News Scrapbook 1980-1981

SAN DIEGO UN ION

City Ha\\ Site In O\d Town Is Confirmed State Archaeologist Skeptical At First, Then Digs Right In By CLIFF SMITH /\ s1aff w,~er. The San Ote90 Un,on _; The newly discovered remams of San Diego's brst city hall was au• thenticated yesterday by a stale ar- chaeologist, who termed the hnd "highly significant." Francis A. ''Fritz Riddell of Sac• ramenlo, supervisor ot tile state parks system's cultural heritage sec- tion, said Ile had no doubt about the discovery in the heart of Old Town State Park and indicated that plans for restoration could move ahead

Riddell who made a rush trip to San Dieg~ for a brief inspection of the archaeological excavation, wound up digging for houri himself as tourists behmd a fence a few_ feet away watclled with grea~ cunos1ty, "Being an archaeologist myselL I can't resist joining in," Riddell sa_1d, scooping away soil from the city hall's adobe floor, part of it gtill blackened from the lire tha_t raze~ the tiny building in 1872. "Its fasci- nating." Local archaeologists first felt that they had clinched the discovery on July 15 and 16 when they found an l840s-vmtage O Army button and an old hinge that probably supported the building's front door Late last week. though, Riddell md1cated he was reserving judgment, saymg he felt the discovery needed to be con- firmed by additional exravalion. However Riddell said yesterday· '1 definitely feel that th!S i~ it. And. of course it 1s a highly s1gmf1cant discovery. "Here, you see, the presence of the adobe floor is very clear. Even the lContinued on B-3, Col. 2)

The Sol Dieoo Union, Cindv Lubke Romero unearthed over the last few days in Old Town State Park. Local archaeologist Mark Sulley, left, is a participant in the dig.

State archaeologist Francis Riddell points to three fired bricks that he said are_ part of the remains of San Diego's first city hall.

State Archaeologist Authenticates Site In Old Town Of First City Hal m1t 1t to Riddell for revie and ap- (Continued from B· I) brick to be built w t of the Mi 1s· s1pp1." On April 20, 1872 the city hall proval.

. "My rcsponsibihty," Ria<\ell said, •1s simply to review the work and make sure thev're doing a good job. which they are. If I found bad man- agement of tile project or something like that I would step in, but every- thmg is gomg well. "It's my understanding that tlley want to go ahead with the restora- tion of the building as rapidly as pos- sible. I see no reason for it to be held up for very long, once the research is done" Sear aid the battalon bas a con- tract with the state to c duct the dig, get architectural dra i gs for a reconstruction, rebuild the structure and operate it as a historical monu- ment and museum. "We're anxious to do all that as soon as possible," he said.

fir scar still ar • VlStble. And over th r are some of the original bricks. "Now. tf they can d termine the dei lgn nd m thod of con truction, th n they'll have a good b 1s for a r toration We want as authentic a rcconstructi n as possible They are getting a tremendous amount of data nght now so I feel good about it." Dr James Moriarty Ill of the Um- ver:;1ty o[ San Diego, a noted archae• ologist directing the dig, said he is ur ample informauo for a true restorat10n is available. "We have the exact dimension. of the building - il was '.14 feet square," Moriarty said ·we have the exact orientation of the building. We even know where the door and windows were and the interior colors of one room "The large room, on the west side of the building. was the district courtroom. That room had a kind of wainscoting painted in a dark, rusty- red color, and the walls and ceiling above were painted white "The other, smaller room on the east side was the office of Mayor Jo hua Bean, who was the uncle of the notorious Texas judge, Roy Bean'' The one-story building was con- structed in 1846 or 1847 by members of the Army's M.ormon Battalion of more than 500 memhru" of b_e Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The battalion bad come here, in a record-breaking march for U.S. in• fantry, to secure the area during the Mexican War In 1846 the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

caught fire, from und termmed caus- es Moriarty said the fire spread rap- idly west through two hotels, the Col- orado House and the larger Franklin House, and mto a saloon. "The bar acllv1ty never really stopped." Moriarty said. "Tiley p~t some planks up on top of barrels in tile town square and kept ri.,ht on operating." Moriarty said he and his col leagues nave about two more weeks of digging to do a the exca\lat1on at 2723 San Diego Ave, directly adJa cent to tile Mexico hop and aero the street from the town square

Then Moriarty said he will need about two months for research. After that Ile will write his report and sub-

Thursday, July 30, 1981 --- Parrish heads fashion show LA JOI L.\ U(a1T

B-10

promised a show of luxury furs, Spanish leather. ultrasuede, and silk. To enhance the race course theme of ''Winners' Circle '81," plans include constructing a horse-show shaped ramp in the Paddock Area. which will be decorated with the colorful racing silks of internationally famous stables. Table centerpieces will be soft-sculpture jockey figures dressed in coordinated racing colors. The program will have a racing-form format. The in- vitations will feature a tasselled post horn A pre-lunch cocktail hour will be held at the Turf Club, and guests will be summoned to the show by the official track starter, .Jerry Jackson. Parrish will release details of a Patrons' Party to be held sometime in late August. All proceeds from this ex- citmg event will benefit the USD Financial Aid Program. !:'or information and reser- vations. call Phyllis Parrish at 459-0782

Fashion-conscious women from both north and south ol San Diego will converge c,n the Del l\lar n.Jce Track on October 1 to see the :all entries from the leading international fashion houses. Groups are already forming in Orange County, Tijuana, and even Arizona to attend the 25th Silver Anniversary Fashion Show and Luncheon sponsored by the University of San Diego Auxiliary. This year's event is to be called "Winner's Circle '81." The USD Auxiliary has selected Phyllis Parrish of La Jolla as general chairman to stage a landmark Silver Anniversary event. "Mrs. Parrish is just the person who can do it," states Betty Tharpe, Auxiliary president. Since moving to La Jolla from ew Orleans three years ago, Phyllis Parrish has held positions on the boards of The Friends of the La Jolla Chamber Music Society, the La Jolla Debutante Committee, the Women's Committee of the San

"It was then tllat the Army al- lowed the battalion members to hire tllemselves out for work here in San Diego," said Maj. Keith A Sears, coordinator of the area branch of the present-day Mormon Battalion, a registered corporation m charge of the city hall excavation. "They needed money to send home to their famili so they llired out, domg construction work, mainly," ars said. ' Tll was one of their first proiects "One member f the battalion was a brick mason and he fired the first bnc (made by non Indian settle~) in Califorma Many of the bnck m the first batch f 40,000 that were fired went mt this building, which was built as a courtllou e." Moriarty said tile building proba- bly was •·one o{ the first buildings made of standard, colonial-style

Phyllis Parrish Diego Symphony Orchestra Association. the La Jolla Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. and is currently on the Art Council of the La Jolla Museum of Con- temporary Art She serves as vice president of the USD Auxiliary. So far J\.lrs. Parrish reveals that Mrs. Robbie Kraft, Fashion Show Director for Bullock's/ Mission Valley, has