San Diego Parks

SAN DIEGO – A CITY OF FIRSTS

By Bill Thomas

    Following a successful August 2010 tour of state parks, museums, missions, presidios, and Hearst Castle along California’s coast, San Francisco’s Angel Island, and concluding at Sacramento’s extraordinary railroad museum, the California Association of Park & Recreation Commissions & Board Members (Caprcbm) decided on designing an educational tour program. The rationale was that members could greatly benefit from visits to unique park and recreational facilities and activities expanding their horizons, exposing them to new and innovative opportunities, enabling them to share problems and issues in the use of volunteers, alternative funding sources, and new horizons. In other words, we would go “behind the scenes,” providing challenging learning experiences to stretch and expand the knowledge of our constituency. Three spring 2011 educational weekend tours were designed: San Diego, Catalina, and Channel Islands, with additional plans for a tour of Santa Barbara and a week long summer excursion to California’s Gold Country and Yosemite.  This is a report on the inaugural tour of federal, state, and local parks in San Diego March 26 and 27, 2011. 

On our way to the federal park at Point Loma, we drove through the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery located on a picturesque grassy hill overlooking San Diego’s Harbor. Established in 1934, on 77.5 acres, the burial grounds accommodate an estimated 350,000 veterans. Next, we stopped at the Visitor’s Center to view an informative documentary film depicting Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo, who, 50 years after Columbus arrived on the current United States eastern shores, claimed for Spain what later was to become California. The impressive Cabrillo National Monument celebrates his arrival. Our small group was met by U.S. Ranger Amanda Gossard who guided us along the paths where the remains of the military facilities on the Point provided strategic views of vital coastal and harbor defense system during WW I and II. Lonely sentinels such as bunkers still remain guarding our memories of the past. We inspected Old Point Loma Lighthouse, one of eight early California early lighthouses, which has safely guided mariners into San Diego’s Harbor since 1853. There was a poster voicing: “volunteers wanted: living history, maintenance, teaching, entrance station, national resources, special related skills.”

    Next on our touring list in San Diego’s Harbor was the Maritime Museum consisting of six ships: the “Star of India,” a replica of an 1863 steel hulled, square rigged cargo ship with two main masts, three football fields long; an 1898 ferry boat, the “Berkeley,” with a shipping museum on board, that operated for 60 years on San Francisco Bay; “H.M.S. Surprise,” an 18^th Century Royal Navy Frigate replica; the “Medea,” a 1904 Steam Yacht; the “Pilot,”a 1914 Harbor boat; the “Californian,” a replica of a 19 century revenue cutter; and two submarines: a Soviet Attack sub, B-39, and the diesel-electric boat, USS Dolphin, primarily having been used in research and testing various devices, such as desalinization and oxygen systems. Docent Tom Shipman, a former American submariner, was our knowledgeable guide as we strolled the decks of these impressive ocean vessels. It was also interesting when Tom described the filming of much of the popular movie, Master and Commander that had been shot on the “Star of India,” another new idea, using our parks and beaches as motion picture sets.

    In the afternoon, we inspected Old Town, the birthplace of California where Father Junipero Serra arrived in 1769 to establish the first of California’s 21 missions. We were ably led by staff member and historian Guire John Cleary, depicting a 1822 guide dressed in period costume. He introduced us to several of the historical sites and aged stores with merchandise unique to San Diego and Old Town, such as millinery, historic reproductions, handmade leather goods, taffy, and Mexican flowers. We viewed the interior of a typical 1890 house, where Cleary demonstrated an interpretative history lesson introducing us to the card games, Monte and Chuck Luck. He even provided us with gambling money of the time – bits cut up from a silver dollar piece. The intent was to show visitors conditions as they were when people lived and worked in the old houses and stores. The last Mexican governor, Alvarado’s home is there. So are The Old Chapel, San Diego’s first one-room school house, and California’s first sheriff’s home, The McCoy House. He was also proud that the park staff included several descendants of early residents, providing a verbal journey from 1821 to 1872 to the present mentioning Old Town’s 30 full service restaurants and several hotels, as well as15 major historical sites. Our touring day ended with a visit to an ancient print shop, before our arrival at the Best Western Hacienda Inn where we enjoyed a pleasant dinner and comfortable accommodations. 

     The following morning, we were met by San Diego Recreation & Park ranger, Kim Duclo, a knowledgeable park veteran who drove us around 13 miles of Balboa Park. This impressive municipal treasure is the nation’s largest urban cultural park and tree land, with 15 museums, performing arts venues, beautiful gardens, and a constantly changing calendar of exhibitions, plays, musicals, concerts, and educational classes. Duclo spoke of the “constant ideas,” the inventive thinking that flowed from so many of the park’s offerings. We toured the eight residential areas around the park’s perimeter, which Duclo said, “All influenced the design and activities in their respective areas in different ways.” He spoke of the park’s use as an experiential educational opportunity for experimenting with curriculum in the schools, the 4^th grade immersion program, the opportunities of “engaging people in new experiences,” the need to involve new park “caretakers” and “users,” adapting parks for different purposes. He even remembered riding a turtle in the park as a small boy. He spoke highly of volunteers who were researching the botanical segments of the park, the natural plants, and what new elements could be added. He opened locked doors with his pass key to take us backstage at the Spreckle’s Organ Pavilion. We lunched at the luxurious Prado Restaurant, after which we walked the long, wide promenade boulevard and the park center bordered by buildings favoring Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. Along the boulevard are many of the park museums, including art, photography, railroads and natural history. We saw the theatrical venues including the Starlight Bowl; the Old Globe, which features Shakespearian productions a theatre in the round; and a puppet theater. This urban forest of rare trees and groves also possesses the large and beautiful greenhouse, The Botanical Building.

    In the northwest corner of the Balboa Park is the Morley Field Sports Complex with two golf courses, a Velodrome, baseball fields, tennis courts, archery ranges, an Olympic swimming pool, and picnic areas. Other attractions include bridge and chess outdoor tables, horseshoe pits, playgrounds, walking and jogging trails, picnic area. Also, within the vast borders, are housed the world famous San Diego Zoo, the Naval Medical Center, and San Diego High School. 
     

    We also learned the 1200 lush acres were named after Spanish maritime explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa in honor of his having been the first person (again another San Diego first) to arrive at the Pacific Ocean from the Old World. Much of the park’s development was due to its involvement as the location of the 1915 Panama- California Exposition and the 1935 California-Pacific Exposition. These valuable events were largely responsible for creating the park’s architectural landmarks, which are managed by the San Diego Park & Recreation Department, which reports to the City’s mayor. 

    The entire San Diego educational tour experience was mind boggling. The involvement of volunteers, the issues, the problems, the preservation of buildings, the cultural adventures, the environmental considerations, the love of nature, new funding source ideas, growth potential, and the various organizational patterns of federal, state, and local governmental custodians were all part of the enlightenment which each of us will be sharing with our counterparts at home. The next trek is planned for incomparable California’s Channel Islands, visiting two of the five islands, witnessing wild and marine life, overnight accommodations, hiking, and two lunches.