largely due to the efforts of Carmen and Joe Toigo, Old Town residents, who by their tireless actions and advocacy saved this building from destruction.
May 2003 Historic Tours of America, Inc.
The adjacent Casa de Aguirre, with its own unique history, contains a small, little-known museum that might interest you. You can find a blog post I published about it by clicking here.
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San Diego’s amazing cultural hub, Balboa Park, is the ideal location for a time capsule. Years ago I photographed one such time capsule in the House of Hospitality’s courtyard. Find that photo here.
Another time capsule was placed in Balboa Park in 2015. Why 2015? That was Balboa Park’s centennial!
This particular 24-inch stainless steel time capsule was buried near the Old Globe, in the Craig Noel Garden. (The shady garden under the California Tower has comfortable benches for relaxation–a place I often visit.)
You might ask: When people open the Centennial Time Capsule in 2115, what will they find? This article explains. Artifacts include a letter from President Obama, cultural artifacts, and documents from eleven Balboa Park institutions.
Will Balboa Park be much different almost a century from now? Changes large and small are certainly coming. Hopefully the park remains just as magical and beautiful.
A plaque tops the buried capsule. It reads:
This Centennial Time Capsule is presented to the citizens of San Diego, to be unearthed during the 2115 Bicentennial of our beloved Balboa Park. Contents include artifacts depicting our lives, times and culture. May it see light at a time of peace, joy and celebration.
Patrons of the Prado is committed to raising funds to benefit eleven arts and science institutions on the Prado in Balboa Park, and for programs that provide educational access for San Diego school children to the world-class treasures of Balboa Park, inspiring cultural fluency for future generations.
Patrons of the Prado
November 16, 2015
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If you go to the San Diego County Fair this summer and enter through the main O’Brien Gate, you might notice this statue to one side of the Will Call window. It’s a bronze representation of Don Diego, legendary host and goodwill ambassador of the old Del Mar Fair.
The sculpture, created by artist Maher Morcos, was unveiled at the Del Mar Fairgrounds back in 1985. It is dedicated to Spanish actor Tom Hernandez. For 37 years he portrayed smiling Don Diego, a character based on historical late 1800s Del Mar landowner Don Diego Alvarado. Tom used to greet fair-goers with a friendly “¡Bienvenidos Amigos!”
Tom Hernandez was greatly missed when he passed away in 1984. Over the years his character Don Diego had become a true San Diego icon.
The statue is 16 feet high and weighs 1,500 pounds. At its base is a plaque, which I will transcribe here…
DON DIEGO
GOODWILL AMBASSADOR OF THE DEL MAR FAIR 1947-1984
TOM HERNANDEZ SERVED AS THE OFFICIAL HOST OF THE DEL MAR FAIR, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EXPOSITION, FOR 37 YEARS. HE PORTRAYED DON DIEGO, THE MAGICAL FIGURE WHO APPEARED EACH YEAR TO ESCORT THE FAIREST OF THE FAIR AND PRESIDE OVER THE DEL MAR FAIR.
DEDICATED BY THE 22ND DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION JUNE 20, 1985
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There’s a Taco Bell in San Diego so tiny you might drive past it without noticing. The building is so small you have stand beside it and bend over just to have a good look!
The miniature building is located next to a regular-size Taco Bell at the corner of University Avenue and College Avenue. Look for this oddity between the drive-thru and parking lot. You’ll see a model of the original Taco Bell that stood at this location from 1965 to 2008.
Longtime San Diego residents might remember the first incarnation of the fast food restaurant, which attracted customers with its distinctive sign and Mission style architecture.
A plaque at the base of the mini Taco Bell reads:
In Commemoration of Taco Bell #15 1965-2008
The 1st Taco Bell in San Diego
Thank you! Glen and Marty Bell
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I’ve always admired the elaborate stained glass windows of the building that now houses the Mad House Comedy Club & Restaurant. They appear to be antique.
Well, I paused during a walk to read the building’s historical plaque and learned these stained glass windows along Fourth Avenue are original and date from 1906. Back then the bottom floor of this, the Ingle Building, was home to the Golden Lion Tavern.
The historical plaque reads:
For many years, the bottom floor of this building was known as the Golden Lion Tavern, its legacy still evident in the original lion sculptures near the entrance and along the outer walls. The stained glass windows on Fourth Avenue and some of the flooring are original as well. In 1980, the second floor was destroyed by fire. During its reconstruction, a salvaged glass dome, originally created for the Elks Club in San Francisco in 1906, was installed. The replicated mural on the outer wall depicts the camaraderie found in the Golden Lion during the early years of the Gaslamp Quarter.
During that recent morning walk, when the comedy club was closed, I saw no evidence of lions or a mural concerning the early years of the Gaslamp. There is an outside mural that remains from those years when the building was home to the Hard Rock Cafe.
One day I’ll have to venture inside and look around.
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Walk for a few minutes south down Seacoast Drive from Imperial Beach Boulevard and you will come to the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge Viewing Station.
Near a pair of benches, two free scopes allow curious people to view the wide green Tijuana River Estuary and search for birds. Four information signs help describe what is seen.
I took photos of the signs, but glare from the bright sun can make them difficult to read. I altered the contrast quite a bit.
The first sign explains that Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge is the largest remaining coastal wetland in Southern California.
The Tijuana River touches the lands and lives of people of three nations: the Kumeyaay Indian Nation, United States, and Mexico. Starting in the mountains of Baja California, the river crosses the international border just four miles from here before emptying into the Pacific Ocean…
In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt established the first wildlife refuge in Florida. Today there are more than 560 refuges… Tijuana Slough shares the mission of all refuges: to conserve wildlife, restore habitat, and protect threatened and endangered species for the benefit of present and future generations.
More than 370 species of birds frequent this area, including six threatened or endangered species, four of which can be seen from this spot. High diversity means healthy habitat, where many species find food and a safe place to rest or nest.
The landscape in front of you might appear flat and quiet, but there is more than meets the eye. Between the beach behind you and the bluffs at the southern end of this reserve, inches of elevation and slight changes in water level and chemistry create many different habitats–each specially suited to a surprising diversity of plants and animals. From the elusive long-tailed weasel hunting rodents to the tiny pygmy blue butterfly perching on pickleweed, fascinating creatures are everywhere.
This place has a pulse, and just like you, it depends on healthy circulation. At high tide, oxygen-rich ocean water pumps into the marsh, while the ebb of water at low tide carries sediment out to sea…
Scientists constantly monitor the marsh’s vital signs. Data loggers, placed around the estuary, record and transmit temperature, oxygen level, water level, and more…
The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, one of 29 and counting, was established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study how human activities and natural events affect estuarine habitats in the United States. People that work at the reserve include staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California State Parks, City and County of San Diego, the U.S. Navy, and the Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Associates.
An old plaque is embedded in a nearby rock…
Tijuana Estuary Restoration Project
1.25 Acres
Dedicated March 24, 1999
Trying to put this plaque in context, I found this website.
Peer through one of the scopes and you might see a yellow-crowned night heron!
(At least, I believe that’s the species. I framed the nearby bird with my camera.)
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