Coronado 365 - August 2022

To protect and present

Three organizations collaborate to share and preserve Coronado’s history

If something from the past has piqued your interest, your first stop will most likely be online. The Coronado Historical Association and the library both have websites where you can start your research.

The Coronado Historical Association’s website (coronadohistory.org) allows access to 22,000 images in its collection. Digitized Coronado newspapers dating back to 1887 as well as historical photos are available on the library website (coronado.ca.us/library). The historical association recently released a walking tour app with information on a multitude of significant sites around town.

Need more specific information or want to look at some artifacts? Here’s what you can find where.

The Coronado Historical Association's staff includes Vickie Stone, curator of collections (left), and Christine Stokes, director.

CORONADO HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

Coronado Historical Association, which has its home in the 1911 Bank of Commerce building on Orange Avenue, is dedicated to preserving local history. The organization holds city building permits, biography files and photos as well as an archival vault full of textiles, scrapbooks, uniforms, Hotel del Coronado memorabilia, ceramics and bottles found in archaeological digs, trophies and buttons, to name just some of the thousands of items stored and cataloged in the collection.

Stone deals with paper, ephemera and 3D objects. As a registrar, she is responsible for tracking objects, making sure that proper protocol is followed and provides a paper trail for each piece in the collection.

Stone’s job is to ensure that the physical and intangible aspects of the artifacts are cared for and preserved. She also holds meetings with an acquisitions committee to assess donations (any CHA member can be a member of the committee) and assists with the development of the museum’s exhibits. Providing access to collections material for the public is also part of her job.

CORONADO PUBLIC LIBRARY

At the Coronado Public Library, reference librarians will help you access old phone directories and yearbooks. They will also show you how to use ancestry.com, which is free. The non-circulating office reference collection — those items can’t be checked out — also includes local magazines and a comprehensive collection of books relating to Coronado and San Diego history. For access to these materials, speak with the librarian at the Reference Desk or call (619) 522-2484 for more information.

The library, which dates to 1908, also has special collections, which can be seen by appointment only. The history collection consists of more 20,000 items including maps, photographs, postcards and printed ephemera. Included are rare California state maps dating from 1849 to 1968 and hundreds of rare and limited-edition books on California history.

The library’s photographs include images of Coronado and other areas of San Diego County from the late 1800s to 2005, early aviation at North Island and the Navy, and the San Diego and Coronado Ferry Co., as well as scenes from Tent City, Glorietta Bay and the tea gardens of George T. Marsh. Also included is an extensive postcard collection.

The library has exhibits throughout the year, and not just on Coronado history. Candice Hooper’s job as exhibit curator includes researching, collecting artifacts and creating displays. Hooper also acts as registrar, handling donated items as well as incoming and outgoing loans from the special collections. The preservation specialist has worked at the library for 34 years and is an expert at assisting researchers of Coronado history with extensive knowledge of where to send people to find additional resources for research.

“We serve the public, and we want to answer your questions,” Hooper said. “There’s an amazing strength of resources in Coronado with three professional historical organizations. If you contact one and they can’t help you, they will send you in the right direction for better resources.”

“There’s an amazing strength of resources in Coronado with three professional historical organizations.” CANDACE HOOPER

The original library, designed in 1908 by architect Harrison Albright, has been incorporated into expansions over the years and is now the Spreckels Reading Room.

HOTEL DEL CORONADO

Hotel del Coronado has a private archive that includes 89 volumes of letters of Elisha Babcock Jr., a businessman who co-founded the Hotel Del in 1888, 195 guest registers dating from 1888 to 1915, more than 5,000 photos, original building plans, paper ephemera, dishes, clothing, artifacts, construction tools and such architectural items as railing, moldings and hardware.

Gina Petrone, heritage manager for Hotel del Coronado, maintains the historical archives. While the archives are not open to the public, Petrone is happy to assist with research and direction upon request.

“We each bring something unique to researching Coronado history,” said Petrone, referring to the Coronado Historical Association, the library and The Del). “We’re all trying to define our individual collections better so we can send researchers to the best source.”

The three organizations collaborate regularly, sharing artifacts, information and ideas, as well as coordinate methods for searching collections and caring for the archives.

With the wealth of research material and artifacts available, piecing together Coronado history is easier and more accessible than ever. ■