#64:  Old Landing, Site of Desembarcadero

Location:

Farragut Rd, between Rosecrans and Truxtun, Point Loma, San Diego

Plaque:

State Plaque

Links:

None

Notes:

None

Plaque Text:

El Desembarcadero

A landing near this point was used on May 1, 1769, by men from the San Antonio and San Carlos to bring fresh water from the San Diego River close by to the anchorage in the bay. For almost a century the landing and the channel were used by freight and passenger boats between Old Town and points on the bay. Romance was added to the site when Josepha Carrillo and Henry Delano Fitch eloped for Chile from the landing on April 16, 1829. Silt from the river overflows limited use on the Old Landing later in the century, though high tides went to Rosecrans street until 1923. During construction of the Naval Training Station ("Center" after 1944) the site and channel were buried by nine feet of fill.

From the Guidebook:

El Desembarcadero was one of the first landmarks designated during the first year of the landmark program. The site was recognized as the landing place for small boats carrying freight and passengers to Old San Diego. It was also believed to be the place visited in 1769 by the crews of the San Antonio and San Carlos in their search for fresh water.

©2009 David Schmitt