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    Heritage Park

    4.3 (41 reviews)

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    Kristina M.

    This is one of San Diego's gems. Beautiful homes, some are bed and breakfasts, which will of course allow you into them. You can also go into the temple. It does have a small parking lot l, which fits about 20-30 cars. If there is an event, plan to get there early for parking. There is also parallel parking on the street, which is a hill. It's a fun place to sit with your favorite beverage and watch people, who are not skilled at parking. With the hill and the Victorian homes, this little block area feels like San Francisco. This review follows an evening when we went to see a movie in the park. With San Diego's amazing weather and plentiful parks, you could see a movie in a park at least once a day during summer. We brought a blanket and some chairs. The venue for this event is super dog friendly! Bring your pooch when you go. The coffee truck that was at the venue, Rush Coffee, was superb. Great service and great caffeine and non caffeinated drinks ohhh and the cookies! The restrooms are very clean! The giant screen was set up, the sun went down and it was a fantastic fun night! Get there early for good seats, tho there isn't a bad one. And if you get there early, you also get to make friends as you watch the sunset.

    movie night
    Arnel D.

    This is a very nice park for anyone who loves seeing historic design and decor. Also, for people who like seeing the bay as a backdrop. I came here with my wife and several of our friends to watch a movie at the park. Parking was difficult for them, not for us as we were pretty lucky to find a spot next to the hotel. The park is large enough to seat 1000 people comfortably, or even lay out for a picnic, which is what we did. What is nice is that the park itself is well manicured and lots of flat surfaces for people to sit and relax. The restroom is clean and easily accessible and there are a few eateries withing walking or driving distance. As the sunset turned to night, the view of the water from our location was simply amazing. I plan on coming down here more often if there are more scheduled events and you should too. I don't mind the drive from where I live, its something different. Kudos to the community of Old Town for providing a great place for families and friends to get together and enjoy movies for free! Just remember to help keep this place clean when you visit, so that they can continue to make this available for years to come.

    Anne C.

    Very, very nice spot for anyone with any history in old architecture and/or history. Even if you're not, it's a pretty cool place to check out if you're planning to spend some time in Old Town. That's exactly what we did. It kind of a small park, just a small row of these beautiful old homes. Each home has a sign explaining its history. It would've been lovely to actually go into inside, unfortunately, you can only enjoy from the outside. At the end of the road, one of the homes was converted into a tea house, but it was closed at the time of our visit. It has a small parking private parking lot and is located just a few blocks away from the other Old Town establishments and shops.

    House
    Courtney M.

    This is another staple of the history of Old Town. All of the houses in this park, continue to remain intact. On the front of each house, there is a placard telling of the history. Who built it, who owned it, and of course the year. You are not able to enter any of the houses. But admire from the outside. There is a church ( synagogue) that you are allowed to enter. I went in and sat in one of the pews and prayed of course. With the church there is a sign that states no food no water allowed inside. Of course, as this building is very old. The church till this day can accommodate weddings and events- contact them if this is something that interests you. The grounds are beautifully kept with lush green grass and full trees. Nice cobblestone street that is between the houses as you continue to go up between all of the houses. This was truly a great experience. Love history Location Harney/ Juan St - parking is street( good luck) or hotel lots

    There use to be one fine Coral Tree here.
    Jack M.

    I love this historic park and not just of the because Victorian homes nestled at the top of the hill, but because they made it into a park, with benches and green belts. Yes, I had an enjoyable time looking and reading about each of the Victorian house, but what I most enjoyed was sitting at one of the park benches sipping on my coffee and enjoying the view of Old Town down below and the greater San Diego area. The park is a must for tourist and San Diegans who have not visited it yet. The park is well maintained and the majority of the Victorian homes are not opened to the public with the exception of the Senlis Cottage and Temple Beth Israel which can be reserved for weddings, receptions and bar mitzvahs. If you don't like crowds, the best time to visit is in the morning on the weekdays.

    A charming park showcasing San Diego house architecture from the late 1800s. It also includes San Diego's first synagogue.

    Look to the left of the door. You can see two shadows that look like men facing each other.

    Beautiful place to visit! The homes are so interesting to look at and read about. My husband and I took a haunted ghost tour at night with an independent tour company. Boy! Did we got what we were looking for We took plenty of pictures and found a few extra people in our photos. Super excited to share these photos. You all can be the judge

    Beautiful Heritage Park!
    Tami D.

    We really like visiting Heritage Park! The Victorian homes are so beautiful, and this park feels like a serene little town. Walking through this park seems like we've been transported back into time. The first building is the Temple Beth Israel. This church, established in 1889, has a simple interior with lovely old wooden pews. With a beautiful entrance and a pretty grassy area in front, this seems like such a wonderful spot for a wedding. We also liked seeing inside the Senlis Cottage. Built in 1896, this tiny home didn't have any modern amenities during it's time. Today, this little home is being used as an information center. We watched a video and grabbed a few brochures while we were here. Although I had the chance to see inside the Burton House (named after Henry Guild Burton, an Army physician) many years ago, it thought it would be fun to see inside the other homes on a future visit! The Bushyhead House (built by Edward Wilkerson Bushyhead in 1887) and the Sherman-Gilbert House (originally owned by John Sherman and was later home to Bess and Gertrude Gilbert) were beautiful as well! The McConaughy House (after John McConaughy, it's original owner) is now home to the Coral Tree Tea House, and I was told the Christian House (built by Hartfield Timberlake Christian) provides a pretty spot intimate weddings. Heritage Park is a lovely place to visit when in Old Town and a beautiful piece of San Diego history!

    Melanio F.

    We drive down the Presidio often to give Apricot our dog a nice ride with his head out the window. He loves the breeze and of course the views of the bay as we drive past. On this day, Brian requested we stop and walk around but parking in Old Town/Presidio is often difficult to find but I made a turn towards Heritage Park and found that there was ample parking for the Park. I am sure this is designed only for the Park since I saw no one else parked that wasn't walking or in Heritage Park. Heritage park is a series of historic buildings that have been redone for a view into the past. We are in Old Town and most of the exhibits on the actual Old Town park are sparse and mostly business oriented. Heritage Park shows you a bit of the architecture for the houses that were built during the early times in San Diego. Most of the houses are interesting and have obviously been redone and not specifically all original in a sense (maybe some part of it is original). None were open to view inside (I am not sure if any of them are ever open except the old synagogue which can be rented out). During this walk with Apricot (with leash and bagss - Always prepared) around the area and the grass, we observed several groups of people taking personal photos or family photos by professionals. The quiet and cleanliness is what sells me. I am sure it gets pretty crowded on the weekends. But benefits of free parking and sparse crowd makes this a destination maybe on early mornings or late afternoons for a walk with Apricot. Hopefully we can come more often.

    Bushyhead house (1887)
    Mark K.

    Came here before a visit to Old Town SHP, and was surprised by what I found! This park is an architectural museum of sorts, where the people of San Diego wisely and graciously chose to save some of their city's examples of old houses built and owned by some of the people who made San Diego what it is, from around the turn of the century (as opposed to Old Town SHP which showcases the colonial ere). A Jewish synagogue and six houses from the 1880-1890s are visual gems of a style of architecture and time long lost. The park is simply a replicated cobble-stone street and cul-de-sac, around which these buildings have all been relocated. The small red one, the Senlis Cottage has a one room historical display explaining some of this process. The temple, the first Jewish house of worship in San Diego, was actually cut in half to move it! A good place to start, this cottage room and the Temple Beth Israel (1889) are the only two buildings open to the interior for visitors. I would love to see other building renovated and restored for interior looks, as the architecture is so intriguing, McConaughy House (1887) has a small "tea room" operating within it as well. All in all a nice stroll, and if you love Victorian styles of architecture, this will be a great place for you!

    John D.

    Heritage Park in Old Town is a serene, beautiful San Diego park which takes visitors back in time to the Victorian era. It was developed to preserve the historic Victorian architecture classic style homes in San Diego. Currently, there are six houses and a temple in the park, all relocated from their original locations. Public and private funds paid for the move and restoration. I don't know of any other place that has a collection of delightful and charming Victorian homes as these. Here is a list of the buildings, year built, with brief information. TEMPLE BETH ISRAEL (1889) San Diego's first synagogue. 1st service were held on Sept 25, 1889. The structure reflects the church styles of the late 1800's. SHERMAN-GILBERT HOUSE(1887) From 1892-1965, sisters Beth and Gertrude Gilbert, brought international famous entertainers to receptions in their home. Moved to Heritage Park in 1971. BUSHYHEAD HOUSE(1887) Edward W.Bushyhead, early San Diego sheriff, chief of police, and SD Union newspaper owner, built this house. Moved to Heritage Park in 1976. McCONAUGHY HOUSE(1887) Owner John McConaughy, founded the first scheduled passenger and freight service in San Diego. His four-horse passenger stages and six- horse wagons operated between San Diego and Julian, CHRISTIAN HOUSE(1889) Built by Harfield T.Christian, founder of an early San Diego abstract company. Built this house with a variety of chimneys, shingles, a corner tower and encircling veranda. BURTON HOUSE(1893) Henry J.Burton, a retired Army physician, built this classic house. SENLIS COTTAGE(1896) A modest cottage built for Eugene Senlis, an employee of San Diego pioneer horticulturist Kate Sessions. The house, without the amenities of gas, electricity, water or sewer, an example of homes lived in the 1800's by working class people. What a wonderful example and collection of amazing Victorian houses to see in person. Open daily from sunrise to sunset. Next time you come to Old Town San Diego, visit Heritage Park. You will not be disappointed!

    Sherman Gilbert House!
    Ezequiel P.

    Heritage Park was cool to walk showing my friend from LA around. We got to see some history and talk about how they lived back in the old old days lol! It's a really beautiful park with a lot of history and a good spot to take your friends out to see.

    I like the park so green and you will see nice homes.. but open to look inside houses on the weekdays and close weekends

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    Perfect place to go to have a picnic or take a short stroll at. It's more of a resting place away from the old town SD craziness.

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    Review Highlights - Heritage Park

     Built in 1889, Temple Beth Israel is a non-denominational house of worship today open to the public.

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