Old Town Stories
At first, I was scared to share this story about me getting deported. First of all, I am not a good writer yet. I am only 16 years old. English is my second language. Spanish …
A few days ago I spent some time with the artist that will be painting four large murals on the walls below the I-5 bridge outside of Old Town. To be called the Gateway Mural, …
"You happy?” I ask Heidi. “I’m happy,” she says. “For another 30 minutes, anyway.” Erk. Thirty minutes? We’re talking happy hour. Heidi’s in charge of the bar. I look at my watch. Gadzooks, she’s right. …
San Diego may be unique in American history as the only city that changed locations. In 1871, the county seat moved three-and-a-half miles south, from Old to New Town. The change, literally, tore the city …
Pissaladière? I know. Sounds dodgy. But trust me, this $3 “snack” is sensational. It’s like a pizza, with a filling that looks like tomato, tastes tomato-ish, but ain’t got a single tomato in it. Or …
I deliberately ignored the most recent previous incarnation of Old Town State Historic Park and everything in it. Oh, I did succumb to curiosity at one point, enough to have a margarita and a few …
Calling your trilogy of plays The Norman Conquests makes it sound like a medieval tryptich or Bayeux Tapestry illustrating the events of 1066: William the Conqueror storming across Hastings, lance lowered, the banner of destiny …
Cygnet Theatre is fast becoming Sondheim Central. Their Little Night Music captivated audiences, they are stage reading/singing Passion on April 12 and 13, and their current Sweeney Todd threatens to blow out the doors at …
The shiver. Down my spine. Can’t help feeling it every time I walk into Old Town. Honest. Something happens when you saunter up that dusty path from the trolley-bus depot, around the wooden fences, and …
Seven months of countywide conflicts, calamities, and curiosities, part 2.
Ken Carpenter doesn’t look like a dramatic lead. Soft-spoken, bespectacled, a slight humble stoop in the shoulders, the 57-year-old’s a successful insurance salesman in Lincoln, Nebraska. He’s been with one woman for the past 40 …
After years of being closed to cars, Presidio Park's Inspiration Point access road began getting necessary repairs back in the spring. Work is projected to finish up this October. The road's two new retaining walls …
Roll 'em! Straight-to-camera, Guy Harinton yells, “Why can’t I kill one of them little fuckers?!” He’s frothing. Here, at the Embarcadero’s Coronado ferry landing, a foreign-student pedicab driver has just ridden off with a load …
At approximately 9.15 a.m. on Saturday, June 27, as an M.T.S. Blue Line trolley en route to Old Town arrived at the Civic Centre stop, commuters onboard were forced to evacuate the train as smoke …
During District 2 councilmember Kevin Faulconer’s state of the district speech on April 27, he listed his accomplishments during the past three years. One of his proudest accomplishments so far has been banning alcohol from …
The sixth annual Mormon Battalion Day celebration took place in Old Town on Saturday, January 31, commemorating the 161st anniversary of the arrival of the first American military sent to San Diego. The battalion set …
Picket lines paraded through Old Town San Diego in protest on Saturday, January 31. Approximately 30 workers beat drums, repeated chants shouted through a leader’s bull horn, and marched in and outside of the grounds …
The Playwrights Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting literacy, creativity, and communication skills through drama-based activities, in conjunction with the Cygnet Theatre Company, held its 24th season of Plays by Young Writers, January 15-25, …
Clouds loomed over Old Town on Thursday, January 16th as residents said goodbye to the sun. “It’s about time,” one resident said. “We could sure use the rain!” According to the San Diego County Water …
Two opposing views regarding the ban on brew at San Diego's beaches inadvertently surfaced during the June 25th meeting of the Ocean Beach town council. When Officer David Surwilo, community liaison for the police department's …
You decide to take the trolley to Tijuana. The day goes well, and you're ready to start homeward. Before boarding the Blue Line, a cup of coffee at the McDonald's Trolley Station in San Ysidro …
I have always wanted to turn the eyes of local theater artists outward: have them look at examples of their craft in San Diego at large. Eric Lotze, the award-winning lighting designer for Cygnet, Moxie, …
At the corner of Rosecrans and Pacific Highway, 1923. In 1911, three factories fired brick in San Diego; they produced 13 million bricks and grossed $100,000 in revenue. To order this photo please contact the …
On the first day of the year, the roads are empty and most televisions are tuned to the Rose Parade — some for the flowers, others in anticipation of the Rose Bowl (USC against Michigan …
I had taken eight or nine guided tours of San Diego in two weeks when a friend asked if I was tired of sightseeing. I had to say no. Being out on buses and boats …
My friend Sally threw a birthday party for her sister Julie at the Old Town Saloon. When I arrived, Julie was showing off a ring that she received as a gift. I didn't know Julie …
Whether you're goth or you just dig celebrity graves (that's "dig" as in "enjoy"), you might be interested to know of these famous former neighbors entombed at a gravesite near you. BOBBY DRISCOLL (1937-1968) starred …
This is weird. Last year I was sitting right here in this ancient Wild West shack in Old Town, in the selfsame squiggly wrought-iron seat, drooling over English tea and crumpets, waiting on dusk for …
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And if you yourself are broke, only fix things that are draining you financially -- not things that are filling your coffers. It seems basic. But the State …
One of the guests told me he was surprised that a few of the Jazzercise students were overweight. Maybe it's not as physically demanding as other aerobic workouts. They all seemed to be great dancers.
Serra Museum 2727 Presidio Drive, Old Town www.sandiegohistory.org/mainpages/locate4.htm 619-297-3258 How is it that even locals confuse the stately Serra Museum overlooking Old Town with an 18th-century California mission? Well, for one thing, it really does …
Bikram's Yoga 2188 San Diego Avenue, Old Town 619-220-6811 Bikram's Hatha yoga is an exercise of postures, "a demanding 26-pose (Asana) series," performed in the same order every time. It's not fun and it's not …
On January 6, 2003, Suzee Vlk, a 49-year-old resident of Linda Vista, was walking her small dog around the plaza at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. It would be her last walk. The …
Sanford Cousin's Old Town Candy Shop 2711 San Diego Avenue, Old Town 619-297-2000, 877-CANDY77 Old-fashioned rock candy sticks are plentiful in flavors such as traditional pure cane as well as blue raspberry, watermelon, cotton candy, …
Seeley Stables Calhoun Street near Juan Street, Old Town 619-220-5427 The best way to introduce a newcomer to the Old Town State Historic Park is to take one of the free one-hour guided tours given …
Byzantium 2607 Congress Street, Old Town 619-497-1848 10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m., closed Mondays This is the place to go for small quantities of reasonably priced burial amber or antique white agate from Africa. Two blocks away …
The Enchantress 2465 Heritage Park Row, Old Town 619-294-4544 If you are busting out of that bra, head down to the Burton House in Heritage Park Row in Old Town. Up some creaky steps, above …
Berta's 3928 Twiggs Street, Old Town 619-295-2343 For anyone who wants to explore the culinary world south of Mexico, where the food can change drastically every few hundred miles, Berta's is a rewarding one-stop voyage …
What struck visitors to the region was how freely families shared their plenty. “Housewives felt that food should not be sold to neighbors or those in need and gave of their abundances anyone who was hungry."
When Monterey’s presidio was established, the importance of San Diego’s fortification was diminished. San Diego’s harbor and climate were exceptional, but the surrounding country was not as fertile, so it became more of a way station.
El Agave Tequileria 2304 San Diego Avenue, Old Town (619) 220-0692 Say the word "mole" in reference to Mexican food, and what comes to mind is thick chocolate sauce replete with chiles placed over chicken. …
O'Hungry's 2547 San Diego Avenue, Old Town (619) 298-0133 Beware! O'Hungry's in Old Town has these three-foot-long trumpet-shaped "yard of ale" glasses with bobbles at the end, and they're going to make a mess of …
Casa De Bandini 2754 Calhoun Street, Old Town (619) 297-8211 With indoor and outdoor dining and a traveling mariachi band, this Old Town restaurant is legendary for its gigantic margaritas. One local news station took …
Soldiers from Company D, Third Artillery, formed the American Dramatic Club and performed the first “theatricals" in 1858. Officers’ wives and “local senoritas" played the female parts. Shows included The Lady of Lyons and The Idiot Witness.
Davistown: "Settlement named after William Heath Davis, who was the first to feel that the site of the city should be near the harbor. The settlement failed and Old Town remained 'San Diego' until 1868.”
Murphy Canyon was named for Jack Murphy. Not the 1960s sports columnist who led the fight for a new ballpark, but a pioneer rancher who acquired about a hundred acres of the San Diego Mission land grant.