Old Town San Diego Real Estate - Community Guide

Lifestyle

Part of the charm of this small town is the adobe structures built by its early settlers and has since gone through restorations to keep the look and feel of how they might have been in the 1800s. Casa de Estudillo, a newspaper office, a stable, the first school house in California and a blacksmith are five of the adobe (mud bricks) structures that were preserved and remain at the State Historic Park to this day.

From the late mid 1800s, Old Town was deteriorating and neglected and has stayed that way for many years. Slowly and very carefully, the State of California completed a restoration plan and today, Old Town is a major tourist attraction in the county.

In and out of the State Historic Park, a variety of cuisines are served in the many restaurants and specialty shops in the numbers offer everything from custom jewelries to various souvenirs and decorator items. Mexican culture also comes to life in this town with celebration of Mexican holidays and a pronounced emphasis on some of the cuisines served and shopping.

To offer visitors a glimpse of the early days, costumed actors in the park perform living history. The Whaley House, a certified haunted house offer ghost tours in the evenings. In addition to the haunted house, some of the other attractions in Old Town are the Junipero Serra and Sheriff’s Museums, the Mormon Battalion, Heritage Park and the Plaza del Pasado.

Parking can be a problem with the daily influx of tourists.

The area is now on the trolley route and that helps alleviate the congestion. Residents and tourists alike find Old Town a pleasant destination for a meal and a look at how San Diego lived its earliest days.