 |
| The actual span of our foot traffic at Old Town San Diego Park, and where we miraculously found free parking for 4 hours! Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC, used with permission. |
My husband being the history buff, we decided to visit Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, which provides an opportunity to see what early San Diego was like, and presents buildings and artifacts from the 1820-1870's.
We visited on the Sunday before Labor Day 2019 in the afternoon after our morning La Jolla excursion. Considering the circumstances, it was a miracle that we actually found parking for 4 hours right near the park! Apparently the Cal Trans parking lot across Taylor street is usually available weeknights and weekends, but we did not know it at the time and it is much further away.
We started with a picnic under a shady tree at the Plaza De Las Armas, a grassy area right in the middle of the park. There are plenty of picnic tables and benches, but they were all full when we got there, so we just sat on the grass.
Then it was off to the visitor center for a map and a clue on where to go and what to see. The visitor center is inside a reconstructed replica of the Robinson-Rose house, the home of a San Diego lawyer involved with almost every aspect of the town's development in the 1850's. The house also includes a diorama of 1872 San Diego.
Then we began our tour of the park. There is so much to do, see, eat, and browse! Below is a summary of our particular excursions.
Museums
If you want to see artifacts from 1820-1870's San Diego, check out the museums. Here are the ones we went to:- McCoy House - Reconstruction of 1869 residence of Sheriff James McCoy. While the outside, and the replica of the living room in the front of the house, are reconstructions of the home, the rest of the building is actually an exhibit of archaeological artifacts from 1770-1851 showing how people lived on the property prior to 1851.
- Seeley Stable Musuem - Reconstruction of 1869 two-story barn of Albert Seeley, who operated a stagecoach line between San Diego and Los Angeles. The barn houses stagecoaches and artifacts from the 19th century.
19th century stagecoach 
The most interesting chair I've ever seen... - La Casa de Estudillo - Restored home of Captain Jose Maria de Estudillo, originally built in 1827 and still surviving today. Features furnished rooms, including living room, bedrooms, dining rooms, kitchen, chapel, and large courtyard.
- First San Diego Courthouse - Reconstruction of the first courthouse in San Diego. Includes what the offices used to look like and a jail cell.
Replica of 19th century jail cell - La Casa de Machado y Silvas - Restored home of Maria Antonia Juliana Machado and Jose Antonio Nicasio Silvas, originally built in 1843, used as a commercial restaurant, art gallery & photography studio, and chapel, and still surviving today.
Dining room in La Casa de Machado y Silvas
Restored, Reconstructed or Rehabilitated Buildings
It is amazing to think that adobe buildings from the 1820's still survive today. In addition to some of the museums above, here are just a few:- The Cosmopolitan Hotel & Restaurant - Restored back to its 1870's splendor, this building was originally the one-story, U-shaped, adobe mansion of politician Juan Bandini, built between 1827-1829. It was later converted to the two-story Cosmopolitan Hotel by stage line operator, Albert Seeley, in 1869. You can get Tintype portraits here and even book a hotel stay.
- Mason Street Schoolhouse - Reassembled as a typical 19th century one room schoolhouse after pieces of the original 1865 school building were rescued from demolition in 1952 and reassembled with portions of another 1865 building to create the landmark that is in the park today. Unfortunately, the school was closed when we arrived, but we could still peek inside the windows and see what a 19th century one room schoolhouse looked like.
- La Casa de Machado y Stewart - Rehabilitated home of soldier Jose Manuel Machado, originally built in 1835 and passed down to his daughter Rosa and her husband, Jack Stewart in 1845. The home has undergone several renovations through family generations, but still stands today.
A plant on the property of La Casa de Machado y Stewart
Shops
Of course, what's a tourist town without shopping? Plenty of vintage here! Here is what we happened to browse:- Geppetto's Toy Store - No electronics here, just good old fashioned toys... sort of. My daughter got kinetic slime here for $5.
- Rust General Store - Very unique food items here. You can also get a meal here. We made off with a $0.50 candy cane that turned my daughter's teeth blue!
- The Johnson House - Absolutely gorgeous Victorian clothing, accessories, jewelry and parasols.
- Toler's Leather Depot - I tried on three different sizes (6-8) of some gorgeous cherry red moccasins I found, but they were all still too big. The lady who worked there showed me how to make them smaller, but it took more time than we had, so I decided to save my money ($45). She was very nice and understanding.
- Miner's Gems and Minerals - We paid only $5 cash here for my 9-year old daughter to pan for gems and stones. She got a full bag, and they were beautiful! Definitely worth the money.
- Gum Saan - Interesting Tibetan jewelry, but we had to do a walk-by because the incense smell was too strong for my husband, and my daughter just wasn't interested.
- Captain Fitch's Mercantile Shop - We did a brief walk-through of this store filled with the kind of books and trinkets that would appeal to 19th century shoppers. My daughter was disappointed to not find any Harry Potter books...
- Cousin's Candy Shops - By the time we got to this store it was ridiculously crowded. The homemade fudge looked delicious and there were some unique candy bars in there like a Jalapeno Chocolate Bar. But I got too claustrophobic and had to leave.
- Tinsmith Old Town San Diego - The most unique tin-work I had ever seen, so I had to take pictures before we baked to a crisp because it was so hot in that store!
Hot tin!
Have you been to Old Town San Diego? If there was something we missed, please share below. Happy touring!
Comments
Post a Comment