Saturday Travel Feature
Old Town San Diego
Old Town State Historic Park is north of downtown San Diego and accessable by a special trolley car. It is where the city of San Diego began. The original mission and presidio were nearby. The town developed as retired soldiers and setters built homes there. Old Town recreats life there as it was in 1821 to 1872. It became a historic park in 1968.
Casa de Pedrorena de Altamirano was built in 1869 by Maguel Pedrorena Jr. It was the last adobe structure built in Old Town. Maguel Pedrorena gave the building to his sister Isabel and her husband Antonio Altamirano. Their father, also Maguel Pedrorena, represented the San Diego area at the California State Constitutional Convention held in 1849. Antonio Altamirano came to San Diego in 1849 to explore the mining possibilies of the area. The Historican Landmark Marker, number 70, describes these events. The actual address of the house is 2616 San Deigo Avenue and can be seen above the front door.
Today the Casa de Pedrorean de Altamirano is a shop with its wares advertised on signs hanging from the roof above the front steps: Jewelry, Gems, Beads, and Carvings. But on the wall behind the right post next to the front steps there is perhaps an echo of Antonio Altamirano's mining pursuits, the Assey Office sign. Other historic buildings that line the street include: a theater, a barn, a school, a newspaper office, a museum, an outdoor market, and a church. It is all a step back into 1800 San Diego history.
Photo: "Casa de Pedrorean de Altamirano" was taken in 2008 by SW.
