History is being made in Mission Valley. Two massive projects are being developed along the San Diego River: SDSU Mission Valley and Riverwalk San Diego.
The river park at SDSU Mission Valley is mostly complete, and large areas are now accessible to the public during its soft opening.
I walked around the river park the other day and found a number of fascinating information signs. One shows birds that might be found along the San Diego River. Another concerns stormwater management and the creation of bioretention basins. The largest such basin is located near the Stadium trolley station.
The signs that interested me most concern the history of Mission Valley and the San Diego River.
I took photos of several signs, which you can enlarge for easier reading…
The Native American Kumeyaay historically used plants along the river for food, tools and construction materials. They sustainably managed the land. Before World War II and the subsequent boom in urban development, Mission Valley was largely farmland. At one point there were 20 dairy farms in Mission Valley. Several Japanese American families operated vegetable farms.Early 1900s postcards of Mission Valley show large areas of green farmland on either side of the San Diego River.New plants for the new river park at SDSU Mission Valley.The San Diego River begins in the Cuyamaca Mountains and flows west to the Pacific Ocean. It is the source of important biodiversity. In 1971, plans to replace the sometimes flooding river with a concrete channel were thwarted by intense public opposition. The vision of a more natural San Diego River, with innovative safeguards against flooding, would eventually prevail.Photo of damaging flooding in Mission Valley circa 1980, before the adoption in 1982 of FSDRIP–the First San Diego River Improvement Project.The Kumeyaay were the first people to live in this region. This sign explains they understood the importance of caring for the land, water, flora and fauna that are all a part of this intricate ecological system that relates and sustains all life in balance and harmony. A map of Kumeyaay territory includes San Diego County and the northern portion of Baja California.A field without farms–playing soccer near Snapdragon Stadium at SDSU Mission Valley.
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The San Diego River Artists’ Alliance is a group of artists who love our beautiful San Diego River. They have a free exhibition open to the public in Balboa Park. The River: Sea to Source is now on display in Gallery 21 at the Spanish Village Art Center.
Fourteen member of the San Diego River Artists’ Alliance have pieces in this exhibit. The fine artwork depicts the life-giving river and its ecosystems.
These very fine works are for sale! A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the San Diego River Park Foundation.
My photos provide a sampling of what you’ll see.
The SDRAA artists work alongside the San Diego River Park Foundation, an organization that advocates for the river. The San Diego River Foundation organizes river and estuary clean-ups, engages in environmental restoration and education, enhances the river’s extensive park system, has helped to create numerous murals along the river trail (you’ve seen many on my blog!), and is presently building a new nature center in Mission Valley (the River Center at Grant Park).
If you’re in Balboa Park the next couple of days, make sure to swing by Gallery 21 in Spanish Village. The exhibition will be open through November 6, 2023, so that gives you only a couple more days to pay a visit.
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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)!
Large sections of the new river park at SDSU Mission Valley appear to be almost finished!
Not only are there wide fields of new green grass, and newly planted trees, but basketball courts have been installed, along with climbing and other exercise equipment, a big playground for the kids and restrooms.
I stepped off the trolley at the Stadium station today and walked around. The area north of the station, where people can relax on benches on their way to and from Snapdragon Stadium (or future SDSU classrooms and dorms), is now open, green and inviting. You can see how this area looked when I took photographs back in March. Click here.
The wide grassy area that is mostly south of the trolley tracks is still fenced off, but one can walk along the fence and imagine how awesome this public park will be when it finally opens.
Kicking a soccer ball, picnics, kites, playing with a Frisbee, talking with friends, reading a book, completing a class assignment, going for a sunny walk–this will be the place to go!
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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)!
Nearly 5 acres of San Diego River habitat in Mission Valley will be undergoing restoration through 2024. I saw this sign while walking down the San Diego River Trail this afternoon.
Invasive plants will be removed in a stretch north of the river, south of Fashion Valley. According to the sign, non-native species that will removed include the Brazilian pepper tree, Canary Island date palm, Mexican fan palm, eucalyptus and pampas grass.
This is a project of the San Diego River Park Foundation, Urban Corps of San Diego County, and the Fashion Valley mall.
Learn more about this and other river projects, and possibly help out as a volunteer, by clicking here!
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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 beautiful new park has opened in Mission Valley. The linear Creekside Park, located inside Civita, is centered around an elevated walkway that stretches between Civita Park and Friars Road.
I walked the length of the park this afternoon, my camera at the ready. It’s a green, tranquil place that is inviting to those who love the sunny outdoors.
The north end of Creekside Park at Civita Boulevard.Sign shows the San Diego River watershed. Runoff from the large Civita community passes from Civita Creek through Creekside Park, part of an extensive natural filtration system.Heading south with a kids play structure ahead.Colorful mosaics with a river theme can be enjoyed around and near this large planter. Created by La Jolla artist Jane Wheeler.IMAGINEPAUSEContinuing south, approaching Westside Drive.About to pass shady picnic benches and a fenced dog run.Friars Road in the distance.Looking to the west as I descend toward Friars Road.Another park map at the south end of Creekside Park. The park’s walkway connects with a sidewalk on the north side of Friars Road.Looking north at Creekside Park from Friars Road.
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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)!
As I passed down Mission Center Road above the San Diego River, the rising sun illuminated low clouds to the east, and beautiful colors reflected from calm water.
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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)!
In mid-April, community volunteers and members of the San Diego River Park Foundation celebrated Earth Day by creating another beautiful mural in Mission Valley!
A wall along the San Diego River Bikeway at Cottonwood Grove, a very short walk west of the Sefton Park Baseball Fields, was painted with colorful flowers and butterflies.
The easiest way to visit the mural is to park at the Sefton Baseball Fields (2508 Hotel Circle Place), which are visible from Interstate 8 at the west end of Mission Valley. A trailhead is located at the west end of the Little League ballfields. The long mural can be spied beyond the sign for Cottonwood Grove. It decorates a low wall that parallels the freeway.
Cottonwood Grove is part of Mission Valley Preserve, whose protected riparian environment is surrounded by sprawling urban development. Here one can find wild natural beauty. Sadly, it’s also a place where one encounters trash and graffiti (including some on the new mural that I didn’t photograph). I also observed evidence of drug activity, so use common sense and be alert if you walk this way.
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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!
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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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!
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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 