[Illustration: The Old Point Loma Lighthouse, built 1854.]
[Illustration: Gray whale migrations in winter are an annual
spectacle.]
This park honors the man who led the first European exploring
expedition along the California coast. Sailing under a Spanish flag,
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo departed on 27 June 1542 from the port of
Navidad on Mexico’s west coast. He commanded the ship _San Salvador_
(with a crew of 60); with him was _Victoria_, and another smaller
vessel. His objective: “to discover the coast of New Spain.” Three
months later he hove to in “a very good enclosed port”—San Diego Bay.
This was the mariner’s first landfall north of Baja peninsula.
Cabrillo himself died and was buried in the Channel Islands. His crew
went on to explore as far north as Oregon, seeing new landmarks and
new peoples, not all friendly.
The park is located on Point Loma, within the city of San Diego.
Features include a heroic statue of Cabrillo, dramatic views of the
Pacific and San Diego Bay, and Old Point Loma Lighthouse, a 1850s
structure. In winter, the point is a good place to see the annual
migration of the gray whale.
For information about the park and its programs, write:
Superintendent
Cabrillo National Memorial
P.O. Box 6670
San Diego CA 92166
[Illustration: Map]
[Illustration: The 14-foot sandstone statue of Cabrillo is the work
of Portuguese sculptor Alvaro DeBree. Completed in 1939 for the San
Francisco World’s Fair, it was eventually relocated here. The
portrait is conjectural; there is no known likeness of the
explorer.]