Old Town San Diego

Mason Street Schoolhouse

A one-room schoolhouse built in 1865 and used until 1872...

La Casa de Machado y Stewart

This house is notable for two reasons:

1) It is representative of a typical dwelling place on the Mexican Frontier in the 1800's. 

Many homes at this time began as one and two-room adobes with a sala (living space) and dormitorio (bedroom). Room sizes were limited because lumber was costly and scarce and the only other available resources to make the ridge beams and rafters were nearby trees and their branches. If families needed more space, they would just add more small rooms.

Then, mats of reeds, grasses, and mud covered the rafters to make water-resistant roofs. Later on, fired clay tiles were used, as they provided better coverage.

Also, maintenance was important. Adobe exteriors had to be refreshed regularly with new layers of mud.

2) The second reason that this house is notable is that it belonged to what seem to be one of the “first families” of “new San Diego” (in other words, this area once it became occupied by colonists). The Machado family were descendants of José Manuel Machado, an early citizen and regiador (councilperson) of the ayuntamiento (town council) of the "new" pueblo of San Diego in the 1830's, which at that time was part of Mexico, upon Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821. Ownership of this house passed through generations of Machado family members.

La Casa de Machado y Silvas

Talavera Pottery @ Tafoya and Son

I thought that these were cool and bought a couple. The skulls (which I suppose could be used for cream or milk served with coffee? I wasn’t sure what else…) are Talavera pottery, which can only authentically be made from the clay that comes from the city of Puebla, Mexico and neighboring regions. The quality of the clay and the tradition of production dating back to the 16th century are what make this clay and pottery unique.

Fiesta de Reyes

Kind of a tourist trap, but good for a picture or two…

Old Town, Late 1800’s

Seeley Stable

This place was cool. It seemed to be a museum of different modes of transportation that people used to travel west to San Diego and then around the region in the 1800’s.

First, you see a carreta; then, stagecoaches.

Blacksmith Shop

El Barrio

Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception

San Diego Ave

Old Adobe Chapel

¡Qué Sazón! para el Almuerzo