William Heath Davis Jr. Monument Unveiling
In 2025, we celebrate the 175th year of the founding of New Town by William Heath Davis Jr., aka, Kanaka Davis, and his partners. The Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation and the Kanaka Davis Trust Group are proud to showcase the extraordinary life of Kanaka Davis, who ventured off from his Native Hawaii in his youth in the early 1840s, and who eventually rose to fame as a successful entrepreneur and civic leader, only to tragically lose much of his wealth to a series of unfortunate events in a period of turmoil and cultural transformation. In celebration of the founding of New Town in 1850, we invite the public to the unveiling of the Kanaka Davis Monument on Saturday, 5/10/2025, 10:30am, in Pantoja Park. Please visit the Museum and join us at the historic unveiling ceremony, marking the monument as the city of San Diego’s Historic Landmark #7.