Make sure to check out this hidden gem tucked up behind old town. Free parking in a small lot, but plenty of free parking on the street, just make sure you turn your wheels toward the curb or you will get a ticket. The Park is small but well maintained. Ranger on site. There are a selection of old houses and a temple that you can peruse and take photos of. Meticulously manicured landscaping. Restroom is open limited hours like after 10 am or 11 am, but at least there is one onsite. There is even a voter drop box there as well. I could not believe how calm, quiet, relaxing and not very crowded it was for a nice spring Saturday morning. Enjoy the photos. read more

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I love Victorian architecture, so it was nice to spend some time walking around this park to view the homes. The restrooms on site were well-kept also. If you're from the East Coast (or have visited somewhere like Cape May, NJ), this area might not be super impressive, but it's worth a quick stop I'd say. read more

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San Diego County Parks Society threw on a neat membership event at Heritage Park, which recently received some upgrades in landscaping areas. Big thanks to Tasha for spreading word about this awesome event. FOOD 5/5 Tacos by Chilango Dogz: asada, pork, veggie 5/5 Cupcakes by Petite Madeline, Oceanside: sweet cream, soft cupcake bites of heaven 5/5 Reposado coconut and walnut: creamy, icy, sweet, and nutty 4.5/5 Strawberries and cream crepe Jimbos organic apples and bananas were also up for grabs PARKING Street-side and lot read more

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Welcome to Victorian San Diego!  The history buff in me loves this park, which is adjacent to Old Town San Diego and near Presidio Park. The six homes here were built elsewhere in San Diego by wealthy San Diego families between 1887 and 1896. San Diego's first synagogue, Temple Beth Israel, is also in the park. Built in 1889, Temple Beth Israel is a non-denominational house of worship today open to the public. The County of San Diego acquired the buildings in the 1970s, moved them here, arranged them, and restored their exteriors to show the beauty of their Victorian-era architecture.   There is a current project to renovate interiors and open the houses to visitors. read more

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. read more

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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. read more

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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. read more

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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 read more

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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. read more

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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! read more

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

Heritage Park - Parks Near Me - San Diego, California

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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. read more

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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 read more

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It was beautiful, but creepy at night! My Deaf friend and I went there at about 10pm, and our body reacted in strange ways, like freezing, slowly walking, and heart pounding. He saw the black shadows, trying to communicate with them like waving his hand at them, while I was not able to see them. I was like nope, get out of here because I just knew something's wrong. As we were about to leave, I heard the demonic growl that was getting louder and closer to us. I told him what I heard and he didn't believe at first until he could hear it enough. We freaked out as we ran away. Do I want to go back there again? NOPE! read more

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! read more

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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! read more

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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. read more

Heritage Park - Sherman Gilbert House! - Parks Near Me - San Diego, California

I love Heritage Park and usually make a stop here when I visit San Diego. Why you wonder? Well my husband and I had an engagement photo shoot here (we actually DIY-ed it ourselve with our tripod and self timer on our SLR camera) which came out really nice. There are really some great backdrops that you can find at this beautiful picturesque park. Heritage Park is located in Old Town (which is another stop I always make while vacationing in San Diego). The Victorian houses/ buildings are beautiful and really add a sense of history to old town. The church that is on site is small but beautiful and traditional. It is usually open during the day so you can go ahead and take a peak inside (you can also attend this church on Sundays as well). Besides the beautiful homes, there is also plenty of grassy areas as well in case you bring your 4 legged little pals with you (my husband and I almost always travel with our dogs, as long as it is w/in a reasonable driving distance that we can get to). Parking is street parking (free) by the way. If you are unable to find parking right along the street, you can always park at the bottom of the hill and walk up. read more

Heritage Park is a must see ! It's next to the oldest hotel in San Diego ; which we are very proud of The Cosmopolitan Hotel. Heritage Park has numerous homes from 1800's (mid) . Johnson House is one to see and purchase lo lovely jewelry, plumes, glass ware, hats . It is a must see. Lisa C. read more

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

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Quaint and well-maintained area. I felt like I was on a movie set, with all the cute little houses and churches, some of which can be used for small weddings. I stopped by a house which sold porcelain dolls, jewelry, purses, funny signs, etc. I got a cute pair of earrings for $7.50. read more

Heritage Park - Parks Near Me - San Diego, California

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I would agree with the comment that many have made that this might not be worth a special trip to see. However if you are in the area, like visiting Old Town, you really should make the effort to check it out. Spread over some beautiful grounds are 5 or 6 Victorian age houses moved there from various areas of San Diego to save them from destruction. They range from somewhat plain to quite ornate. With the exception of the house that contains the visitor center and the Synagogue, you are limited to just viewing the well maintained exteriors. Even with that restriction if you enjoy Victorian architecture it is well worth seeing. read more

Heritage Park - My fav house @ Heritage Park. I like the lack of symmetry in decoration and shapes. - Parks Near Me - San Diego, California

What a gorgeous setting for our Steampunk gatherings! We've had a couple of picnics here and when we go there in our Victorian outfits, we fit right in with all the beautiful Victorian homes. The place is super clean and the shady grass areas are just wonderful! The little gift shop is fun too. As with everything in Old Town, parking is at a premium, so be prepared. read more

This is a nice place to walk the pup. It has been in our regular rotation lately. This small, quaint yet large park to an 8 pound yorkie is located in Old Town and houses several historic victorian homes and a temple. My pup loves to run around the hilly grassy area and well manicured lawns. It's great that we are almost always the only ones there when I walk her in the evenings. Occasionally we run into a smooching couple on one of the benches. I love to look at the historic victorian homes which are now being remodeled and being used as bread & breakfast rentals. There's also a nice view of the bay across highway 5. There's always plenty of parking along Juan Street and in the park's adjacent parking lot. I guess several people like to use this park as the location for their wedding ceremony. Not me, I just love to walk my pup here. I just need to watch my puppy's urge to chase after the bunnies that we occasionally come across at the park. read more

There are some neat buildings that have been preserved and show what houses looked like at the turn of the 19th/ 20th century. But you could skip it and not really miss anything. read more

So pretty seeing all the old Victorian-style houses they moved there from all over the city. When we went unfortunately they were renovating the houses, so we couldn't see inside them bar one: the tourist information house. Be sure to check it out, as there's lots of history about the houses there! read more

Great place to see historic San Diego whether your visiting or a local it's a beautiful place to get out doors for free and enjoy some of San Diego's history and Fantastic weather. read more

This is a well maintained park with Victorian houses that are preserved, adjacent to Old Town. If you are visiting Old Town, I would recommend visiting this place, either as a quick walk in the park tour, or as a nice place to hang out and relax. I have been to Old Town so many times but never even knew about this place until recently. Even though you can't actually go inside the houses, you can walk around, hang out on the old porches, and stroll in the nice gardens. The old temple is the only one that you can go inside, they generously leave the doors open so you can go inside and see the preservation of the old building. I love the sky blue ceiling. I went on a weekday afternoon, and it was nearly empty. That made it so much fun, it felt like a ghost town. Walking on the faux cobble street feels like you're on movie set for a Victorian movie. I am really grateful for those whose contributions preserve and maintain this place. The only thing was that there were cars driving inside the park, and it startled me because I thought cars were not allowed in there and I was letting my little kid run around. Looked like one of the houses was a tea room, but they were closed when I was there. read more

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Beautiful! But the parking lot is hidden! Had to park up a scary big hill! The houses are so cute but sadly you can't go inside. There's one house that's supposedly a tea party house but I couldn't go inside due to a private event. read more

Heritage Park - Cute tree in the middle of the houses! - Parks Near Me - San Diego, California

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What a great little park in Old Town. Perfect for flying my RC EYE One Xtreme quadcopter! Its really small, the park, but a nice view and exactly what I was looking for! Will be there often read more

Heritage Park - Redbull, Cheez-Its, and my RC Quad. Life is good!!! - Parks Near Me - San Diego, California

I would enjoy this park more if it had more information about tours, which I am finding out there aren't really any. It's beautiful and well maintained on the outside, however you are not allowed to see anything inside the homes, just the church is open to the public and the grounds themselves. This is nice if you don't expect anything more than a nice walk to look outside these publicly paid for homes. It's a park, they should open them to the public, it's a shame they hide it all away. Not very welcoming at all. The old town area down the hill is at least open to look inside, like the Whaley house. read more

Heritage Park is pretty cool. I love the houses, if I could I would pick one up and relocate it where I want :] One of the houses has a trail in the backyard which my boyfriend and I started to scout out but we didn't have the proper shoe attire (I had on flip flops) so we turned back. Unfortunately, you're unable to go in the houses which sucks. They have majority of the windows taped up but for the ones that weren't I made sure to push my nose up against it. It seems they're doing some type of restoration construction inside. They have a church there within Heritage Park that you can rent out for weddings which is pretty nice. There's also a Tea House but we didn't poke our heads in it. Overall pretty cool park with beautiful restored homes :] you should totally check it out! read more

Stopped there on a Monday to enjoy a little green space. The temple was open but everything else was locked. Still, it was pretty and peaceful. Laid a blanket on the grass and chilled. Having a special friend along made it even better. Just a block away from Old Town and lots of shops and multitude of Mexican eateries. read more

Should be renamed "Historic Dead Zone Park". About ten houses in this park that were "saved" and moved from downtown. One has a hokey visitors center in it and restrooms and one has a Tea Room that's only open on weekends. All the other houses are empty and have paper over the windows. What an efficient use for them. There is also an old synagog in the park that you can enter, but there's not much to see. The purpose of the park escapes me. Everything is in good shape and well taken care of so it must cost a pretty penny to keep this up. Why they don't lease these houses to sellers of baskets, candles, paper flowers and other bric a brac is a mystery to me. What a waste in more ways than one. read more

Heritage Park is really just a pedestrian street that has several old gingerbread style houses that were saved from demolition and moved here years ago. Unfortunately, none of them were restored, so all you can see are the exteriors. Boring! The old synagogue allows entry, but there's nothing of interest within. There is also a tea house that is open on the weekends, and a restroom if you need a pit stop, but by no means should you make a special trip out of your way to come here. read more

Not that many homes to see. Beautiful homes but unfortunately we were unable to enter any of them due to remodeling inside. There's a large grassy area for picnics and running around. read more

Super cute little place in the Old Town area. Love how it's usually pretty empty. Lots of great photo ops w/o people in the background. Would be better if it were a little larger, but I guess I shouldn't complain since it's free and quite picturesque. read more

Took the family to this cute little area. The houses are gorgeous and the grounds were beautiful! The winding paths and gazebos were a lot of fun to explore..BUT when we got to the end of the street to the "Tea Room"..all was well and the flat grass was great to sit and enjoy the view UNTIL a man and woman drove up to unload some things into the building. My son was standing by the bushes showing me the bees and he came around the corner and told me to "get my child"! I said "i'm sorry? what is he doing?" He was angry that we were standing by the plants!!????? First of all..This is a family area!, second, this person is not in charge of heritage park!, and third, it is called "tourism" right?! I was very turned off after that. We are ALL here to enjoy this area! read more

Beautiful is the thing that I can say about this place. It's basically a museum of homes from the 19th century that is being converted to guest houses. Some of the places you can walk through. Others are just for viewing. If you are in old town, take the time and walk through this place. It is gorgeous. read more

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.