Adjacent to the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is nearby Heritage County Park which features several restored Victorian homes and the city’s first synagogue. Several of the exteriors of the Victorian architecture of wealthy San Diego residents in the late 1880s-1890s have been restored although the interiors are currently undergoing improvements.
The Historic Buildings at Heritage County Park
Senlis Cottage: 1896, moved to Heritage County Park in 1981 (Queen Anne Cottage)
Built in 1896, this modest four-room dwelling was home to gardener Eugene Senlis and his wife Lena. Eugene was employed by Kate Sessions, a renowned San Diego nurserywoman and horticulturalist.
Sherman-Gilbert House: 1887, moved to Heritage County Park in 1971 (Stick Eastlake Style)
The Sherman-Gilbert House, recognized by its central tall square tower and abundance of millwork details, was originally built and owned by John Sherman who is deemed a master builder.
Bushyhead House: 1887, moved to Heritage County Park in 1976 (Eastlake Style)
This cheery yellow Eastlake style home, marked by a two-story projecting bay window and a richly ornamented porch, was built in 1887 by Edward Wilkerson Bushyhead.
Christian House: 1889, moved to Heritage County Park in 1976 (Queen Anne style)
Boasting an extensive wrap-around porch, tall corner tower, and scalloped siding cladding the second floor, the Christian House is a vibrant example of a Queen Anne Victorian home, a style known for its decorative layers and variations. This home was owned by Harfield Timberlake Christian and his wife Myrtle.
McConaughy House: 1887, moved to Heritage County Park in 1981 (Italianate Style)
The home’s original owner and builder, John McConaughy, was renowned in San Diego for founding the area’s first cargo and passenger service, which operated between the city and the backcountry town of Julian.
Burton House: 1893, moved to Heritage County Park in 1976 (Classic Revival Style)
Henry Guild Burton, the home’s original owner, was a retired Army physician who served in the Second Seminole War, Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War
Temple Beth Israel: 1889, moved to Heritage County Park in 1978 (Synagogue architecture)
Constructed as San Diego’s first synagogue and the second oldest extant in the Western United States, Temple Beth Israel originally stood at the corner of Second Avenue and Beech Street downtown.
Heritage County Park arose from County Parks’ commitment to the preservation of San Diego’s cultural as well as natural resources. The park is a joint project with the Save Our Heritage Organisation.
Brisbane Coral Tree – Erythrina x sykesii (Australia)
A document with more information by SOHO can be found here. San Diego Parks & Recreations have more recent information here
Note that my photos are from February 2009 and that the exterior colour of these houses may well have altered.
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park has history, restaurants (particularly Mexican cuisine) and shopping, as well as festivals and music events. Here are a few more images from the site.
Colourful
Historical
Floral
Source of information from Old Town San Diego guide.
Established in 1968, the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a living history museum that commemorates and preserves numerous historic buildings and recreates Old Town as it existed during the Mexican and early American periods, from its settlement in 1821, through 1872 when it lost its dominant position to Downtown.
The McCoy House was originally built in 1869, and was home to California’s first sheriff. It has been reconstructed. Prior to 1851 the land belonged to Maria Eugenia Silvas.
Five original adobe buildings are part of the complex, which includes shops, restaurants and museums. Other historic buildings include a schoolhouse, a blacksmith shop, San Diego’s first newspaper office, a cigar and pipe store, houses and gardens, and a stable with a carriage collection.
Casa de Estudillo
Constructed in 1825 as the home of Don Jose Antonio de Estudillo, a Spanish aristocrat. It became a sanctuary for women and children during the American occupation in 1846. For a number of years it was incorrectly identified as “Ramona’s Marriage Place” from Helen Hunt Jackson’s “Ramona”. The adobe structure is considered to be one of Old Town’s outstanding show places.
Casa de Estudillo
Church of the Immaculate Conception
Begun in 1868 by Father Antonio D. Ubach. Due to the boom that set in for the New San Diego, the church was not completed and dedicated until 1919.
Colorado House
Originally a hotel, now houses the Wells Fargo Museum. The building is a reconstruction of the 1860 original. The Wells Fargo Museum is a historically furnished Wells Fargo agent’s office, including one of the famous 30 Coaches shipped to Wells Fargo in 1867
Whaley House
One of the most historic buildings in Old Town San Diego, the Whaley House was built in 1857 by Thomas Whaley, a San Diego pioneer, as his family home. Over the course of history the Whaley House has served as a general store, county courthouse and theatre. Apparently known as the most haunted house in America and after-hours they run paranormal tours.
Whaley House
Robinson-Rose House
James Robinson built this two-story structure in 1853 as his family residence and as the home of the San Diego Herald, the San Diego and Gila Railroad office and other private offices.
Robinson-Rose House
San Diego Union Newspaper
This wood-frame structure was prefabricated in Maine and shipped around the Horn in 1851. This first office of the San Diego Union newspaper is restored as it was when the Union printed its first edition on October 10, 1868.
SD Union Newspaper (on the left)
Mason Street Schoolhouse
Built in 1865, the Schoolhouse was the first publicly owned school in San Diego County. The building was a one-room, wood-frame, shingle-roofed structure with a ten foot high ceiling. A pot-bellied iron stove heated the room, and a water bucket and dipper provided the only indoor plumbing. All eight grades were taught in the single room.
School House
Although it seems a little bit like a film set, it is still an interesting place to visit. And admission is free. Next time I will show you some of the more colourful aspects of this open museum.
Source of information from Old Town San Diego guide.
Established in 1776, the Presidio of San Francisco has existed as a military fortification under Spanish, Mexican, and American rule. It became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1994 when it was transferred to the National Park Service from the Army.
Barracks (Bldgs. 86–87, 1862, 2nd storey 1885) Graham Street
The Main Post is the heart of the Presidio where the oldest existing buildings are found.
Guardhouse (Bldg. 210, 1900) is now the Presidio Visitor Centre (2017)
Band Barracks (Bldg. 106, 1909)
Barracks (Bldgs. 86–87, 1862, 2nd storey 1885)
Fire Station (Bldg. 218, 1917)
Presidio of San Francisco Headquarters
Fire Station (Bldg. 218, 1917)
Bowling Alley (Bldg. 93, 1989) Montgomery Street
Fire Station (Bldg. 218, 1917)
In the 1890s, the Army built substantial brick barracks to house troops. They had heating, indoor plumbing, kitchens, rec rooms, and even space for tailors and barbers. The Main Parade Ground (now lawn) was constructed alongside so the soldiers could conduct drills and exercises. Today, the barracks have been reimagined as workplaces for a variety of organisations including the Walt Disney Family Museum.
Enlisted Men’s Barracks (Bldg. 104, 1895–97)
Since 1997 the Presidio Trust has been busy renovating historic buildings in the park and a lot has changed since my visit there in 2010. It is an interesting place to visit and there is a shuttle bus that can take you all around the park.
Sausalito is a city in Marin County, California, across the Golden Gate Strait from San Francisco. Whilst in San Francisco it is fun to take a ferry over to Sausalito or Tiburon where you can get great views back across the bay and enjoy brunch overlooking the water.
As in the previous post this photo also refers back to that famous 1915 Expo. Close to the ferry port in downtown Sausalito is Viña del Mar Park, a small triangle-shaped park offering benches & grassy areas, and known for its elephant statues & fountain that were commissioned by William B. Faville for his ‘Court of the Universe’ complex in the 1915 Expo. He couldn’t bear to see them destroyed after the expo so had two of the elephants and a fountain shipped over to his Sausalito home. Obviously since they were made of Papier-mâché the ones you see now are replicas.
Sausalito is a good place from which to rent bikes (including electric) to ride over the Golden Gate bridge and on to the ferry terminal to return.
TRAVEL WORDS 