The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant carries a distinct, wide-brimmed wooden balcony that circles the entire second floor, shading the adobe walls below. Originally built as a private residence by Juan Bandini in eighteen twenty-seven, it…
Old Town Adobe History
Walk through 19th-century mud-brick homes and historic plazas to see where Spanish, Mexican, and American cultures shaped modern California.
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1. Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant
2. La Casa de Estudillo
The thick, white adobe walls of La Casa de Estudillo enclose a large, central courtyard, distinguishing this house from the surrounding wooden structures. Built in eighteen twenty-seven by Jose Maria Estudillo, a Spanish commandant at the…
3. La Casa de Machado y Silvas (Commercial Restraunt)
The Machado y Silvas adobe features thick, whitewashed walls and a deep, tiled porch that faces the open plaza. It began as a family home in eighteen thirty-three for Juan Machado, a corporal at the San Diego Presidio. After the…
4. La Casa de Machado y Stewart
The adobe walls of the Casa de Machado y Stewart sit flush against the sidewalk, distinguished by a long, covered veranda that shades the front entrance. Built in the eighteen thirties, it served as a family home for Josefa Machado and her…
5. Mason Street Schoolhouse
The Mason Street Schoolhouse stands out as a small, simple wood-frame structure with a steep gabled roof and a bell perched on top. It served as San Diego's first public school building, opening in eighteen sixty-five. For years, students…
6. Whaley House Museum
The Whaley House stands out for its Greek Revival architecture, characterized by its wide, wrap-around verandas and two-story stature in a neighborhood dominated by single-story adobes. Thomas Whaley built this home in eighteen fifty-seven…
7. El Campo Santo
The brick wall bordering El Campo Santo creates a clear line between the sidewalk and the graves within. This cemetery holds the remains of nearly five hundred people, mostly settlers and members of the Kumeyaay nation, interred between…