The history of human activity beside the life-giving San Diego River can be viewed from the outdoor terrace of the Junípero Serra Museum.
The museum’s scenic San Diego Riverview exhibit helps visitors visualize the where and when of various important developments in the area. Historical images from the San Diego History Center Photo Collection can be compared to present-day sights in nearby Mission Valley and beyond.
I walked up Presidio Hill today to check out this relatively new exhibit.
As I write this, I can still remember my first visit to the Junípero Serra Museum. The landmark building stands high atop Presidio Hill overlooking Old Town and the west end of Mission Valley. Revisit those old photographs here.
Years ago I also posted a blog about climbing Presidio Hill, where Europeans first settled in California. See that here. Since then I’ve walked around Presidio Park many times and have shared all sorts of photographs. You can find many of them by using this website’s search box.
A plaque by the outdoor terrace acknowledges those who helped with the Serra Museum’s recent restorations.Look for several of these signs outside the Junípero Serra Museum.Interstate 8 runs through Mission Valley just below Presidio Hill.Historical photos and information await visitors at the northeast corner of the Serra Museum’s outdoor terrace.If you peer to the west beyond some trees, you can see San Diego Bay, which explorer Cabrillo discovered for Spain in 1542.Survey of the San Diego River and San Diego Bay, 1853.The Native American Kumeyaay lived in a village called Cosoy at the base of Presidio Hill near the San Diego River.Derby Dike was built in 1853 by Lt. George Derby of the Army Corps of Engineers. The dike altered the course of the San Diego River, which periodically flooded Old Town, into False Bay–now called Mission Bay.
To see a historical plaque which marks the approximate location of old Derby Dike, click here.
Believe it or not, dike engineer Lieutenant George Horatio Derby was also a humorist who inspired Mark Twain! His pen name was Squibob. You can still see where he lodged while working in San Diego. Read about that here!
Photo of rebuilt Derby Dike in 1931.Mission Bay can be spied to the northwest. The natural marsh and tidelands were enlarged by dredging from 1949 through the 1960s.By looking from the Serra Museum’s terrace beyond nearby trees, you can glimpse La Jolla’s Mount Soledad to the northwest.Photo of Old Town bridge washed out in 1916 flood. Rainmaker Charles Hatfield was both credited and blamed for the 20 day downpour!The San Diego River in Mission Valley has been a source of food and water for the Kumeyaay, Spanish, Mexicans and Americans over the years. Before its urban development, many dairy farms could be found in Mission Valley.Photo of Mission Valley from 1915.Display concerns efforts for environmental preservation, and the history Mission San Diego de Alcalá. In 1774 the Spanish mission moved 6 miles inland from its original 1769 location on Presidio Hill.On a very clear day you can barely see the Cuyamaca Mountains to the east. That’s where the San Diego River begins.Mission Valley’s development began in earnest in the 1950s, with the construction of Atlas Hotels and May Company Shopping Center. San Diego Stadium arrived in the 1960s.Over the centuries, many people from diverse cultures have contributed to the history of this dynamic place. At the center of it all runs the San Diego River.
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The new river park at SDSU Mission Valley is noticeably taking form. Particularly on the north side of the Stadium trolley station.
I got off the trolley near Snapdragon Stadium today and observed that many plants and trees have already been introduced to parts of the river park. My first batch of photos shows planted areas north of the elevated trolley tracks.
The large area south of the tracks still appears rather barren, but I’m sure that will be changing before too long! Last I read, SDSU Mission Valley’s new river park should be completed later this year.
I previously blogged that mile markers around a long looping path are being created by renowned local artist James Hubbell.
The following two renderings on a nearby construction fence are handy for comparison.
In the first rendering, that’s the north side of the park in the foreground. Note the interesting shade structure…
And here’s the river park’s south side, which will feature wide expanses of grass…
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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!
Looking for a fun adventure this weekend? Do you love the great outdoors? Do you love birds?
The San Diego Bird Festival 2023 has kicked off at Marina Village Conference Center and continues through the weekend!
The annual event is presented by the San Diego Audubon Society. The public is invited to attend a variety of educational lectures at Marina Village and bird-watching activities around the city.
The cool thing is many of the activities on Saturday and Sunday are free, including outdoor birding adventures along the San Diego River and at Santee Lakes!
Never gone birding before? Don’t know much about it? That’s fine! Bird lovers are a friendly, knowledgeable bunch and very welcoming. I happened to meet a few of them this morning during my quiet walk through Marina Village about an hour before the day’s activities began in earnest.
The San Diego Bird Festival also has a bookstore with every sort of bird-related resource one could ever need. And for those who are curious, there are displays of binoculars and other gear. There’s also an auction that features some very cool collectible items!
Who are those bicyclists I photographed? They were just setting off for a ride along the San Diego River. I wonder how many birds they identified?
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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!
If these photos appear strangely dark, that’s because I’ve increased contrast to bring out the details of a badly faded mural.
This large old mural was painted on the south side of the Hazard Center shopping center in 1996 by an artist whose signature is Duff. The artwork faces the San Diego River and is exposed all day long to the sun.
That building you see in the mural is the Junípero Serra Museum. It stands across the river several miles to the west. The museum’s tower (which is often mistakenly thought to be the San Diego Presidio) can be seen rising above trees from various spots in Mission Valley.
Do any of you know who the artist Duff is? I can find nothing by searching the internet. I documented another Duff mural in Mission Valley, which was painted beneath Friars Road, here.
Please leave a comment if you know anything more!
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You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
San Diego history buffs know that the San Diego River, where it approaches the Pacific Ocean, is not located where it flowed originally.
A cobblestone filled channel in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a visual reminder that the river once flowed directly next to our city’s birthplace.
In 1853, to prevent flooding in Old Town and the build-up of sediment in San Diego Bay, the Derby Dike was built, diverting the river into False Bay–today’s Mission Bay.
A sign by a footbridge over the modest cobblestone channel shows where the San Diego River was originally located in relation to the park and nearby Taylor Street. You can find this sign in the beautiful outdoor Iipay – Tipai Kumeyaay Mut Niihepok Land of the First People, at the northwest corner of the State Park.
Long before the arrival of explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542, and the establishment of the nearby Spanish Presidio in 1769, the Native American Kumeyaay lived here on the banks of the life-sustaining river in a village called Kosa’aay. They called the river ha wenow.
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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 Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Nine works of art by renowned sculptor James Hubbell are coming to SDSU Mission Valley!
James Hubbell’s architect son Drew and landscape designer Glen Schmidt briefly described the public art project, as they spoke during the 2022 San Diego Architectural Foundation’s Open House.
A two mile looping trail is to be created at the new SDSU Mission Valley River Park. Every quarter mile, an artistic medallion, fashioned by James Hubbell and Emilie Ledieu (artist in residence at Hubbell’s Ilan-Lael Foundation) will mark the distance.
I also learned some of these creative trail markers will be installed in time for the new Aztec Stadium’s first game in September!
Over the years, I’ve heard many people describe James Hubbell as a true San Diego treasure. If you’ve seen his work, you might agree. His organic, award-winning mosaics and sculptures can be found all over the city, and beyond.
Would you like to help clean up the San Diego River? There’s a volunteer event coming up that might interest you!
I was in Mission Valley this morning when I saw a poster promoting the First Annual San Diego River March. This coffee, walk and cleanup is being put on by the Ecological Servants Project, a newly formed organization based in El Cajon.
The founder of the Ecological Servants Project writes in a newsletter how his difficult life was transformed, in part by an encounter with nature’s boundless beauty. He came to understand that life itself is beautiful.
I do know the San Diego River could use many helping hands.
The date for the volunteer cleanup is Friday, March 18, 2022.
You can find all of the details at their website here!
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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 Twitter!
Please enjoy these photographs of winter beauty by the San Diego River in Mission Valley.
I framed this natural beauty during several January morning walks. Some photos were taken from the pedestrian bridge that spans the river by the Fashion Valley Transit Center; others near Mission Center Road.
Reflections created magic. White clouds in the sky floated on water. Trees were turned upside down.
Branches, leaves, river and sky danced together mysteriously.
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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 Twitter!
Today is the first day of Autumn. The days are becoming noticeably shorter.
A few leaves down by the San Diego River have already begun to turn. Even through the weather has been hot due to our current Santa Ana conditions, the trees know summer is over.
I took a couple photos of Fremont cottonwood leaves changing their color in Mission Valley this morning. Some yellow has begun showing in all the green.
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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 Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 