Old Town San Diego State Historic Park Park

Address: Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, 4002 Wallace St, San Diego, CA 92110

Website: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=663

Hours: Park grounds: daily (public hours); many museums/shops operate daily 10am-5pm but hours vary seasonally

Admission: Free (park entry); some museums and historic buildings within may charge admission

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a California state historic park in San Diego that preserves and interprets the city’s Mexican-era and early American period architecture and streetscape. The park centers on a compact historic district of adobes, museums, shops and restaurants.

Interpretive exhibits and living-history displays occupy restored and reconstructed structures, including a public plaza, period homes and commercial buildings that illustrate town life from the early 19th century through the American period. Visitors use the park for museum visits, historic tours, dining and cultural events.

The site preserves structures and town layout associated with San Diego’s early civic development during the Mexican and mid-19th-century American era and was created to protect these historic resources and present them to the public.

The park sits in the Old Town neighborhood of central San Diego, adjacent to the Old Town Transit Center and north of downtown, making it easily reachable by transit and car from other parts of the city.

• Historic buildings: Many buildings in the park are restored or reconstructed to represent the Mexican and early American period of San Diego in the mid-19th century.

What to See#

• Old Town Plaza: A central public square and gathering place surrounded by historic buildings and interpretive exhibits, often the heart of living-history events.
• Whaley House: A notable 19th-century house museum located in the Old Town area that is open to visitors as a historic house exhibit.
• Historic adobes and buildings: A collection of restored and reconstructed adobes, commercial buildings and period structures along San Diego Avenue interpreted as mid-19th-century town buildings.

Old Town is accessible by car and public transport. From downtown San Diego, take Route 8 west to the Taylor Street/Old Town exits, or use the San Diego Trolley’s Old Town Transit Center (Blue and Green Lines) followed by a short walk to the park. There is public parking in the area but it can fill up on busy weekends.

• Go early in the morning to see costumed interpreters unlock historic buildings and to avoid midday tour groups.
• Catch the living-history demonstrations at the plaza (check the park's calendar) to hear artisan crafts and period music.
• Walk the short spur to Old Town State Historic Park from the Mason Street parking area; the lot fills quickly on weekends.