Author Archives: Gaslamp Foundation

Vitriolic Valentines!

While most people envision Victorian romance as courtly and idyllic, some Victorians welcomed the romantic opportunity to be quite cruel. Bullying was nothing new to Victorians who chose to send “vinegar valentines,” which would stay around for about the next hundred years. These vinegar valentines did not send sweet nothings and sugary words, they were […]

A Palace of the Arts

Villa Montezuma (1887) 1925 K St. Corner of 20th and K Architect: Comstock & Trotsche Architectural Style: Victorian Queen Anne Builders: Cheney and Leonard When most people envision a Victorian mansion, they inevitably think of a Queen Anne edifice. It seems to typify the golden age between 1880 and 1910, which stressed opulence, imagination, gaudiness, […]

ShamROCK 2024

  Grab your fellow leprechauns and don your green attire! Tradition returns as an authentic Irish celebration takes over the streets of San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter district.   Full of Ireland’s humble jest and rowdy cheer, this treasured San Diego tradition brings back more Irish faire, lucky libations and outrageous shenanigans than ever seen before […]

Time for Slang – the Origins of “OK”

Okay! Time to talk Victorian slang. Our modern version of slang incorporates abbreviations, purposeful misspellings and distortions of the misspellings! Most of us are familiar with LOL, TMI, Krispy Kreme, and Kool Aid. Contemporary young people recognize kew! (cool) and deez (these), which they will tell you is NBD (no big deal). Victorians were no […]

A Splendid Decennium: Victorian to Vanguard

Join MartyO for workshops and lectures! Registration required. Find out more here.  March 23, 2024           At The Villa Montezuma Museum    Sew in Love with Embroidery- Learn basic embroidery stitches (with special guest Robyn Phelps).   March 30, 2024           At The Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House A Stitch in Time-  How to mend your own […]

A Mere Whisper…..

Tuftco Building (1923) 744 Sixth Street Architect: Unknown Architectural Style: Turn-of-the-Century Commercial Some historic landmarks are recognized because of their architectural style or uniqueness, others for events that occurred there, and yet others for famous personages attached to the site. The Tuftco building, also known as the Haines and Brandis building, was one of the […]

William Heath Davis Monument

Be Part of History!  Donations can be made to the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation.  The GQHF is a 501c3 public benefit organization devoted to educating the public and tourists to San Diego’s diverse ethnic contribution to the Gaslamp Quarter historical, architectural, and cultural histories. Contributions can be made in the following categories:Aloha gift: $10 – […]