San Diego: A Golden City

INTRODUCTION
During the early to mid-1500's, Portugese born Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo while exploring the coast of California ~ sailing under the Spanish flag ~ guided his flagship San Salvadore into what is now known as San Diego Bay. His goal was to discover a trade route between the North Pacific and the North Atlantic. In addition, like other explorers of his era, he hoped to find the fabled "Seven Cities of Gold," or the Seven Cities of Cibola. Little could he possibly know that his efforts would eventually result in the founding of a city that, by the twentieth century, can be easily perceived itself as a genuine "Golden City," and the destination of millions of visitors a year.

Mission San Diego de Alcala

The Mission was founded on July 16, 1769 by Franciscan Friar Father Junipero Serra on the site that is now the Presidio. (See preceeding blog entry). It was relocated to its present site in 1774 to be nearer the existing Indian villages and to reliable water sources and farmland. It was the first in a chain of 21 missions along the coast of California and is consequently known as the Mother of the Missions. (Additional images, including historical photos, can be found further down in this blog.) For a complete list see California Missions.

Mission San Diego de Alcala: Historical Photos

Here are images of the San Diego Mission at the turn of the century (circa 1885-1905) provided by local resident Richard Roppe. Some of the photos were taken by his great-great-grandfather.

Indian Gaming in San Diego County

Indiginous to San Diego County, the Kumeyaay Indians, of which there are many bands, the Viejas Indians among them, have developed gaming, retail and hotel centers around the County. Here we see four images representing the Viejas Casino and Outlet Center in East County near Alpine. Notice in the second image the presence of a waxing daytime moon in the upper left corner; and in the third image the rainbow among the mists of the water display in the retail center. Although black bears are no longer inhabitants of the area, it was not long ago that they could be seen, especially in places like Valley Center east of Escondido, which previously was known as Bear Valley.

Colorful Old Town

Old Town San Diego is a favorite venue for tourists, who are not only drawn to the historical past but to the colorful presentation of goods and services available in abundance.

Carillon Tower: San Diego State University

This carillon tower was a central feature of the original San Diego State College campus library and central quad, and is now an iconic image of the University (SDSU).

Del Mar Race Track

The world famous Del Mar Race track, founded July 3rd 1937 by Bing Crosby and Pat 'Brien, typically runs during the summer months of July and August, following the San Diego County Fair.

"Having been bitten by the racing bug, Crosby and a bunch of his Hollywood buddies (among them Pat O’Brien, Oliver Hardy and Gary Cooper) hatched the idea for a horse palace by the ocean where you could play all day, party all night and leave the cares of the world behind."

(See Del Mar Track history for more information.)

In the first image, Crosby and O'Brien are seen on opening day 1937. In the second image, by RM Lewis, one can only guess what the jockeys are saying to each other as they pass the finish line, one of the horses winning by a nose.

County Administration Building

This is an unusual treatment of this architectural centerpiece along Harbor Drive on the Embarcadero due to the anglular perspective of the photograph, the contrast of sky and clouds, the overall color saturation, and the angular relationship between the height of the tall palm tree on the left, the tower and lower portion of the building on the right, which mirror the angle of the clouds.

Mission San Diego de Alcala

The Mission was founded on July 16, 1769 by Franciscan Friar Father Junipero Serra on the site that is now the Presidio. (See preceeding blog entry). It was relocated to its present site in 1774 to be nearer the existing Indian villages and to reliable water sources and farmland. It was the first in a chain of 21 missions along the coast of California and is consequently known as the Mother of the Missions.

County Administration Building

The stunning juxtaposition of water, small boats and architecture provide focus for the County Administration Building. This image was taken from Harbor Island near the airport looking east.