San Diego: 242 Years Young Today, Happy Birthday!
Actually, San Diego has been home to the Kumeyaay Native American People for centuries. The first explorer of European heritage to come to San Diego was Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542. Cabrillo (1499-1543) was Portuguese but was an explorer for Spain. He originally came to "the new world" when he was young and started his adventures in Havana. Later he joined up with Hernan Cortes, infamous Conquistador, and they went to Mexico. Cabrillo had quite an entrepreneurial
streak and "retired" from Conquistador work and opened a huge gold mining business in Guatemala. After several years of the cushy good life he again set out to explore, this time up the coast of Mexico and then California. He had three ships, San Salvador, La Victoria and San Miguel. He and his crew stopped at Cabrillo Point, which is in what is now Point Loma, the opening to San Diego Bay in September of 1542. The Kumeyaay were armed but apparently they did trade with Cabrillo and his men. Cabrillo named San Diego San Miguel (he should have bought real estate!). He didn't stay long and set about to explore the California coast all the way up to the Russian River. Somehow he missed the entrance to San Francisco Bay. He came back down the coast and stayed for a short time at Santa Catalina Island. The boats had gotten pretty beat up and needed repairs. Cabrillo fell on a jagged rock and shattered his shin. His injury turned to gangrene and he passed away January 3, 1543.
After Cabrillo, San Diego
didn't see explorers of European heritage for another 60 years. This time, 1602, Sebastian Vizcaino was mapping Alta California for Spain. He camped here for a while, celebrated Mass and named the area San Diego after San Diego de Alcala (St Didacus of Alcala). Much later, 1769 (our "official" birthday) Gaspar de Portola set up the Presido of San Diego and the famous Friar, Junipero Serra started the first of 21 California missions. The mission is named Mission San Diego de Alcala, the following 20 missions dot the California coastline all the way up to Sonoma. Apparently the Spaniards really believed in the real estate mantra Location, Location, Location as they staked out areas in all our beautiful California cities. The "mission" period lasted from 1769 to 1823. San Diego has been under the influence of Native Americans, Spain, Mexico, the rough and tumble "wild West", California and the United States of America. We seem to adopt the best of every culture!
San Diego has had a very colorful history yet seems like a fairly new city. Our vibrant San Diego downtow
n area underwent a serious down turn but a lot of people who saw the incredible potential set about turning it around, starting in the late 1970s. I remember visiting downtown San Diego in the early 80s and it was definitely blighted. Now we can boast of being one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And, San Diego is still improving! We have gorgeous downtown San Diego chic high rises (many with jaw dropping views), great shopping, parks and green spaces, fountains, terrific restaurants, top quality hotels, Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo, museums, galleries, fun bars and clubs, Petco Stadium, a large convention center, opera, ballet, symphony, Broadway shows, concert venues, I could really go on and on. With the trolley, Downtown San Diego is very easy to navigate. The weather is ideal, it is flat and extremely walkable. Do you want to explore the opportunity of living the fantastic downtown vibe in "America's Finest City"? Then Call Now 800.928.1672. Our downtown San Diego Real Estate Specialist is here to help!
Today is the official birthday of "America's Finest City" San Diego! There will be a birthday party in the garden at The Whaley House in Old Town San Diego today (7/16) from 1 to 2 PM. The Whaley house is located at 2476 San Diego Ave and dates back to 1857. Reportedly it is haunted! So the guests at the party may be human and.......... Anyway, I'm sure all will have a great time in celebrating the 242nd birthday of our gorgeous city.
Actually, San Diego has been home to the Kumeyaay Native American People for centuries. The first explorer of European heritage to come to San Diego was Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542. Cabrillo (1499-1543) was Portuguese but was an explorer for Spain. He originally came to "the new world" when he was young and started his adventures in Havana. Later he joined up with Hernan Cortes, infamous Conquistador, and they went to Mexico. Cabrillo had quite an entrepreneurial
streak and "retired" from Conquistador work and opened a huge gold mining business in Guatemala. After several years of the cushy good life he again set out to explore, this time up the coast of Mexico and then California. He had three ships, San Salvador, La Victoria and San Miguel. He and his crew stopped at Cabrillo Point, which is in what is now Point Loma, the opening to San Diego Bay in September of 1542. The Kumeyaay were armed but apparently they did trade with Cabrillo and his men. Cabrillo named San Diego San Miguel (he should have bought real estate!). He didn't stay long and set about to explore the California coast all the way up to the Russian River. Somehow he missed the entrance to San Francisco Bay. He came back down the coast and stayed for a short time at Santa Catalina Island. The boats had gotten pretty beat up and needed repairs. Cabrillo fell on a jagged rock and shattered his shin. His injury turned to gangrene and he passed away January 3, 1543. After Cabrillo, San Diego
didn't see explorers of European heritage for another 60 years. This time, 1602, Sebastian Vizcaino was mapping Alta California for Spain. He camped here for a while, celebrated Mass and named the area San Diego after San Diego de Alcala (St Didacus of Alcala). Much later, 1769 (our "official" birthday) Gaspar de Portola set up the Presido of San Diego and the famous Friar, Junipero Serra started the first of 21 California missions. The mission is named Mission San Diego de Alcala, the following 20 missions dot the California coastline all the way up to Sonoma. Apparently the Spaniards really believed in the real estate mantra Location, Location, Location as they staked out areas in all our beautiful California cities. The "mission" period lasted from 1769 to 1823. San Diego has been under the influence of Native Americans, Spain, Mexico, the rough and tumble "wild West", California and the United States of America. We seem to adopt the best of every culture!San Diego has had a very colorful history yet seems like a fairly new city. Our vibrant San Diego downtow
n area underwent a serious down turn but a lot of people who saw the incredible potential set about turning it around, starting in the late 1970s. I remember visiting downtown San Diego in the early 80s and it was definitely blighted. Now we can boast of being one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And, San Diego is still improving! We have gorgeous downtown San Diego chic high rises (many with jaw dropping views), great shopping, parks and green spaces, fountains, terrific restaurants, top quality hotels, Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo, museums, galleries, fun bars and clubs, Petco Stadium, a large convention center, opera, ballet, symphony, Broadway shows, concert venues, I could really go on and on. With the trolley, Downtown San Diego is very easy to navigate. The weather is ideal, it is flat and extremely walkable. Do you want to explore the opportunity of living the fantastic downtown vibe in "America's Finest City"? Then Call Now 800.928.1672. Our downtown San Diego Real Estate Specialist is here to help!San Diego: 242 Years Young Today, Happy Birthday!
Comments(4)