Arch Collective
Save Our Heritage Organization: Penning the Past Zoom Lecture – La Jolla
Join the Save Our Heritage Organization to learn about the unique character of San Diego’s historic neighborhoods through the eyes of impassioned writers and historians. Brought to life by esteemed local authors, Penning the Past promises to be an enriching exploration of San Diego’s architectural legacy and historical tapestry. The series is free for SOHO members, $10 per lecture for non-members. Your participation supports SOHO’s mission of education and advocacy to preserve the historic architecture, sites, and cultural landscapes that surround us and add meaning to our daily lives. La Jolla by Carol Olten La Jolla, California, famously known as "The Jewel," is noted for its natural beauty and appealing Mediterranean-like climate. Magnificent sea cliffs and caves, bathing coves, and sandy beaches have attracted visitors, developers, and residents since the 1880s. By the early 1900s, a small community developed with artists congregating to the internationally known Green Dragon Colony. Newspaper heiress Ellen Browning Scripps and her half-sister Eliza Virginia established residences and became the community's renowned philanthropists. Many beautiful homes and institutions, along with a growing commercial district next to the sea, owe their designs to architect Irving Gill. Today La Jolla still attracts visitors from around the world and is home to the rich, the famous, the avant-garde, and intelligentsia. Author bio Author Carol Olten is the historian for the La Jolla Historical Society and a former journalist on subjects of art, film, history, and architecture. She is a longtime La Jolla resident and currently owns and resides in one of the community's oldest homes. Working with Heather Kuhn the society's archivist and curator she traced La Jolla's history with many rare and never before published photographs selected from the archives of the La Jolla Historical Society. Carol’s writing is educational, investigative, and intriguing, and covers a wide range of topics from the history of movie theaters in La Jolla to the development and construction of some of its most iconic historic buildings. This event is hosted by the Save Our Heritage Organization. For more information, questions, and registration, please contact the event organizer.
2nd Saturday Lecture Screenings
San Diego Archaeological Center 16666 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA, United StatesJoin us every 2nd Saturday of the month for two screenings of our Living Room Lectures by archaeologists, experts, and authors. Lecture screenings start at 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM and are included with museum admission. No reservations needed. Seating is first come, first served. 10:30 AM - Ethnozoology of the Kumeyaay People by Richard Carrico For the Kumeyaay people of San Diego County, animals, birds, insects, and other creatures hold a special place in the cosmos and played a variety of important roles. Their embodiment is not always easily visualized because some creatures, large and small, exist in worlds not always seen by most humans, and rarely acknowledged by archaeologists. For many of the native people, there was a time when animals were actually human. In the mythic, ancient time what we now know as humans, or more correctly as mortals, did not exist. The world was inhabited by animals and by animals who were humans but not mortals—these were the Early People and some creatures could embody traits of what came to be known as the mortal humans and animals. Only later in time did the separation grow between animals and humans, and at that time the humans became mortal. This presentation will provide an analysis and discussion of the role and place of non-human creatures within the world and cosmos of the Kumeyaay people of San Diego County. 12:30 PM - The First Chicken Burrito in Western North America: Zooarchaeology of Avian Remains for the San Diego Royal Presidio by Dr. Aharon Sasson The San Diego Presidio, established in AD 1769, was the first European settlement in Upper California. Very little is known about chicken husbandry in colonial America, which makes this study the first comprehensive analysis of chicken remains in North America. Chickens are scarcely mentioned in historical accounts describing early California, and information on their sex, age, or management is rare. Small-scale poultry production, likely managed by women and children, provided California presidios with a form of subsistence independence.
2nd Saturday Lecture Screenings
Join us every 2nd Saturday of the month for two screenings of our Living Room Lectures by archaeologists, experts, and authors. Lecture screenings start at 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM and are included with museum admission. No reservations needed. Seating is first come, first served. 10:30 AM - It’s Grind Time! Recent Investigations of the Ancestral Maya Ground Stone Tool Industry in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, Belize by Dr. Jon Spenard While conducting opportunistic regional survey in summer 2022 in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, Belize, Dr. Jon Spenard’s Rio Frio Regional Archaeological Project was informed of a series of granitic rock debitage piles nearby. Investigations revealed them to be ancestral Maya quarries and ground stone tool workshops, the first of their kind recorded anywhere in the Maya region. Naming the site the Buffalo Hill Quarries, the project mapped over a dozen extraction features (quarry pits and cut faces) surrounded by debitage piles spread over an area of approximately 16 hectares (40 acres). Aided by data from an aerial LiDAR survey of the region, the project returned in summer 2023 to finish mapping the site and conduct test excavations on an extraction locus to investigate ancestral Maya quarrying methods and techniques. In this talk, Dr. Spenard will present the results of those two field seasons, introduce more results from the LiDAR survey, and discuss the next stages of the project, including examining who the quarry workers were and how their products may have been distributed. 12:30 PM - The Skeletons of La Consentida, Oaxaca, Mexico by José “Pepe” Aguilar Twelve burials, comprising 14 individuals, were excavated from an Early Formative Period (1950–1525 BC) site called La Consentida, in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2009 and in 2012. These burials were later analyzed in 2012 and 2019. Collectively, they represent the earliest formal cemetery in the Mesoamerican west coast. Note: this presentation will show photographs of human skeletal remains.
Save Our Heritage Organization: Penning the Past Zoom Lecture – La Mesa
Join the Save Our Heritage Organization to learn about the unique character of San Diego’s historic neighborhoods through the eyes of impassioned writers and historians. Brought to life by esteemed local authors, Penning the Past promises to be an enriching exploration of San Diego’s architectural legacy and historical tapestry. The series is free for SOHO members, $10 per lecture for non-members. Your participation supports SOHO’s mission of education and advocacy to preserve the historic architecture, sites, and cultural landscapes that surround us and add meaning to our daily lives. La Mesa by James Newland On February 16, 1912, La Mesa Springs, a community of 700 citrus farmers, home seekers, developers, and businessmen, incorporated into the City of La Mesa. Located among the rolling hills and mesa lands between San Diego and El Cajon, today's suburban city of over 56,000 is still renowned for its small-town character, featuring its historic village business district, family-friendly neighborhoods, good schools, and ample retail and recreational amenities. The area's centuries-old prehistory and history can be traced to the natural springs that attracted stockman Robert Allison in 1869. Allison Springs, later renamed, prospered and grew after the arrival of the railroad in 1889. After incorporation, the young city grew steadily, reaching 3,925 residents by 1940. Post World War II La Mesa exemplified the exponential suburban growth of the region, expanding to the north and west of the old downtown to accommodate 50,000-plus residents by 1980—all were attracted, as today, to the "Jewel of the Hills." Author bio Historian and planner for the California State Parks Department, James Newland has been a stalwart in the field of historic preservation since 1991, and is past president of the La Mesa History Center. He has an MA in public history from San Diego State, has authored four insightful books on local history—Cleveland National Forest, Grossmont Hospital: A Legacy of Community Service, Around Mt. Helix, and La Mesa—and has made countless contributions to our community's heritage. This event is hosted by the Save Our Heritage Organization. For more information, questions, and registration, please contact the event organizer.
Lecture: Geology of San Diego County – The Formative Years
This talk will focus on amazing geological forces and events from the last 200 million years that have shaped the San Diego County we see today. From regional tectonics to massive volcanism, uplift and erosion, and the many current infrastructure challenges San Diego currently faces, Mike Thacker will tell the story behind our broad mesas, dramatic coastlines, canyons, and wide valleys. Attendees will be sure to come away with a deepened understanding of and appreciation for the geological history of our unique region. Cost: Pay what you wish Advance registration is closed. Please pay at door. About the Presenter Mike Thacker is a retired Senior Staff Research and Development Scientist at Thermo Fisher Scientific. He has a B.S. in zoology from San Diego State University and studied anthropology and archaeology at University of California Santa Barbara, Palomar College, and San Diego State University. He has been a member of the Board of Trustees for the San Diego Archaeological Center since 2018 and is a volunteer teaching assistant for Palomar College archaeological excavation field school and survey programs. Mike is passionate about his home of San Diego and leads interpretive hikes for the San Dieguito River Park and San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy. His interest in geology has motivated his study of the geology of the San Diego region for the last 14 years.
Save Our Heritage Organization: Penning the Past Zoom Lecture – Little Italy
VirtualJoin the Save Our Heritage Organization to learn about the unique character of San Diego’s historic neighborhoods through the eyes of impassioned writers and historians. Brought to life by esteemed local authors, Penning the Past promises to be an enriching exploration of San Diego’s architectural legacy and historical tapestry. The series is free for SOHO members, $10 per lecture for non-members. Your participation supports SOHO’s mission of education and advocacy to preserve the historic architecture, sites, and cultural landscapes that surround us and add meaning to our daily lives. Little Italy by Dr. Thomas J. Cesarini Italian immigrants settled along San Diego's waterfront in the early 1900s and formed the "Italian Colony," a tightly knit community that provided refuge, shared culture, and heritage. Extended families, new businesses, and church traditions formed the foundation for a lasting social code. It was no coincidence that the area would become known as Little Italy—it was exactly that for its inhabitants—a home away from their native land. But by the mid-1960s, changes brought by war and urban modernization began to unravel the community. Take a compelling journey through this unique immigrant enclave. Vivid images and descriptive captions highlight essential elements of this community, such as labor and longing, fishing and family, ritual and revitalization. Through photographs contributed by local community members, this volume traces the evolution of a humble fishing village into the chic urban neighborhood that is Little Italy today. Author bio Dr. Thomas J. Cesarini, a distinguished academic and nonprofit leader, founded Convivio, a nonprofit dedicated to Italian humanities. Holding a PhD in leadership studies and an M.A. in nonprofit leadership and management from the University of San Diego, he is known for his advocacy for San Diego's Italian community and was appointed as the Italian Honorary Consul in 2019. He established the Italian Historical Society of San Diego in 2006, aiming to create a comprehensive Italian cultural center and museum. Dr. Cesarini's commitment to fostering Italian arts, culture, and heritage makes him a stalwart advocate in the San Diego Italian-American community. This event is hosted by the Save Our Heritage Organization. For more information, questions, and registration, please contact the event organizer.
Grape Day Festival
Grape Day Park 321 N Broadway, Escondido, CA, United StatesCelebrate Escondido’s agricultural heritage at the Escondido Grape Day Festival, presented by the Escondido History Center, The Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, and Brothers of 6 Charities. This year’s event features activities for all ages including grape stomping, live music, children’s activities and games, antique farm equipment, food vendors, local arts and crafts, wine and beer garden, and more. Visit the SDAC’s booth to step into the fascinating world of archaeology. Conduct a mini excavation, assemble plate puzzles, and explore artifacts from the region. This event is hosted by the Escondido History Center and the Brothers of 6. For more information, visit the Escondido Grape Day Festival website.