Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá was the second Franciscan founded mission in the Californias, a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, California, it was founded on July 16, 1769, by Spanish friar Junípero Serra, in an area long inhabited by the Kumeyaay people. The current church, built in the early 19th century, is the fifth to stand on this location. The mission site is a National Historic Landmark.
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a state protected historical park in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California. The park commemorates the early days of San Diego; it includes many historic buildings from the period 1820 to 1870. The park was established in 1968. In 2005 and 2006, California State Parks listed Old Town San Diego as the most visited state park in California.
El Presidio Real de San Diego is a historic fort in San Diego, California. It was established on May 14, 1769, by Gaspar de Portolá, leader of the first European land exploration of Alta California—at that time an unexplored northwestern frontier area of New Spain.
George White Marston was an American politician, department store owner, and philanthropist. Marston was involved with establishing Balboa Park, Presidio Park, and the San Diego Public Library. His contributions to San Diego earned him the affectionate title of "San Diego's First Citizen."
Katherine Olivia Sessions was an American botanist, horticulturalist, and landscape architect closely associated with San Diego, California. She is known as the "Mother of Balboa Park".
The Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo, also known as the Royal Presidio Chapel, is a Catholic cathedral located in Monterey, California, United States. The cathedral is the oldest continuously operating parish and the oldest stone building in California. It was built in 1791-94 making it the oldest serving cathedral in the United States, along with St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only existing presidio chapel in California and the only existing building in the original Monterey Presidio.
The Spreckels Organ Pavilion is an outdoor venue that houses the open-air Spreckels Organ in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. With more than 5,000 pipes, the Spreckels Organ is the world's largest pipe organ in a fully outdoor venue. Constructed for the 1915 Panama–California Exposition, it is located at the corner of President's Way and Pan American Road East in the park.
Downtown San Diego is the central business district of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. It houses the major local headquarters of the city, county, state, and federal governments. The area comprises seven districts: Gaslamp Quarter, East Village, Columbia, Marina, Cortez Hill, Little Italy, and Core.
The culture of San Diego is influenced heavily by American and Mexican cultures due to its position as a border town, its large Hispanic population, and its history as part of Spanish America and Mexico. San Diego's longtime association with the U.S. military also contributes to its culture. Present-day culture includes many historical and tourist attractions, a thriving musical and theatrical scene, numerous notable special events, a varied cuisine, and a reputation as one of America's premier centers of craft brewing.
The Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) is a museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. First founded in 1974, MOPA opened in 1983. MOPA is one of three museums in the US dedicated exclusively to the collection and preservation of photography, with a mission to inspire, educate and engage the broadest possible audience through the presentation, collection, and preservation of photography, film and video. The museum's address is 1649 El Prado, San Diego, CA, 92101.
The San Diego Natural History Museum is a museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It was founded in 1874 as the San Diego Society of Natural History. It is the second oldest scientific institution west of the Mississippi and the oldest in Southern California. The present location of the museum was dedicated on January 14, 1933. A major addition to the museum was dedicated in April 2001, doubling exhibit space.
William Templeton Johnson was a notable San Diego architect. He was a fellow to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1939.
Old Town is a neighborhood in San Diego, California. It contains 230 acres (93 ha) and is bounded by Interstate 8 on the north, Interstate 5 on the west, Mission Hills on the east and south. It is the oldest settled area in San Diego and is the site of the first European settlement in present-day California. It contains Old Town San Diego State Historic Park and Presidio Park, both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Museum of Us is a museum of anthropology located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. The museum is housed in the historic landmark buildings of the California Quadrangle.
Presidio Park is a city historic park in San Diego, California. It is the site where the San Diego Presidio and the San Diego Mission, the first European settlements in what is now the West Coast of the United States, were founded in 1769.
The George W. Marston House is a museum and historic landmark in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It is maintained by Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO).
Balboa Park is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) historic urban cultural park in San Diego, California. Placed in reserve in 1835, the park's site is one of the oldest in the United States dedicated to public recreational use. The park hosts various museums, theaters, restaurants, and the San Diego Zoo. It is managed and maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of San Diego.
The California Quadrangle, California Building, and California Tower are historic structures located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. They were built for the 1915–16 Panama–California Exposition and served as the grand entry to the event. The buildings and courtyard were designed by architect Bertram Goodhue. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 17, 1974. They now house the Museum of Us.
Lee Passmore was an American photographer and field naturalist who worked with scientists and staff at the San Diego Natural History Museum documenting the flora and fauna of Southern California. Passmore published photo essays on natural history subjects in popular magazines from the 1920s to the 1940s, and contributed photographs to several natural history monographs. He donated his extensive collection of photographic negatives, glass slides, and Kodachrome transparencies to the San Diego Natural History Museum in 1958; these include significant collections of images on the natural history of the trapdoor spider, the carpenter bee, and the tomato sphinx moth.
Norman Baynard (1908–1986) was an American photographer whose work documented the social and civic life of African-Americans in the Logan Heights neighborhood of San Diego from the 1940s through the 1980s. His extensive collection of negatives and prints, donated to the San Diego History Center in 1991, became the basis for an oral history and photograph identification project that chronicled the African-American experience in San Diego through engagement with local citizens.
