Aguirre Adobe

Prime or Subconsultant: Prime

Prepared for: Historic Tours of America, Old Town Trolley Tours

Contact Person: Lorin Stewart, General Manager, 2115 Kurtz Street, San Diego,
CA., 92110, (619) 298-3404

Project Name: Aguirre Adobe

Date: 2003

Report Title: Casa de Aguirre 1853-1914:Data Recovery and Monitoring
Program San Diego, California

Authors: Roxana L. Phillips, Steve Van Wormer, Susan Arter Carolyn E. Kyle, Sue A. Wade, Mark Roeder and Dennis R. Gallegos.

Project Description:
This study provides the results of the data recovery and monitoring program for the Aguirre Adobe. The Aguirre Adobe (CA-SDI-14527H, Assessors Parcel Number 442-610012) is located at 2610 San Diego Avenue, adjacent to the Old Town State Historic Park. The initial study included a literature review and test excavation conducted in 1994 and 1997. The test report identified the Aguirre Adobe as a significant resource under City and CEQA criteria, and recommended the property as eligible for placement on the National Register of Historical Places. As the Aguirre Adobe subsurface components could not be avoided, mitigation of impacts was accomplished through data recovery and mitigation monitoring. The objective of the data recovery program was to lessen development impacts to the former site of the Casa de Aguirre, (Aguirre Adobe). As part of the test and data recovery program, archaeological activities included historical research, backhoe and manual excavation, and analysis of cultural materials. Emphasis during the testing phase was on identifying the location of the adobe foundation, and to determine the presence or absence of other features, such as trash deposits and privies. The data recovery program focused on identifying and documenting the adobe foundation, privies and trash deposits. Field methods, historical research findings, and results for the test and data recovery program are combined in this report. The Aguirre Adobe was built in 1853 by José Antonio Aguirre, a prominent merchant and rancher. In 1867 the Aguirre property, including the original adobe building and several outbuildings, was deeded to the Catholic Church. In the late 1860s and early 1870s the facilities served as a rectory for Fr. Ubach, as a boarding school housing up to 100 American Indian children in the 1880s, and later as a residence until demolished in 1914. The reconstruction of the Aguirre Adobe by Historic Tours of America will provide the City of San Diego with a unique opportunity to rebuild, reinvent and reinvigorate San Diego with “living history” in Old Town.