Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California, is a state protected historical park in San Diego. It commemorates the early days of the town of San Diego and includes many historic buildings from the period 1820 to 1870. The park was established in 1968.[4] In 2005 and 2006, California State Parks listed Old Town San Diego as the most visited state park in California.
In 1969, the site was registered as California Historical Landmark #830.[2] Then on September 3, 1971, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Old Town San Diego Historic District.[1]HISTORY
The first European settlement on the West Coast of the present-day United States was the San Diego Presidio, a military outpost of Spanish California, founded by Gaspar de Portolà in 1769. Mission San Diego de Alcalá was founded by Father Junípero Serra the same year. The Presidio and Mission were originally built on a bluff above the San Diego River, Presidio Hill, which is now the site of the city-owned Presidio Park and which is immediately adjacent to Old Town State Historic Park.
After 5 years the Mission moved to a location several miles upriver at the present site of Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Presidio Hill remained the primary settlement for several decades because it was defensible against attack by European enemies or hostile Indians. As the need for defense decreased, settlers preferred to live at the base of the hill because of greater convenience. In the 1820s the town of San Diego grew up at the base of the bluff, at the site commemorated by Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. The Presidio was abandoned and fell into disrepair.
When California was admitted to the United States in 1850, San Diego (still largely limited to the Old Town area) was made the county seat of San Diego County, even though the town's population was only 650.[7]
The Old Town area remained the heart of the city of San Diego until the 1860s, when a newcomer to San Diego named Alonzo Horton began to promote development at the site of present-day Downtown San Diego.
Residents and businesses quickly abandoned "Old Town" for Horton's "New
Town" because of New Town's proximity to shipping. In 1871 government
records were moved from Old Town to a new county courthouse in New Town,
and Downtown permanently eclipsed Old Town as the focal point of San
Diego.[8]
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park preserves and recreates Old Town as it existed during the Mexican and early American periods, from its settlement in 1821, through 1872 when it lost its dominant position to Downtown.
The Old Town area is a popular tourist destination, known especially for its Mexican restaurants. The state park itself hosts several eating establishments, and other restaurants and gift shops are found in the surrounding neighborhood.
RESTAURANTS IN OLD TOWN
Known for colorful Mexican cuisine, Old Town's dining is lively and
vibrant. For authentic flavors and techniques in an upscale atmosphere,
diners head to El Agave. This second-floor hacienda-style hideaway
boasts a mind-blowing tequila collection and a menu specializing in
upscale dishes that celebrate indigenous Mexican ingredients. At Café Coyote,
the festive décor, massive margaritas, strolling mariachis and open air
atmosphere prove that diners don't have to choose between flavor and
fun. For a change of pace, Harney Sushi offers creative Japanese dishes
and sushi roll concoctions, such as the "Mike Check" roll featuring
lobster, cilantro, garlic ponzu and wonton chips, as well as expertly
prepared traditional nigiri. Needless to say, Mexican cuisine is the
specialty in Old Town, and you'll find authentic fare at Old Town Mexican Cafe y Cantina or any of the other local cantinas.
CASA DE ESTUDILLO
The Casa de Estudillo, also known as the Estudillo House, is a historic adobe house in San Diego, California, United States. It was constructed in 1827 by José María Estudillo and his son José Antonio Estudillo, early settlers of San Diego, and was considered one of the finest houses in Mexican California.[5] It is located in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, and is designated as both a National and a California Historical Landmark in its own right.[1][4]
Besides being one of the oldest surviving examples of Spanish
architecture in California, the house gained much prominence by
association with Helen Hunt Jackson's wildly popular 1884 novel Ramona.[6] The Casa de Estudillo is one of three National Historic Landmarks in Southern California that were closely tied to Ramona, a novel of Californio life shortly after the American acquisition of California; the other two are Rancho Camulos and Rancho Guajome.
DESCRIPTION
The large building is a U-shaped structure, measuring 113 feet (34.4 m) on the front side, and 98 feet (29.9 m) on each of the wings.[7] It is constructed in the Spanish Colonial style, meaning that the house's 13
rooms are set consecutively in the building and connected only by an external covered corredor (as opposed to an interior hallway).[8]The main portion (the center) contains the entrance, facing west. To its left is the chapel and to its right is the schoolroom. Both rooms originally were smaller, with bedrooms located at the ends of building, but a 1910 restoration eliminated those walls to enlarge the rooms. Two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen (which was added at a later date), and the servants' dining room are in the north wing, while the south wing has three bedrooms and the family dining room. The house is topped by a cupola from which bullfights and festivals in the adjacent plaza could be seen.[5]
Association with the novel
José Antonio Estudillo died in 1852, and his family stayed until 1887, when they moved to Los Angeles, leaving the house in the hands of a caretaker. Meanwhile, the 1884 publication of Ramona, a novel set in Southern California which painted a romanticized portrait of Californio life, generated a nationwide interest in the region. This, combined with the opening of the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railway lines (and the ensuing rate war,[9] which drove prices down to as low as $1 from St. Louis, Missouri to Los Angeles[10]),
meant that hordes of tourists made their way to Southern California to
see the locations in the novel. Unfortunately, Jackson died in 1885
without ever having disclosed what the actual locations in the novel
were, which caused a great deal of speculation.[11]
In 1887, a front page article of the San Diego Union
declared the Estudillo home to be "Ramona's Marriage Place", saying,
"To sleepy Old Town (the house) is known as the Estudillos, but the
outside world knows it as the marriage place of 'Ramona.'"[10]
This was despite Jackson never having visited the house, but in the
novel, Ramona was married in a "long, low adobe building which had
served no mean purpose in the old Presidio days, but was now fallen in decay; and all its rooms, except those occupied by the Father, had been long uninhabited".[12]
Despite the novel being a work of fiction, visitors flocked to the
building thinking it was the actual location of Ramona's marriage. To be
clear, the Union did not simply invent this story; a tourist had
already scratched the name "Alessandro" (Ramona's husband in the novel)
in one of the walls.[13] The caretaker decided to capitalize on the attendant publicity and began selling off pieces of the house as souvenirs. Naturally, the building's condition began to deteriorate rapidly.[11]
