The Pickwick/Sofia Hotel1926 150 W. BroadwayArchitecture: William PeughArchitectural Style: Gothic Revival Most travelers today look for the fastest way to get to their destination. Gone are the days of leisurely travel with occasional stops along the way for rest or local exploration. Although train travel is showing some signs of revival, bus travel is strictly […]
There are many holidays in early summer, but perhaps the most meaningful is Juneteenth.
Army – Navy YMCA Building(1924) 500 West BroadwayArchitects: Lincoln Rogers & Frank W. StevensonArchitectural Style: Italian Renaissance Revival San Diego, it seems, has always been a military town, from its inception in 1850 as the home of the Army of the Pacific to its current status as the home of the majority of the Pacific […]
As the seasons begin to change and the weather starts to get warmer, new buds push up in the earth, animals shed their fur coats, and humans also begin to shed heavy closing for cooler options. Victorians spot cleaned their heavy winter suits and packed them away in cedar shavings (their idea of dry cleaning) […]
Hatpins have been around since the Middle Ages when they were used to hold the wimples and veils of proper ladies and nuns in place. The objective, in those times, was to cover the hair. Initially, the pins were small, but as hats grew larger, so did the demand for larger pins. Ultimately, […]
Flagg Bros. Shoe Store, c. 1902
We know Victorian ladies carried reticules, but they hardly accommodated more than a hankie and a house key – hardly all their “necessities.” How did they manage? They used a clever little accessory called a chatelaine!
In honor of both Black History month (February) and Women’s History month (March), it is most appropriate to revisit two of the Gaslamp’s iconic structures, which impacted both women and Black history.
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 […]
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, […]