“CABRILLO” LANDING DUE TODAY – The landing 436 years ago of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo on the shores of San Diego Bay will be re-enacted this afternoon as the climax of this year’s CABRILLO FESTIVAL. Senor ‘Cabrillo’, three soldiers and a Priest will step ashore from a replica of the Portuguese explorer’s sailing ship, ‘San Salvador’, at 1:00 p.m. on Shelter Island.
The exact location of the original landing on September 28, 1542 is not known, but it is believed to have been at Ballast Point, farther south on Point Loma. Cabrillo is credited with being the first European to discover San Diego. The week-long celebration will conclude with the Cabrillo Festival Arreal (What is Arreal?! – ed.), beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the United Portuguese Hall, 2818 Addison St.
Last night, Ms. Bea Evenson and Mr. William Nierenberg were honored at a banquet at Vacation Village, sponsored by Cabrillo Club No. 16 and the Portuguese-American Social & Civic Club (P.A.S.C.C.). Ms. Evenson received the ‘Cabrillo Spirit of Leadership on Land’ Award for her work in creating SPANISH LANDING PARK across Harbor Drive from Lindbergh Field (aka. San Diego International Airport now – ed.). She also has been active in restoring Balboa Park, having founded the ‘Committee of 100’ in 1967, and in developing Heritage Park in Old Town, where Victorian-era homes are being placed on public display. Mr. Nierenberg, who received the ‘Cabrillo Award of Excellence – Affairs of the Sea’ Award, is Director of Scripps Institute of Oceanography and University of California – San Diego (aka. U.C.S.D.) Vice-Chancellor for Marine Sciences. He is also a consultant to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and adviser-at-large to the U.S. State Department.”
(*Source: San Diego UNION & Daily Bee newspaper – Sunday, October 1, 1978 – Pg. B1 / dpg 135)
*Adjacent photos and captions: “Mr. John B. Clark Jr. and visiting Portuguese Admiral FONTOURA LANCASTRE examine a bust of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo at the CABRILLO MEDICAL CENTER (7695 Cardinal Court) last night. Mr. Clark is Chairman of the Board of the Medical Center. A re-enactment of Cabrillo’s landing at San Diego Bay is planned for this afternoon.”
(*Source: On the same day, publication, and page; with two photographs was this caption above)
*Editorial Note: It is worth noting that the SPANISH LANDING PARK site that Ms. Bea Evenson helped create in 1976 would eventually become the building site for the ACTUAL, historically accurate replica of Cabrillo’s vessel here, the ‘San Salvador’, built via the San Diego Maritime Museum and launched on July 22, 2015 – some 39 years later; a long-held Dream Come True. *IMHO, any potential ‘interested parties’ in the PA community would ‘do well’ to study and emulate Bea Evenson’s (along with her husband, Frank) civic-minded style and efforts to help ensure success. She did *great* work! ~ BTW, her full name was Marjorie Beatrice Barker Evenson (1900-1981) and she her and husband Frank moved to San Diego in 1924; at one time (1930) living on Point Loma at 3337 Elliot St., in Loma Portal.
Counterpoint: The Cabrillo Medical Center (aka. Cabrillo Hospital) was closed by Sharp HealthCare in 1998 due to ‘low usage’; a long-held dream squandered (?!). No news on the current whereabouts of that particular bust of Cabrillo.