Back to the article: The Use of Presidio Hill

Presidio Hill

Page 188. This nineteenth century photograph shows Presidio Hill before it became an icon and a park. [Photo 17496]
Indians grinding acorns

Page 191. The Indians seen here grinding acorns inside a brush enclosure suggest how the Kumeyaay may have done such a task before European contact. [Photo 88-16649-34]
Model

Page 192. This model show one interpretation of how the first Spanish compound on Presidio Hill may have looked.
Drawing of Presidio de San Diego

Page 194. In 1820 an unknown artist drew this detailed plan of “Presidio de San Diego.” It carefully laid out various buildings and their uses. Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Large image
abandoned cannon

Page 196. During the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) Commodore Robert Stockton established Fort Stockton on the high ground of Presidio Hill. The abandoned cannon in the center is facing the coastline. [Photo 99-19877]
1853 map

Page 196. This 1853 map shows the transition from the “Ruins of the Old Presidio” to the “Town of San Diego” at the base of the hill.
Old Town in 1874

Page 197. “Old Town” in 1874 was beginning to rebuild after the 1872 fire. The seat of power, however, was in New San Diego, located by the bay. [Photo 3929-c]
George White Marston

Page 198. George White Marston was San Diego’s leading advocate of parks and city planning. By 1925, Marston had aquired a total of 20 acres on Presidio Hill.
Nolen's landscape plan for Presidio Hill

Page 199. John Nolen submitted his park landscape plan for Presidio Hill to George Marston in 1925. [Photo 2600-54]

Page 199. The 1915 Exposition in Balboa Park created the romantic Spanish motif that influenced architecture in San Diego, especially the Junipero Serra Museum. [Photo Pa110-2557]

Presidio Hill

Page 200. This ca. 1928 photograph shows Presidio Hill before it was landscaped. In the background are the remains of a concrete reservoir. Pt. Loma is seen on the horizon.

Junipero Serra Museum

Page 201. The Junipero Serra Museum, finished in 1929, became the home of the newly founded San Diego History Center.
Inside Serra Museum

The interior of the new Serra Museum was originally furnished with fifteenth to seventeenth century furnishings collected in Spain. [Photo 2600-39]
Archeological dig in Presidio Park

Page 200. The archeological digs in Presidio Park have been going on since the 1930s. The first scientific dig, seen here in 1968, was conducted by San Diego State University. [Photo utg7590]
Serra Museum

Page 201. The Junipero Serra Museum sitting atop Presidio Hill was a lonely sentinel overlooking an undeveloped Mission Valley in 1929. [Photo 90-18138-47]

Visit the Junipero Serra Museum

Back to the article: The Use of Presidio Hill