Whaley House Museum / SOHO
Address:
2476 San Diego Ave.
San Diego, CA 92110
Phone Numbers
619-297-7511
The WHALEY HOUSE was built by San Diego pioneer Thomas Whaley to house his growing family and his general mercantile store, and is believed to be the oldest two story brick building in Southern California. Completed in 1857, it served at various times as the county seat and courthouse, San Diego’s first commercial theater, a granary, store, kindergarten and Sunday school, party venue and ballroom, polling place, and meeting place for both the City Council and County Board of Supervisors.
Whaley furnished the residence with Brussels carpets and mahogany and rosewood furniture, creating the most elegant home in San Diego.
Before the house was built, the land it stands on was used for the public hanging of one Yankee Jim Robinson, a boat thief who was executed in September of 1852. Legend has it that the spirit of Yankee Jim never left the spot where the gallows stood and now roams the halls of the Whaley House, just one of the reasons it is known as the MOST HAUNTED HOUSE IN AMERICA.
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