Old Town San Diego
2010.12.24
After all the rain, it was great to see clear blue skies. We spent most of this day in Old Town San Diego. Before going to the main area, we drove up on the nearby Presidio Hill. On this hill, in 1769, a Spanish Franciscan missionary named Father Junípero Serra established the first mission north of Mexico.
Only five years later, the mission was moved about six miles east to a valley location better suited for agriculture. However the presidio fort remained, and in the 1820’s a small town emerged at the base of the hill.
The Junípero Serra Museum was built in 1928 in Spanish Revival style. It was closed so we didn’t go inside.
We drove down the hill and parked near Old Town itself. Some of the original buildings remain, others have been reconstructed. There are a few small museums scattered around, as well as many shops and restaurants.
The Cosmopolitan Hotel started out as a one-story adobe, home of Don Juan Bandini. In 1869, Alfred Seeley added the second floor and contemporary detailing, and opened the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Today it is a restaurant.
Nearby is a reconstruction of the stable Seeley built in 1867. He and a partner operated the first stagecoach and mail delivery between San Diego and Los Angeles.
The museum inside holds examples of horse-drawn vehicles and other Western memorabilia.
Casa de Estudillo was built in 1825 for a Spanish aristocrat. It was restored in 1910, and today displays period furniture and household items. The house is U-shaped, opening to a courtyard.
We paid a brief visit to a little corral, where we petted one of the donkeys.
This wood-frame building was probably prefabricated, and assembled here in 1851. In 1868 it became home to the San Diego Union newspaper.
Built in 1847, the courthouse was the first fired-brick structure in San Diego. At first it was the city hall, then later the city and county courthouse. It was destroyed in an 1872 fire and reconstructed in 1992. Next door is a reconstruction of the Colorado House, originally built in 1860 as a hotel. It now holds the Wells Fargo Museum.
Many of the houses and other buildings are arranged around a public square called Plaza Viejo. Near the expansive shade tree, two actors were performing Scrooge and Marley from A Christmas Carol.
A short walk from the plaza is the reconstructed McCoy House, originally built in 1869 for San Diego’s first sheriff. The entry and front parlor depict how the interior may have looked. The rest of the building displays the early history of San Diego.
Botanic Garden