Each city in San Diego County has its own distinctive history. The city of Escondido is the home to a number of local attractions, including the California Center for The Arts and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
But the North County city, whose name means “hidden,” offers historical charm, as well. KPBS Explores Hidden San Diego visited Grape Day Park and the Escondido Historical Center to step inside a little bit of local history.
“Escondido is kind of where Hidden San Diego was created in my little brain. I lived here in my early twenties, and that's what I learned about Grape Day Park,” Jessica Johnson said. She runs the Hidden San Diego website and has been a regular visitor to the park.
Johnson said after a car accident left her without a vehicle many years ago, she looked for walkable locations that offered a full day of activity. Grape Day Park was one of her finds.
“At first you kind of look around and it looks like a normal park, but then when you go to the outskirts, you see there's all these historic buildings. There's a train here, (and) they open up on the weekends,” Johnson said.
One of the highlights of Grape Day Park is the Santa Fe Depot and a Pullman rail train car, originally built in 1929. What once carried a combination mail and passengers is now a small museum that houses a model train track. It opens to the public on the weekends.
“Especially if you're a train lover or have a kid that's a train lover, this is definitely something that you need to check out,” Johnson said.
The model train exhibit, known as the Grapevine Flyer, was put on display in 1991 after 500 hours of detailed work. But he exhibit was not in working order on the day we visited because of some electrical issues.
The executive director of the organization that maintains the train car says it's in a rough state of repair.
“We have concerns about structural damage," said Cynthia Castaneda of the Escondido History Center. She said the train car is still accessible to the public, but if they find any safety hazards, they would need to close the car.
"And then it would be the concern about whether it would ever reopen — if the funds would be available to reopen it,” Castaneda said.
Castaneda says they face the same funding problem with a Victorian house nearby. The eight-room Queen Anne farmhouse, known as the Hoffman house, originally stood on what is now North Escondido Boulevard. It was moved to the park’s Heritage Walk in 1980 and opened to visitors in 1986.
“The major problem is the wood rot and the possible structural decay that it has caused. We love the house,” Castaneda said. “It just needs a lot of work, unfortunately.”
She explained it is safe to be in the house, “but without the support that it needs, it could reach a point where, unfortunately, we will have to close it.”
Besides the abundant parking and children’s playground, Castaneda says Grape Day Park has a unique charm that makes it perfect for families looking for something more than just a typical city park. “I can literally walk right outside and see buildings that were built in the late 1800s, in the early 1900s. On Tuesday and Saturday, (there’s) a fully functioning blacksmith shop. It's things that you don't normally get in a typical city park,” Castaneda said.
Johnson says she doesn’t think history should only be kept alive in books. “I think history needs to be something you can touch, that you can smell, that you can see," she said.
“We are inside history,” Johnson said. “When I look around San Diego County, I see everything historical being demolished and everything is fresh and polished and it's all looking the same,” Johnson said. “I like historical. I think it adds character to a city, and I think that we need to help save these places.”
