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Old Town State Historic Park – Soak up the California
Old West. For most of the 19th century, Old Town was the heart of San Diego.
Today, walk around the Plaza, stopping into San Diego's first public school
house, the stable and blacksmith's shop, a Spanish adobe family house, the
Wells Fargo bank, commercial restaurant and the newspaper office. |
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 Robinson-Rose
House (Visitor's Center) – Start your explorations of Old Town
at the Visitor's Center, where you can see a cool diorama of Old Town in 1872. Tip: Pick up the calendar of Living History Days, first Sundays
of the month, with demonstrations from 11:00am to 2:00pm.
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Seeley
Stable – In the stable you'll find a well-preserved collection
of carriages, buckboards, stagecoaches, phaetons, harness and saddle displays,
and brands used by Mexican cowboys, the vaqueros. |
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Blackhawk
Smithy and Stable – The blacksmith's shop was essential to a frontier
town – the blacksmith made hammers, saws, nails, nuts and bolts, chisels,
wrenches, shovels, axes, horseshoes and wagon wheels. At the blacksmith's
shop, watch demonstrations at the forge and anvil, hammering out nails,
horseshoes and carriage parts. In the backyard are old-fashioned wooden
freight wagons. |
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Mason
St. School – Be sure to check out San Diego's first public school,
the Mason St. School. The little red one-room school house was built in
1865. Sit down in the old fashioned desks, and imagine doing your homework
with chalk on a black slate. |
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La
Casa de Estudillo – This is one of Old Town's original adobe houses,
built in 1829. The house is constructed around a central courtyard with a
fountain. The dark, cool, rooms are furnished in the style of an upper-class
family – the formal dining room, parlor, family chapel, bedrooms, large
kitchen, with outdoor cooking oven. Don't miss the kid's room with antique
dolls! |
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Commercial
Restaurant (La Casa de Machado y Silvas) – Find out what a typical
restaurant looked like in the mid nineteenth century. |
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San
Diego Union Building – The San Diego Union was San Diego's
first newspaper. The first edition of the newspaper came off the press in
1868. In the exhibit you can see the editor's office, hand press and type
racks. |
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Wells
Fargo Bank – Wells Fargo operated a stagecoach service, as well
as banking for miners and prospectors. East of San Diego, the gold mines
in Julian were very productive. Inside the bank is a full size stagecoach,
and scales for weighing gold nuggets. Practice your Morse code (an essential
skill for telegraph operators). |
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Music
and dance – In the Plaza del Pasado courtyard, listen to mariachi
bands and watch Ballet Folklorico performances on the weekends. Also on
the weekends are kids crafts and piñata breaking several times a
day. Cinco de Mayo is fiesta day in Old Town. |
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Tip: In May, don't miss the Cinco de Mayo Festival, Colorful and fun for everyone in the family – live music on stage,
equestrian groups in flowing costumes, re-creation of the Battle of Puebla
(all events are free). Little ones will enjoy a ride in the Wells Fargo
stagecoach. |
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Heritage Park – Wander through colorfully painted Victorian
buildings, a glimpse of late 19th century San Diego. The McConaughy House
has loads of Victorian dolls, all beautifull dressed, and don't miss the
Victorian doll house in the Senlis Cottage.
Older kids (7 and up) will enjoy a special tea at Mrs. Burton's Tea Room – tea, cookies, scones, and a picture on the veranda. Call
for reservations: (619) 294-4600. |
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Old Presidio Historic Trail – From the southwest
corner of the Plaza, at Mason St., walk east from Old Town, up the hill
to the Presidio, site of the first California mission and military outpost.
Follow the signs to find out more information along the way. It's not a
long walk, and the Presidio Park is the perfect spot for a picnic. |
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Junipero Serra Museum and Presidio Park – In 1769,
Father Junipero Serra founded the first mission in San Diego on Presidio
Hill. The hill also became the site of the first fort, presidio,
built by Spanish soldiers. Long before the Spanish came, the Kumeyaay people
lived at the base of Presidio Hill. |
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The Serra Museum, a lovely mission-style building,
features exhibits of clothing, tools, and furniture from the Kumayaay, Spanish,
and Mexican eras. Much of the Kumeyaay artifacts have been patiently excavated
over the years. Don't miss the cannons and cannonballs. Climb up the
tower for a bird's eye view of Mission Bay and the beaches. |
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In Presidio Park, there are picnic tables, shady,
grassy areas, and wonderful views of Old Town and the surrounding area. |
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Mission San Diego de Alcala – In 1774, due to
a lack of a reliable water supply, the mission was moved from Presidio Hill,
six miles up the valley (Mission Valley). In 1775, the mission buildings
were destroyed, but rebuilt the following year. Today, you can see the whitewashed
adobe brick church, a very nice bell tower, garden (don't miss the St. Francis
wishing well), and ruins of the monastery. A small museum has tools and
clothing from the 19th century. |
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From Old Town, it's fun to take the trolley to
the mission. Click
here for a map and schedule. You will need to walk a few blocks from
the trolley stop to the misson. |
