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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Most people visiting Old Town San Diego State Historic Park will not see the spring flowers now blooming in one beautiful but scraggly garden. That’s because the garden is a bit hidden, located near a walking path that is seldom traveled.
The garden can be found behind historic buildings that line the west edge of the State Park’s central plaza. If you walk into Old Town from the nearby trolley station, you’ll likely pass the path that leads behind these modest buildings, including Casa de Wrightington, San Diego House, U.S. House and Casa de Machado y Silvas.
I saw roses today and many other flowers!
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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!
Unique, classic and amazing one-of-a-kind vehicles dazzle visitors to the San Diego Automotive Museum. Lovers of nostalgia and the history of invention have can have a field day by simply wandering about the museum floor.
During my last visit to the Automotive Museum I noticed a bunch of old antique gas pumps displayed here and there.
Perhaps you’re old enough to remember the days when pumps similar to these were the norm. And a friendly gas station worker would pump your fuel and wash your windows with a smile. And you might receive some trading stamps, too.
I vaguely remember. But I’m getting old and that was long ago.
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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!
Nearby, an octopus welcomes visitors to The Map of the Grand Canyons of La Jolla, which is located in a plaza located between the grassy park and the beach’s boardwalk, Walter Munk Way.
The following photo shows a bit of the beautiful map. I once blogged about the map, its artwork and meaning here. There’s a cool interactive website that describes the marine animals in the map here.
Entering wide grassy Kellogg Park from the south. Benches face a tall flagpole.
Another beautiful day in paradise.
Facing the flagpole from its north side.
There’s an old plaque at the base of the flagpole.
Kellogg Park, a gift to the people of San Diego from Florence Scripps Kellogg and the City of San Diego. Dedicated to the memory of Frederick William Kellogg. June 1951.
Palm trees and the nearby playground.
Gazing out toward the ocean and the La Jolla Shores boardwalk.
Picnic benches and green 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!
Days are longer. The air is warmer. Flowers are blooming in the Land of the First People in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!
A few days ago I strolled through The Iipay ~ Tipay Kumeyaay Mut Niihepok (Land of the First People) area at the north end of the State Park, and I noticed a whole lot of color.
I’m no expert when it comes to identifying flowers and plants, but I do believe I recognized Bush Sunflower, Yarrow and Cleveland Sage, all native to the San Diego region.
I do know that what I saw is beautiful.
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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!
Little remains of the colorful old Horton Plaza shopping mall in downtown San Diego.
Shoppers who once wandered through the creatively designed complex, which debuted back in 1985, might enjoy heading over to the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. There’s a great scale model of Horton Plaza now on display!
Living downtown for over two decades, I’ve used my camera to document various developments in and around Horton Plaza during my walks. Most recently, I took photos of how the whimsical, touristy shopping mall is being redeveloped into a mixed-use technology and biotech campus called Horton. You can see those photos here.
The display of the Horton Plaza model at the San Diego History Center coincides with their newly opened Fashion Redux 2023 exhibition. Fashion students from Mesa College viewed garments in the History Center’s textile collection dating from the “Glam 1980s” and were inspired to create their own bold clothing. I’ll be blogging about that soon!
Horton Plaza Model. Metal, paperboard, plastic, wood. Gift of H.S.D./Horton Associates.
Commissioned by the Hahn Company, the model was built to illustrate and “sell” the Jon Jerde Group’s design of Horton Plaza to the public.
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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!
A beautiful sculpture of a female gray whale and her calf stands near the whale-watching overlook at Cabrillo National Monument. The graceful work of art was created by local sculptor Carl Glowienke in 1992.
Over the years I’ve shared different photos of Gray Whale. But I never gave credit to the artist. I figured it’s time to rectify this oversight.
Here are some of those images again, but now I’ve added a photo of the plaque.
Carl Glowienke, who works in Lakeside, has created numerous amazing sculptures. Many depict whales, dolphins and other sea life. Check out his website here.
This morning, as I surfed Carl Glowienke’s website, I was excited to learn he created Grand Canyons of La Jolla–a 3,000 pound bronze topographic map of underwater La Jolla Canyon, installed in Kellogg Park at La Jolla Shores.
I happened to blog about that project’s progress during a walk in early 2022. To see what I discovered, click here. I need to go back and experience the finished work!
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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!
Should you walk through La Mesa Village, look for informative plaques with old photographs near the front entrances of buildings along La Mesa Boulevard. The plaques are a community project of the La Mesa Historical Society and the Rotary Club of La Mesa.
I found it interesting to learn about the history of the yellow building with stained glass windows that now houses the Por Favor Mexican Restaurant and Cantina.
Bank of Southern California Building, 1927
The local Bank of Southern California constructed this sturdy Mediterranean Revival style building on the site of the La Mesa Opera House (1908-1926). This now landmark building housed Mt. Helix developer Fred J. Hansen’s offices. The La Mesa Garage reminds us of this route’s former days as part of U.S. Highway 80.
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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!
Few see this small marker at the San Diego Veterans Museum at Balboa Park. Curious eyes might discover it behind the outdoor Vietnam Veterans Peace Memorial on the east side of the museum.
I read these words for the first time today.
The heartfelt memorial for a beloved cat reads:
Rosie the Museum’s mascot was named after the famous Rosie the Riveter of WWII. As Cat in Charge she welcomed visitors with a friendly meow, kept an eye on things during the day and assumed her role as Tabby on Patrol guarding the museum at night. 2000 – 2008
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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!
Two enormous parrots are now being painted outside downtown’s Solamar hotel. Why? The property will soon become Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter!
I spotted the new artwork this morning, then returned in the afternoon for more photographs. Several painters were on two suspended platforms creating the huge, colorful murals.
The new Margaritaville Hotel will have a Jimmy Buffett theme. Sunny and laid back. Just like San Diego.
According to its website, the converted hotel will debut this July.
Parrotheads rejoice!
UPDATE!
A week and a half later, this is what I saw…
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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! 