Category Archives: Looking Back in Time

The Oldest Sleep in San Diego

Posted on October 11, 2011 by jdewyze

The Whaley House in Old Town touts its reputation as a haunted house, but when the restoration of the Cosmopolitan Hotel was completed last year, it seemed likely to be an even better place for conjuring ghostly glimpses of San … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Looking Back in Time, Old Town, San Diego Sights | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Ye Olde Comic Days

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Jeannette De Wyze

Among my few regrets in life is that I never went to any of the early Comic-Cons.  I couldn’t have attended the very first one — held in March of 1970 in the basement of the El Cortez Hotel — because it … Continue reading →

Posted in Balboa Park, Looking Back in Time, Museum offerings, Special Events | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Ship Ahoy!

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Jeannette De Wyze

I paid a visit to San Salvador Village Sunday morning. This one was not located in Central America but rather at the west end of Spanish Landing Park on San Diego Bay. The San Salvador was the vessel that carried Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and … Continue reading →

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Vegas South

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Jeannette De Wyze

The first and last time I went searching for traces of Tijuana’s glorious gambling past was in 1978, just a few years after I moved to San Diego.  I was writing a TJ tourist guide for the Reader‘s annual guide issue. What I … Continue reading →

Posted in Local gambling, Looking Back in Time, Mexico | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Cosmopolitan Cocktails

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Jeannette De Wyze

We stopped in at the Cosmopolitan Hotel this past weekend and noted that the saloon is now open for business, with an intriguing assortment of allegedly historic cocktails.  You can get a Ricky (made with pressed lime juice, sugar water, … Continue reading →

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The Best Free Tourist Attraction in San Diego?

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Jeannette De Wyze

  I had heard of the Mormon Battalion. I’m sure that at least once over the years I’ve read about it, only to forget everything I read a day later.  But that’s now changed forever. On Monday I finally visited the new … Continue reading →

Posted in Free and fun, Looking Back in Time, Old Town, San Diego Sights | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Sparkly Stuff

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Jeannette De Wyze

I’d been looking forward to the San Diego Natural History Museum’s new exhibition, “All That Glitters,” because I know that San Diego is a special place when it comes to jewels. I’ve read authorities who say more gems (and more … Continue reading →

Posted in Looking Back in Time, Museum offerings, San Diego gems and mining | 3 Comments

Those Were the Days

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Jeannette De Wyze

Amazing, isn’t it, to remember that 35 years ago perhaps the top tourist attraction in San Diego was our legal nude beach?  (That would be Black’s Beach in La Jolla, which San Diego voters made clothing-optional in 1974.)  This reminder … Continue reading →

Posted in Looking Back in Time | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Uprising of a Park

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Jeannette De Wyze

Chicano Park stands out in more ways than one.  Its location (under the Coronado Bridge) and its murals are the most obvious distinctions. But the way the park got started may be the most dramatic thing about it. Whereas most city … Continue reading →

Posted in Looking Back in Time | Tagged | 1 Comment

First American Margarita?

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Jeannette De Wyze

Could the first American version of the margarita truly have been served on the current site of La Jolla United Methodist Church? That’s the story recounted on the wall of the newly inaugurated Bird Rock History Museum (located within the Bird Rock … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Rock, Free and fun, Looking Back in Time, San Diego Tastes | Tagged | 1 Comment