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San Diego
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San Diego is a major city in California, United States. It is in San Diego County, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, approximately 120 miles south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border with Mexico. With an estimated population of 1,394,928 as of July 1,2015, San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California. It is part of the San Diego–Tijuana conurbation, the second-largest transborder agglomeration between the US and a country after Detroit–Windsor, with a population of 4,922,723 people. San Diego has been called the birthplace of California, historically home to the Kumeyaay people, San Diego was the first site visited by Europeans on what is now the West Coast of the United States. Upon landing in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area for Spain, the Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcalá, founded in 1769, formed the first European settlement in what is now California. In 1821, San Diego became part of the newly independent Mexico, in 1850, California became part of the United States following the Mexican–American War and the admission of California to the union. The city is the seat of San Diego County and is the center of the region as well as the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. San Diegos main economic engines are military and defense-related activities, tourism, international trade, the presence of the University of California, San Diego, with the affiliated UCSD Medical Center, has helped make the area a center of research in biotechnology. The original inhabitants of the region are now known as the San Dieguito, the area of San Diego has been inhabited by the Kumeyaay people. The first European to visit the region was Portuguese-born explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailing under the flag of Castile, sailing his flagship San Salvador from Navidad, New Spain, Cabrillo claimed the bay for the Spanish Empire in 1542, and named the site San Miguel. In November 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno was sent to map the California coast, in May 1769, Gaspar de Portolà established the Fort Presidio of San Diego on a hill near the San Diego River. It was the first settlement by Europeans in what is now the state of California, in July of the same year, Mission San Diego de Alcalá was founded by Franciscan friars under Junípero Serra. By 1797, the mission boasted the largest native population in Alta California, with over 1,400 neophytes living in, Mission San Diego was the southern anchor in California of the historic mission trail El Camino Real. Both the Presidio and the Mission are National Historic Landmarks, in 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain, and San Diego became part of the Mexican territory of Alta California. In 1822, Mexico began attempting to extend its authority over the territory of Alta California. The fort on Presidio Hill was gradually abandoned, while the town of San Diego grew up on the land below Presidio Hill. The Mission was secularized by the Mexican government in 1833, the 432 residents of the town petitioned the governor to form a pueblo, and Juan María Osuna was elected the first alcalde, defeating Pío Pico in the vote
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California Historical Landmark
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California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below, The first, last, only, associated with an individual or group having a profound influence on the history of California. California Historical Landmarks of #770 and above are listed in the California Register of Historical Resources. By contrast, a site, building, feature, or event that is of local significance may be designated as a California Point of Historical Interest. List of California Historical Landmarks by county National Historic Sites National Register of Historic Places listings in California — with links to list articles by county, los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments San Francisco Designated Landmarks Johnson, Marael. A Guide to California Roadside Historical Markers, official OHP—California Office of Historic Preservation website OHP, California Historical Sites searchpage — links to lists by county
3.
Old Town, San Diego
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Old Town is a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It contains 230 acres and is bounded by Interstate 8 on the north, Interstate 5 on the west, Mission Hills on the east and it is the oldest settled area in San Diego and is the site of the first European settlement in present-day California. It contains Old Town San Diego State Historic Park and Presidio Park, the San Diego Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcalá were founded in 1769 by Gaspar de Portolá and Junípero Serra on a bluff at the western end of the San Diego River valley. The Presidio and Mission constituted the first Spanish settlement in Alta California, after five years the Mission moved to a location several miles upriver, while the Presidio on its hill remained the primary settlement. In the 1820s the town of San Diego grew up at the base of the bluff, at the site commemorated by Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, in 1834 the Mexican government granted San Diego the status of a pueblo, or chartered town. However, the population of the town declined so much that in 1838 its pueblo status was revoked, one problem was the towns location far from navigable water. All imports and exports had to be brought ashore in Point Loma, when California was admitted to the United States in 1850, San Diego was made the county seat of San Diego County, even though the towns population was only 650. Residents and businesses quickly abandoned Old Town for Hortons New Town because of New Towns proximity to shipping, in 1871, government records were moved from Old Town to a new county courthouse in New Town, and Downtown permanently eclipsed Old Town as the focal point of San Diego. These streetcars became a fixture of this neighborhood until their retirement in 1939, the Old Town neighborhood has nine hotels,32 restaurants and more than 100 specialty shops. There are 12 art galleries and 27 historic buildings and sites, including Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, Presidio Park, a major government building is the District 11 headquarters of Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation. Old Town Realty has roots in San Diego and Los Gatos, San Diegos Cinco de Mayo celebration is held in Old Town every year. The Old Town Art Festival takes place in October of each year, San Diegos Dia de los Muertos is annual community-wide celebration held every November 1 and 2. The Old Town Community Planning Committee advises the city on land use, the Old Town San Diego Chamber of Commerce promotes business interests and tourism. Local service organizations include a Kiwanis club, the Boosters of Old Town is a support organization for Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. They also operate the BOOT Store in the Robinson-Rose Visitors Center, support the Blacksmith Shop, maintain a research library, and publish the Poppy Paper. The nonprofit Save Our Heritage Organisation operates two museums in Old Town San Diego, the Adobe Chapel Museum and the Whaley House Museum, Old Town-Mission Valley travel guide from Wikivoyage History of San Diego Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson
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San Diego River
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The San Diego River is a river in San Diego County, California. Below El Capitan Dam, the river runs west through the cities of Santee, while passing through Tierrasanta it goes through Mission Trails Regional Park, one of the largest urban parks in America. The river discharges into the Pacific Ocean near the entrance to Mission Bay, the river has changed its course several times in recorded history. When the first European settlers arrived in the late 18th century it emptied into False Bay, at some point in the 1820s it altered course and began to empty into San Diego Bay, which continued for nearly 50 years. Because of fears that the harbor would silt up, the river was diverted to its present course in 1877 by a dam, the river travels 52 miles from its headwaters to the ocean. Cuyamaca Reservoir is located on Boulder Creek and San Vicente Reservoir is fed by San Vicente Creek, Lake Jennings and Lake Murray are formed by the damming of canyons. The San Diego River Park Foundation was founded in 2001 and is dedicated to conserving the water, wildlife, recreation, culture, the San Diego River Conservancy was established by an act of the California Legislature to preserve, restore and enhance the San Diego River area. The Conservancy is an agency of the state government with an independent nine-member governing board. One important goal is to create a river-long park and hiking trail. From mouth to source, San Diego River Watershed Management Plan Lakesides River Park Conservancy
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Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
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National Park Service
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It was created on August 25,1916, by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act and is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. As of 2014, the NPS employs 21,651 employees who oversee 417 units, the National Park Service celebrated its centennial in 2016. National parks and national monuments in the United States were originally individually managed under the auspices of the Department of the Interior, the movement for an independent agency to oversee these federal lands was spearheaded by business magnate and conservationist Stephen Mather, as well as J. Horace McFarland. With the help of journalist Robert Sterling Yard, Mather ran a publicity campaign for the Department of the Interior and they wrote numerous articles that praised the scenic and historic qualities of the parks and their possibilities for educational, inspirational, and recreational benefits. This campaign resulted in the creation of a National Park Service, Mather became the first director of the newly formed NPS. On March 3,1933, President Herbert Hoover signed the Reorganization Act of 1933, the act would allow the President to reorganize the executive branch of the United States government. It wasnt until later that summer when the new President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Roosevelt agreed and issued two Executive orders to make it happen. In 1951, Conrad Wirth became director of the National Park Service, the demand for parks after the end of the World War II had left the parks overburdened with demands that could not be met. In 1952, with the support of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he began Mission 66, New parks were added to preserve unique resources and existing park facilities were upgraded and expanded. In 1966, as the Park Service turned 50 years old, emphasis began to turn from just saving great and wonderful scenery, Director George Hartzog began the process with the creation of the National Lakeshores and then National Recreation Areas. Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service has managed each of the United States national parks, Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the United States. In 1872, there was no government to manage it. Yosemite National Park began as a park, the land for the park was donated by the federal government to the state of California in 1864 for perpetual conservation. Yosemite was later returned to federal ownership, at first, each national park was managed independently, with varying degrees of success. In Yellowstone, the staff was replaced by the U. S. Army in 1886. Due to the irregularities in managing these national treasures, Stephen Mather petitioned the government to improve the situation. In response, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane challenged him to lobby for creating a new agency, Mather was successful with the ratification of the National Park Service Organic Act in 1916. Later, the agency was given authority over other protected areas, the National Park System includes all properties managed by the National Park Service
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Presidio of San Diego
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El Presidio Reál de San Diego is a historic fort in San Diego, California. It was established on May 14,1769, by Gaspar de Portolá, the presidio was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the present-day United States. As the first of the presidios and Spanish missions in California, the associated Mission San Diego de Alcalá later moved a few miles away. Essentially abandoned by 1835, the site of the original Presidio lies on a hill within present-day Presidio Park, the San Diego Presidio was registered as a California Historical Landmark in 1932, then declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960. Prior to occupation by the Spanish, the site of the Presidio was home to the Kumeyaay people, the first Europeans to explore San Diego Bay and its environs were members of the maritime expedition led by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542. Sebastián Vizcaíno visited again in 1602, but no settlement was made until the fort was begun in May 1769, later that year, on July 16,1769, Mission San Diego de Alcalá was established by Junípero Serra on Presidio Hill. The presidio had a view of San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Less than a month after the mission was established, an uprising of Indians occurred, four Spaniards were wounded, after the attack, the Spaniards built a stockade which was finished in March 1770. It included two cannons, one pointed to the bay, the other to the nearby Indian village. One of the cannons, El Jupiter, is now in the Serra Museum, in 1773 and 1774, adobe structures were built to replace the temporary wood and brush huts. Later in 1774, the mission was moved a few miles up Mission Valley to separate the Indians from the influence of the presidial garrison, by 1783, there were 54 troops stationed at the presidio. With Mexican independence in 1821, the presidio came under Mexican control, from 1825-1829, it served as the Mexican governors residence. In 1907 George Marston, a department store owner, bought Presidio Hill with an interest to preserve the site. Unable to attract public funding, Marston built a park in 1925 with the help of architect John Nolen. Serra Museum is sometimes referred to as the Presidio. Marston donated the park and museum to the city in 1929, Presidio Park is still owned by the city of San Diego, Serra Museum is managed by the San Diego History Center. No historical structures remain in Presidio Park today, the Presidio site is occasionally used for archaeological excavations. Early History of the San Diego Presidial District, 1542-1782, UC Berkeley thesis,1930, by Lucien C. Atherton
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George Marston
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George White Marston was an American politician, department store owner, and philanthropist. Marston was involved with establishing Balboa Park, the San Diego Public Library System and his contributions to San Diego earned him the affectionate title of San Diegos First Citizen. Marston was born in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, as a boy, Marston learned to ice skate, which he continued to enjoy throughout his life. His father had a respiratory ailment and wanted to live in a better climate for his health. Marston was initially a clerk in the Horton House Hotel, then entered the business as a bookkeeper with the firm of Aaron Pauly & Sons general merchandise store. Pauly was the founder of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, Marston was its secretary and later its president. In 1872, Marston clerked for storekeeper Joseph Nash and he and partner Charles Hamilton bought Nash out and ran the store. After Marstons marriage, he split the business with his partner Hamilton, with Hamilton taking the grocery side. The Marston Company became the major department store in San Diego. Its success was due to business arrangements Marston made with several suppliers. He became quite wealthy and was a generous philanthropist in the city, the Marston department store, at 548 C Street, San Diego, California, was owned by the family until they sold it in 1961 to Broadway. His business trips took him to cities such as San Francisco and New York City. This developed a desire to see San Diegos Balboa Park become as great, as a result of his efforts in park development and planning, Marston helped make Balboa Park a local landmark. Marston hired architect John Nolen to develop the first plan for the park in 1908, Marston served as chairman of the Buildings and Grounds Committee for the 1915 Panama–California Exposition in Balboa Park. The Exposition established an infrastructure of museums and attractions for the park still exists today. A statue by Ruth Hayward of Marston with other significant founders of San Diego stands in Balboa Park, in 1907, Marston bought Presidio Hill with the intent of preserving the old Presidio of San Diego, the first European settlement in present-day California, which had fallen into ruins. He couldnt get anyone interested in the project, so he built Presidio Park in 1925 with his own funds and he commissioned the building of the Serra Museum, designed by architect William Templeton Johnson, in Presidio Park. He donated the park to the city in 1929, Presidio Park, still a city-owned historic park, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
