35 Heritage Park This 7.8-acre park, located at the east end of Old Town on Juan and Harney, is dedi- cated to the preservation of San Diego's Victorian architecture. Expansion downtown after WWII threat- ened these structures with demolition on their original sites. Public and private funds paid for the acquisition, relocation and restoration of the historic buildings. Heritage Park is owned and managed by the County of San Diego. Plans for Heri- tage Park include restoration of current buildings and construction of additional Victorian Homes to be used as Historic Inn's and Bed and Breakfasts. Renovation of many of the buildings began in early 2010 with the Temple Beth Israel's renovation, currently all of the homes have been completed on the outside and the County is waiting to start renovat- ing the inside. BRICK COURTHOUSE was originally built in 1848, and was the first brick building in San Diego. It was built by the Mormon Battalion, and functioned as courthouse until 1869. It has been reconstructed. ALTAMIRANO HOUSE belonged to Jose A. Altamirano, son-in-law of Don Miguel de Pedrorena. Here the San Diego Union issued its first number issue, October 10, 1868, and remained there until June 30, 1870, when the office was moved to the new subdivision, Downtown San Diego. The Altamirano House now houses the San Diego Union Museum. HISTORIC OLD TOWN SAN DIEGO TRAIL CASA MACHADO Y STEWART was origi- nally built in 1836 by Corporal Jose Manuel Machado. After his death the house was occu- pied by his daughter Rosa, who married John S. Stewart, a shipmate on the Alert of Richard Henry Dana, Jr. It has been reconstructed and features an extensive period vegetable garden. THE PLAZA VIEJO was set aside for pub- lic use when the Spaniards planned the town. For many years it was the site of bull and bear baiting contests and other typical Spanish- Mexican activities. It was there that, under the command of Captain John C. Freemont the American flag was raised in the afternoon of July 29, 1846 Historic Sites & Museums SENLIS COTTAGE is a modest Queen Anne cottage, built without gas, electricity, water, or sewer, in 1896 for Eugene Senlis, an employee of San Diego pioneer horticulturist Kate Sessions. SHERMAN-GILBERT HOUSE is a Stick-East lake building, that was built in 1887 by John Sherman, cousin of General William Tecumseh Sherman. TEMPLE BETH ISRAEL was San Diego’s first synagogue, it was constructed by the Congregation Beth Israel in 1889. GEORGE JOHNSON HOUSE is a recon- structed pre-fabricated house, originally built in 1870. BLACK HAWK LIVERY & BLACKSMITH was owned and operated by J. B. Hinton in the 1860's. The present building is a recon- struction.