San Diego Old Town

Re-creating life of the city during the mid-nineteenth century, Old Town is where San Diego's Mexican heritage is most evident. The community was once Mexico's headquarters of its California territory, until the U.S. flag raised in 1846. Of the park's 20 structures, 7 are original, including homes made of adobe. La Casa de Estudillo (below), which depicts the home of a wealthy family in 1872, and Seeley Stables, owned by the man who ran the stagecoach and mail service, are highlights. On Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10a-4p, costumed interpreters reenact life in the 1800s with cooking and crafts demonstrations, a working blacksmith, and parlor singing. One hour walking tours leave daily at 11am and 2pm from the Robinson-Rose House (bottom).

Balboa Park

San Diego's crown jewel is Balboa Park, at 1,174 acres the largest urban cultural park in the nation. The park was established in 1868 and commemorates the Spanish explorer Balboa. Although landscaping began in the late 19th century, the initial buildings were created to host the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition, and another expo in 1935-36 saw additional structures added to the property. The park features gardens and mature landscaping, eye-popping Spanish Colonial Revival-style buildings (example below) housing diverse museums, walking paths and hiking trails, an ornate pavilion with one of the world's largest outdoor organs, an IMAX theater, the acclaimed Old Globe Theatre, and the San Diego Zoo.

Coronado Island

Built in 1888 across from San Diego harbor, the turreted original wooden Victorian seaside Hotel del Coronado is a national treasure. Millions recognize the structure from the Marilyn Monroe comedy “Some Like It Hot”, which was filmed here in 1958 with co-stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon . The San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge links the city and the "island" (actually a peninsula) of Coronado. At 246 feet, the 1969 bridge is tall enough for the Navy's aircraft carriers to pass beneath. From the top of the span you can see Mexico twelve miles to the south, the San Diego skyline, Coronado and Point Loma. Since 1986 passenger ferry service has linked Coronado with the docks of San Diego’s harbor.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum rented a house which still stands at 1101 Star Park Circle, Coronado (photo above). He wrote two of his famous children’s books here, The Road to Oz (1909) and The Emerald City of Oz (1910). He wrote an earlier volume of the popular series while residing at the Hotel Del Coronado.

San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter

The revived historic Gaslamp Quarter is a mecca for shopping, entertainment and dining establishments, but is started out as a rough and tumble area populated by gambling halls and houses of prostitution. Wyatt Earp ran three gambing halls here in the 1880s. In 1887 there were 120 bordellos in operation, but by 1913 they had all been shut down. The area then became the center of Asian immigrant workers. Following WW II the area deteriorated significantly, mostly populated by tattoo parlors, pawn shops, massage parlors, adult entertainment venues and seedy bars.

By the mid-1970s several groups spearheaded efforts to revitalize this decrepit area, and the Gaslamp Quarter was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Entrepreneurs continue to restore the Gaslamp's Victorian buildings (Old City Hall photo at top), further enhancing the appeal of this vibrant neighborhood.