San Diego county real estate
City: Old Town San Diego


Old Town is a site of historical and cultural importance for the city of San Diego. It is where the first European permanent settlement was established and contains many of the citys' original buildings. The Junipero Serra Museum reflects the Spanish and Mexican historical contributions in the form of the Father Junipero Serras' first mission and the 18th-century presidio and a military fortress established in 1769. The area offers custom-built single family homes ranging from modern to Spanish-style architectures with views of the San Diego Bay and airports.

And local residents enjoy a golf course located just north of the Old Town's Historical Park. Some of the historical structures include chapels, schools, a church and the San Diego Union's first newspaper building, now a museum. Neighboring communities include Loma Portal, Downtown San Diego and Mission Hills. Zip Code: 92110, 92103. Population:18,932. Median Income: $45,690.

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park recreates life in the Mexican and early American periods of 1821 to 1872. Five original adobes are part of the complex, which includes shops, restaurants and a museum. La Casa de Estudillo is a mansion built around a garden courtyard. La Casa de Machado y Stewart is full of artifacts that reflect ordinary life of the period. Other historic buildings include a schoolhouse, a blacksmith shop, San Diego's first newspaper office, and a stable with a carriage collection. (San Diego became California's first Spanish settlement when a mission and fort were established in 1769.)

Location-Directions
The park is located on San Diego Avenue and Twiggs Street in San Diego.
Old Town San Diego, CA Latitude/Longitude: 32.7542 / -117.1961

Robinson-Rose House Visitor Center
James Robinson came to San Diego from Texas in the Spring of 1850 and developed a successful law practice. He built this two-story structure in 1853 to serve not only as his family residence but also as the home of the San Diego Herald, the San Diego and Gila Railroad office, as well as other private offices. Robinson died in 1857 and his widow Sarah Robinson sold the building to Louis Rose, who probably purchased it as a family residence. Fire destroyed the roof in 1874 and the building fell into ruins by the turn of the century. The reconstructed building now serves as Old Town State Historic Park's visitor center and has on display a model of Old Town as it looked in 1872, created by Joseph Toigo.

Silvas-McCoy House
Currently under construction as a Visitor's Center for Old Town. State Park archaeologists excavated in Old Town San Diego in 1995 to recover information needed to reconstruct a large residence built in 1869 by James McCoy, a well-to-do Irish immigrant who served as San Diego's sheriff and state senator. Prior to 1851 the property belonged to Maria Eugenia Silvas, descendant of a Spanish Colonial soldier who came to Alta California in the 1770s.