{"nrhp_refnum":"71000182","name":"Old Town San Diego Historic District","other_names":["Pueblo de San Diego"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Jct. of US 5 and US 80","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Diego","county":"San Diego County","state":"CA","lat":32.75407127900007,"lon":-117.19714028414865,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-09-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Politics/Government","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 16-acre historic district in San Diego, California, preserving the remains of the Mexican-era Pueblo de San Diego, settled from the 1820s and now part of a state historic park.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is significant mainly for military and political history. The pueblo grew from the 1820s as a home for retired presidio soldiers, was California's seat of government under Echeandia (1825-1831), and was captured by American forces in 1846. Its remaining adobes and frame buildings interpret the Mexican-American period of 1821-1872.","narrative":"Old Town San Diego preserves the core of Pueblo de San Diego, a community that began in the 1820s when retired soldiers from the nearby presidio built homes below Presidio Hill. The district covers about 16 acres and is owned by the State of California as a historic park and museum. Seven period buildings remain from 1821-1872, among them the adobe homes of Juan Bandini, Jose Antonio Estudillo, Juana Machado de Silvas, Machado-Stewart, and Pedrorena, plus the San Diego Union Office and the Mason Street School. All have been altered, and several were restored or scheduled for restoration around 1969-1971. San Diego served as California's seat of government from 1825 to 1831, and American forces occupied the town on July 9, 1846. Bandini's house served as Commodore Stockton's headquarters that year. The plaza is now a park. State plans call for restoring buildings, reconstructing lost ones and interpreting the Mexican and early American periods.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (interpreted period 1821-1872)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"State-owned and used as a park and museum; some buildings restored in 1967 and 1969, others scheduled for restoration as of May 1971.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.591619-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/71000182.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000182/6be8ef0b3d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000182/6be8ef0b3d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Glen Larson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Town_San_Diego_010.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Glen Larson</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Town_San_Diego_010.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860941","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Town_San_Diego_State_Historic_Park","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3364381"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-diego-county/old-town-san-diego-historic-district-71000182/"}