Historic San Diego

Deo Gratias (Thanks be to God): San Diego County’s Religious-Themed State Historic Landmarks
Hiding in Plain Sight, Part 4
By Alexander D. Bevil, California State Parks Historian II (Retired)

Deo Gratias (Thanks be to God): San Diego County’s Religious-Themed State Historic Landmarks Religious in nature, the following state landmarks date back to San Diego's Mission and Pueblo eras. The Mission era sites are associated with Spain's attempts to convert and assimilate local indigenous peoples into its colonial empire. One asistencia, or sub-mission, continues to serve its original...

THIS SATURDAY-FREE! Many in our community know the Marston House Museum well, but hearing its stories from those who care for and interpret it daily offers a fresh, new perspective. SOHO curator and historian Robin Lakin will present a free special lecture at the San Diego Public Library Mission Hills-Hillcrest Knox branch.

Mission Hills-Hillcrest/Knox Library
215 W. Washington Street · San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 692-4910
Free

To extend this experience beyond the lecture attendees will receive complimentary passes for a future guided tour Marston House Museum.

San Diego Library Lecture with Robin Lakin: At Home with the Marstons SOHO curator and historian Robin Lakin will present a free special lecture at the San Diego Public Library Mission Hills-Hillcrest Knox branch, revealing how SOHO tells the Marston House’s remarkable history through storyboards and interpretive framework.

Living Historic San Diego HIstory!

WARNER-CARRILLO RANCH HOUSE Museum
29181 San Felipe Road
Warner Springs CA 92086
(619) 297-9327
https://www.sohosandiego.org/main/warnercarrillo.htm

Arena y Fango: The Battle for Dutch Flats — A Page From Point Loma History- A sandy, muddy salt marsh is the reason San Diego is the West Coast home of the Marine Corps
By Eric DuVall

LINK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE AND MORE PHOTOS: https://obrag.org/2025/12/arena-y-fango-the-battle-for-dutch-flats-a-page-from-point-loma-history/

by Debbie L. Sklar • Times of San Diego

..Construction began in 1922 by Bert Vaughn, a San Diego real estate developer who owned much of the surrounding land. Vaughn dedicated the tower “to the pioneers, and highway and railroad builders who opened up the area,” intending it as both a tribute and a destination for motorists navigating the rugged mountain route between San Diego and the Imperial Valley...

Desert View Tower in Jacumba: A century-old roadside landmark Perched in the In Ko Pah Mountains near Jacumba Hot Springs along Old U.S. Route 80, Desert View Tower has welcomed travelers since the early 1920s.

Sharing for our friends at Ocean Beach Historical Society.
Join the fun! Wisteria Party- Thursday, March 19, 4:30-7:00PM

Join the Ocean Beach Historical Society and celebrate Daylight Saving Time at the Wisteria Patio Cottage, under the century-old Wisteria vines, on Thursday, March 19, 2026, 4:30 – 7:00 PM at 4761 Niagara Ave., in O.B.

The over-a-century-old Wisteria Vines cover the patio with purple blossoms! The event included tasty treats, unique historical photos, artifacts, books, and gifts for sale, and surprises. This OBHS party & fundraiser features wonderful historical photos of Ocean Beach. Please join us at this wonderful event.

Join us THIS SATURDAY, March 14 at 11am when Eric DuVall presents The Mystique of Lomaland!

The link is not working correctly. Here is the information and link to register. https://www.sohosandiego.org/main/penningthepast26.htm

This Saturday - Penning the Past: Lomaland with Eric DuVall Email from Save Our Heritage Organisation Share This Email View as Webpage Join us March 14 at 11am when Eric DuVall presents The Mystique of Lomaland. Explore the fascinating and often misunderstood

More great and little known history from Marston House Museum historian Robin Lakin:

In 1886, George took an active role in organizing one of them, San Diego’s first Congregational Church, and joined the education committee of the Association of Congregational Churches. The group aimed to establish a New England-style college: a co-educational private Christian school with a traditional cluster of campus buildings, hosting small class sizes, with a focus on critical thinking, liberal arts, and sciences."

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The Birth of Pomona College George W. Marston is a supreme example of what an individual with the drive and the resources to accomplish self-education can achieve. Pulled from his first semester of pre-med studies at the University of Michigan to help his family relocate to San Diego in 1870, he ended up in the wrong place to....

¿Ya Llegamos? (Are We There Yet?)

Hiding in Plain Sight - Part 3
By Alexander D. Bevil, California State Parks Historian II (Retired)
March/April 2026

"More than lines on a map, these historic trails have been associated for nearly a century with tales of courage, hardship, and determination to extend lines of occupation, communication, and settlement across San Diego County."

¿Ya Llegamos? (Are We There Yet?) More than lines on a map, these historic trails have been associated for nearly a century with tales of courage, hardship, and determination to extend lines of occupation, communication, and settlement across San Diego County.

This striking 1914 illustration from the San Diego Union captures the Hotel del Coronado at a fascinating moment in its history. By this time, the grand wooden resort, opened in 1888, had firmly established itself as one of the most celebrated seaside hotels in America.

In 1914, San Diego was on the brink of transformation. Preparations were underway for the 1915 Panama–California Exposition in Balboa Park, and the Hotel del Coronado stood ready to welcome the wave of visitors expected from across the country and around the world. The Del had long attracted presidents, industrialists, stage and screen stars, and adventurous travelers arriving by rail and steamship to experience Southern California’s sunshine.

The years just before and after 1914 were also a golden age of leisure at the hotel, with grand balls in the Crown Room, beachfront bathing in modest (by today’s standards!) attire, and genteel afternoons overlooking the Pacific. Even as Europe descended into World War I that same year, life at the Del reflected the optimism and growing prominence of Southern California.

This illustration reminds us that long before high-rises and freeways, Coronado’s skyline was defined by red turrets, wide verandas, and the promise of ocean air.