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You can't beat free admission in Old Town so take 20 minutes out of your day to walk through this historical 1827 Hacienda. You can enter on any of the three sides to this house, but if you enter from the front entrance there's a guy with a clicker next to a sign that says "donations". Even though this is a free experience, there's a bit of awkwardness wondering if it's really free or if there's an unwritten expectation to donate. We didn't donate and neither did most people. I suppose if you're shy about such things, you can walk on either side of this hacienda and walk in through the side wall openings. Inside the Hacienda walls is a courtyard and a garden with a nice fountain. The U shaped house includes several bedrooms, a kitchen, an outdoor pizza oven, and a chapel.. Rooms are nicely recreated with supporting information and interesting furniture pieces. Geeked out by San Diego history? Well San Diego has two California Missions, a Presidio, and multiple Adobes. My favorites are the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside and the Rancho Guajome Adobe, also in Oceanside.
I'm generally interested in historical landmarks but what caught my eye about this place was the reviews saying the place is haunted. I couldn't get my friends on board with going to a "haunted house" so I forgot about it until we stumbled upon it while exploring the Old Town area. We went in (and I kept mum), and there's nothing posted anywhere I saw that corroborated the haunting claims mentioned in other reviews. We wandered around viewing the open rooms and their furniture, wandered the courtyard and saw the architecture, but saw no one who appeared to be affiliated with the property. No one was at the tour guide booth. Maybe if you already know about the history of this property or have read the book, you'll get more out of it.
Very lovely area. So peaceful with many unique artifacts from past times. So much history to look at. Really does take you back in time.
My son and I really love history so this was a fun stop on our tour of Old Town San Diego. The house was built by the Estudillos, originally by Capitan Jose Maria Estudillo (in 1927) and then later completed by his son, Jose Antonio Estudillo, in the early 1930's. La Casa de Estudillo was an important cultural and political center during this period. Jose Antonio and his wife, Maria Victoria Dominguez, also raised their 12 children (and a few adopted children) here. This home's garden is famous for being the spot of Ramona's wedding, in Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel, Ramona. Although the story is interesting, our tour guide mentioned it's lack of accuracy during our last visit here. When the Estudillos abandoned the home (it was left to a caretaker), John D. Spreckles bought the house. He hired Hazel Waterman to remodel the dilapidated building, and in 1910 the reconstruction was complete. During the 1970's (after the house was acquired by the California State Park System, 1968), the house was furnished with pieces common during the period that the Estudillos would have lived here. It's fun touring the home's 13 rooms. The decor adds to La Casa's spookiness (and rumors that the house is haunted). The rooms include bedrooms for family and guests, a kitchen, dining room, and a chapel. The nicest part of the property is the beautiful garden. The courtyard also had a wonderful fountain and a wishing well. I can imagine that the family spent a lot of time here. On our last visit to the house, a musician was playing some lovely music from his spot on the brick patio. This beautiful adobe home is currently getting some small updates and is a really loved part of Old Town. For a step back in time, La Casa de Estudillo is definitely worth a visit!
If any place is haunted, it is this place! It's obvious they are still working on the renovations, but it feels like a time warp that takes you way back to another time. We just got an eerie feeling as we were walking thru here checking things out. We really lucked out because we went around 10am on a Thursday morning, so we were literally the only ones there at the time checking it out, which probably added to the creepiness factor. lol Still, its very cool and definately worth checking out! I'm looking forward to checking it out again one day when all the work being done is completed. 4 stars
The Casa de Estudillo, also known as the Estudillo House, is a historic adobe house in San Diego, California, United States. It was constructed in 1827 by José María Estudillo and his son José Antonio Estudillo, early settlers of San Diego, and was considered one of the finest houses in Mexican California. It is located in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park and is designated as both a National and a California Historical Landmark in its own right. The Casa de Estudillo is one of three National Historic Landmarks in Southern California that were closely tied to Ramona, a novel of Californio life shortly after the American acquisition of California; the other two are Rancho Camulos and Rancho Guajome. The large building is a U-shaped structure, measuring 113 feet (34.4 m) on the front side, and 98 feet (29.9 m) on each of the wings. It is constructed in the Spanish Colonial style, meaning that the house's 13 rooms are set consecutively in the building and connected only by an external covered corredor (as opposed to an interior hallway). The main portion (the center) contains the entrance, facing west. To its left is the chapel and to its right is the schoolroom. Both rooms originally were smaller, with bedrooms located at the ends of the building, but a 1910 restoration eliminated those walls to enlarge the rooms. Two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen (which was added at a later date), and the servants' dining room are in the north wing, while the south wing has three bedrooms and the family dining room. The house is topped by a cupola from which bullfights and festivals in the adjacent plaza could be seen. The museum gives a good perspective on how a farmstead was setup and lets you walk through the house and see room by room how living was. Nice placards explain the rooms and times.
This is my absolute favorite spot in Old Town SD Park. I love that the minute you walk into the courtyard, you are seemingly transported back almost 200 years. I'm a sucker for history, antiques, architecture and nostalgia and this place gives me all of that. While exploring Old Town, the BFF and I came across La Casa de Estudillo almost by sheer accident and I'm so glad that one of our many tangents led us to another great memory. This place was once a social and political center of SD during CA's Mexican period giving birth to early America. The house itself retains the adobe bricks originally used, exposed wooden planks and rafters and clay tiles. Its open and inviting. The home has been restored almost from ruins in the early 1900's and they did a fantastic job retaining the glory and charm of the structure. The furnishings are not all from the same period as the guide said it was pretty unclear how the Estudiilos originally furnished their home. I often find myself back here anytime I want some peace and quiet and I just wander through the rooms. I suggest if you want to to this, go during the middle of the week around 11am. It can be hit or miss because Old Town is such a huge destination for tourists but to really take in the beauty of this spot you have to experience it without the large groups. BFF/SD
Awesome place - free of charge and free to roam. My daughter got a little creeped out walking in some of the spaces, but overall, there isn't much of spookiness factor. Cool to see how rich folks lived in the past, and to marvel at how eclectic the architects must have been to decide on building a U-shaped home. Still, there are areas that are stunning that made the kid in me wish I grew up there. It's not going to blow your socks off, but it's a fascinating and enjoyable attraction.
Old town has the coolest things inside of it. This museum shows you the beauty of San Diego so many years ago. The house was built in 1827. In 1866 Benjamin Hayes and his family lived in it. I loved the house and the dishes are my favorite pieces. There is an alter for church services, beautiful courtyard, and they have the outside oven that was used in those times. The museum is free and a must see. Aug 2023 read more
1 year ago
You can't beat free admission in Old Town so take 20 minutes out of your day to walk through this historical 1827 Hacienda. You can enter on any of the three sides to this house, but if you enter from the front entrance there's a guy with a clicker next to a sign that says "donations". Even though this is a free experience, there's a bit of awkwardness wondering if it's really free or if there's an unwritten expectation to donate. We didn't donate and neither did most people. I suppose if you're shy about such things, you can walk on either side of this hacienda and walk in through the side wall openings. Inside the Hacienda walls is a courtyard and a garden with a nice fountain. The U shaped house includes several bedrooms, a kitchen, an outdoor pizza oven, and a chapel.. Rooms are nicely recreated with supporting information and interesting furniture pieces. Geeked out by San Diego history? Well San Diego has two California Missions, a Presidio, and multiple Adobes. My favorites are the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside and the Rancho Guajome Adobe, also in Oceanside. read more
9 years ago
I'm generally interested in historical landmarks but what caught my eye about this place was the reviews saying the place is haunted. I couldn't get my friends on board with going to a "haunted house" so I forgot about it until we stumbled upon it while exploring the Old Town area. We went in (and I kept mum), and there's nothing posted anywhere I saw that corroborated the haunting claims mentioned in other reviews. We wandered around viewing the open rooms and their furniture, wandered the courtyard and saw the architecture, but saw no one who appeared to be affiliated with the property. No one was at the tour guide booth. Maybe if you already know about the history of this property or have read the book, you'll get more out of it. read more
4 years ago
Very lovely area. So peaceful with many unique artifacts from past times. So much history to look at. Really does take you back in time. read more
My son and I really love history so this was a fun stop on our tour of Old Town San Diego. The house was built by the Estudillos, originally by Capitan Jose Maria Estudillo (in 1927) and then later completed by his son, Jose Antonio Estudillo, in the early 1930's. La Casa de Estudillo was an important cultural and political center during this period. Jose Antonio and his wife, Maria Victoria Dominguez, also raised their 12 children (and a few adopted children) here. This home's garden is famous for being the spot of Ramona's wedding, in Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel, Ramona. Although the story is interesting, our tour guide mentioned it's lack of accuracy during our last visit here. When the Estudillos abandoned the home (it was left to a caretaker), John D. Spreckles bought the house. He hired Hazel Waterman to remodel the dilapidated building, and in 1910 the reconstruction was complete. During the 1970's (after the house was acquired by the California State Park System, 1968), the house was furnished with pieces common during the period that the Estudillos would have lived here. It's fun touring the home's 13 rooms. The decor adds to La Casa's spookiness (and rumors that the house is haunted). The rooms include bedrooms for family and guests, a kitchen, dining room, and a chapel. The nicest part of the property is the beautiful garden. The courtyard also had a wonderful fountain and a wishing well. I can imagine that the family spent a lot of time here. On our last visit to the house, a musician was playing some lovely music from his spot on the brick patio. This beautiful adobe home is currently getting some small updates and is a really loved part of Old Town. For a step back in time, La Casa de Estudillo is definitely worth a visit! read more
If any place is haunted, it is this place! It's obvious they are still working on the renovations, but it feels like a time warp that takes you way back to another time. We just got an eerie feeling as we were walking thru here checking things out. We really lucked out because we went around 10am on a Thursday morning, so we were literally the only ones there at the time checking it out, which probably added to the creepiness factor. lol Still, its very cool and definately worth checking out! I'm looking forward to checking it out again one day when all the work being done is completed. 4 stars read more
The Casa de Estudillo, also known as the Estudillo House, is a historic adobe house in San Diego, California, United States. It was constructed in 1827 by José María Estudillo and his son José Antonio Estudillo, early settlers of San Diego, and was considered one of the finest houses in Mexican California. It is located in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park and is designated as both a National and a California Historical Landmark in its own right. The Casa de Estudillo is one of three National Historic Landmarks in Southern California that were closely tied to Ramona, a novel of Californio life shortly after the American acquisition of California; the other two are Rancho Camulos and Rancho Guajome. The large building is a U-shaped structure, measuring 113 feet (34.4 m) on the front side, and 98 feet (29.9 m) on each of the wings. It is constructed in the Spanish Colonial style, meaning that the house's 13 rooms are set consecutively in the building and connected only by an external covered corredor (as opposed to an interior hallway). The main portion (the center) contains the entrance, facing west. To its left is the chapel and to its right is the schoolroom. Both rooms originally were smaller, with bedrooms located at the ends of the building, but a 1910 restoration eliminated those walls to enlarge the rooms. Two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen (which was added at a later date), and the servants' dining room are in the north wing, while the south wing has three bedrooms and the family dining room. The house is topped by a cupola from which bullfights and festivals in the adjacent plaza could be seen. The museum gives a good perspective on how a farmstead was setup and lets you walk through the house and see room by room how living was. Nice placards explain the rooms and times. read more
12 years ago
4 years ago
8 years ago
This is my absolute favorite spot in Old Town SD Park. I love that the minute you walk into the courtyard, you are seemingly transported back almost 200 years. I'm a sucker for history, antiques, architecture and nostalgia and this place gives me all of that. While exploring Old Town, the BFF and I came across La Casa de Estudillo almost by sheer accident and I'm so glad that one of our many tangents led us to another great memory. This place was once a social and political center of SD during CA's Mexican period giving birth to early America. The house itself retains the adobe bricks originally used, exposed wooden planks and rafters and clay tiles. Its open and inviting. The home has been restored almost from ruins in the early 1900's and they did a fantastic job retaining the glory and charm of the structure. The furnishings are not all from the same period as the guide said it was pretty unclear how the Estudiilos originally furnished their home. I often find myself back here anytime I want some peace and quiet and I just wander through the rooms. I suggest if you want to to this, go during the middle of the week around 11am. It can be hit or miss because Old Town is such a huge destination for tourists but to really take in the beauty of this spot you have to experience it without the large groups. BFF/SD read more
7 years ago
9 years ago
Awesome place - free of charge and free to roam. My daughter got a little creeped out walking in some of the spaces, but overall, there isn't much of spookiness factor. Cool to see how rich folks lived in the past, and to marvel at how eclectic the architects must have been to decide on building a U-shaped home. Still, there are areas that are stunning that made the kid in me wish I grew up there. It's not going to blow your socks off, but it's a fascinating and enjoyable attraction. read more
13 years ago
I love historic places and historic homes are at the top of my list. This is the jewel of Old Town and I always wander around the casa when I visit Old Town. It's always kept impeccable, gardens are lush, and tour guides are super nice. read more
14 years ago
10 years ago
12 years ago
More info about La Casa de Estudillo
4002 Wallace St
San Diego, CA 92110
Old Town
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(619) 220-5422
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