Presidio Park Collection, 1781-1982

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Summary

Title:
Presidio Park Collection
Dates:
1781-1982
Creators:
San Diego Historical Society.
Abstract:
The collection consists of materials on the San Diego Presidio and its development into Presidio Park, including narratives, visitor information, and documents on the Presidio Park Excavation Project.
Extent:
0.5 Linear feet (1 box)
Language:
and Collection materials are in English and Spanish.
Preferred citation:

Presidio Park Collection, MS 71, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains materials on the San Diego Presidio and Presidio Park. Included in the collection are copies of documents from the Presidio area during Spanish rule in the late 18th century, and copies and transcriptions of publications on the Presidio’s history and the development of Presidio Park. It also includes programs and a magazine commemorating the inaugural opening of Presidio Park in 1929, Presidio Park brochures and horticulture guides, as well as narratives and maps on the Presidio Park Excavation Project which began in 1965.

Biographical / historical:

Presidio Park is the historical landmark of the birth of the mission system and first European settlement on the west coast of the United States. On July 16, 1769, Father Junipero Serra erected a cross and held the first mass on Presidio Hill establishing the site of Mission San Diego de Alcala. By the late 1830s, the site was abandoned and left in ruin. In 1907, George W. Marston, a pioneer San Diego civic leader and philanthropist, and a group of friends recognized the need to preserve Presidio Hill and purchased the site. Marston oversaw construction at Presidio Hill, creating Presidio Park and the Serra Museum. On July 16, 1929, Marston presented Presidio Park as a gift to the City of San Diego and the Serra Museum as a gift to the San Diego Historical Society.

In 1965, the San Diego Historical Society initiated the Presidio Park Excavation Project. This project was designed for the purpose of developing a comprehensive profile of San Diego’s earliest settlement. Test excavations at the southwest edge of Presidio Hill unearthed ruins that belonged to the presidio’s chapel. The excavations of the chapel complex were under the direction of Paul Ezell of San Diego State University and Diane Barbolla of San Diego Mesa College. After excavations of the chapel complex were completed in June 1976, excavations on the western portion of Presidio Hill began in order to identify the original entranceway of the presidio. Ezell has estimated that it would take about fifty years to examine the entire excavatable area of the Presidio.

Processing information:

Collection processed by Sean Flores on July 7, 2011.

Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.

Arrangement:

Items in collection are arranged by subject.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Sean Flores
Sponsor:
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Date Prepared:
July 7, 2011
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2012-06-07T11:17-0700

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.

Preferred citation:

Presidio Park Collection, MS 71, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Location of this collection:
1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA 92101, US
Contact:
(619) 232-6203
Website