VICTORIAN HOMES OF HERITAGE COUNTY PARK - SAN DIEGO

 

Heritage County Park (2454 Heritage Park Row) is often quiet with few visitors. A perfect place to avoid crowds, relax, photograph, and enjoy architecture from the Victorian Era. A synagogue and six original Victorian homes of various styles were moved here in the 1970s to save them from destruction. They are situated on eight acres of land complete with cobblestone walkways, trees, flowers, lamp posts, benches, and meticulously-groomed lawns. The park brings you back in time to a quaint San Diego neighborhood when horses, wagons, and carriages prevailed.

     San Diego is not particularly famous for its Victorian architecture, however, in the late 1800s, there were hundreds of beautiful Victorian homes scattered throughout the city. These pretty gingerbread homes were built during the boom of the 1880s when San Diego's population increased from approximately 2,500 to 40,000. If you drive around the city you can still find many that are standing in their natural settings. 

     In 1969 Heritage County Park came to be, thanks to a group of San Diego nostalgia buffs, who called themselves Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO). Their plans were implemented and funded with the help of San Diego County and other private donors. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, it was not unusual for the preservationist to decide to move a structure to protect it from destruction. Today it is most common to leave the historic buildings on their original sites.

    Although most of the buildings in Heritage Park are closed to the public, the Senlis Cottage at the entrance offers a free historic house museum that is open daily. The Temple Beth Israel, the oldest synagogue in Southern California, is also open to the public and serves as a community meeting hall. The McConaughy House, built in 1887, is home to the Coral Tree Tea House--the only business in the park, and one that I am looking forward to visiting when things get back to normal. Hours are currently uncertain due to Covid-19. There is plenty of free parking nearby. I also recommend a short climb up a narrow path located behind the Bushyhead House. It leads to a pleasant view overlooking the Park and Point Loma in the distance. 

     I'm not sure why it took me so long to discover this public park, especially since it is adjacent to Old Town San Diego that I have visited many times. However, I'm glad that I finally found this special place in San Diego. 

“But why am I so fond of these buildings? Because such houses as these will never be built on earth again....” --Carol Olwell

                                               SHERMAN-GILBERT HOUSE 1887 

                                                    CHRISTIAN HOUSE 1889

                                                 THE BURTON HOUSE 1893

                                                McCONAUGHY HOUSE 1887

 

TEMPLE BETH ISRAEL 1889 - OLDEST SYNAGOGUE IN SO. CALIFORNIA