• San Diego California Holiday Ornament, California Tower, View 1
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  • San Diego California Holiday Ornament, California Tower, View 3
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San Diego California Holiday Ornament - California Tower

San Diego California Holiday Ornament - California Tower

$28.00 USD
$28.00 USD
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California Tower. A tower built for a party. The party ran two years, ended in 1917, and the tower is still standing a century later.

The California Tower went up for the Panama-California Exposition of 1915, San Diego's bid for attention when the Panama Canal opened and the world's shipping rearranged itself. The architect Bertram Goodhue designed it in Spanish Colonial Revival, and the style was so persuasive that it set the architectural tone for Southern California for decades afterward. Exposition buildings are meant to be temporary. San Diego kept these - they became Balboa Park, and the tower became the museum's front door and the city's signature.

Fairs are built to be torn down, and nearly all of them are. What San Diego did instead was treat a temporary fantasy as permanent civic property, and in doing so gave itself the most beautiful park in the American West.

For the park regular, the museum member, the one who takes every visitor across the Cabrillo Bridge first.

Below are excerpts from our San Diego history page. The San Diego town logo and the full town story are available through the collection link above.

Printed on a three-inch faceted crystal glass round, white-backed so the ornate detail stays crisp and the tiled dome's blue and gold catch tree light. The faceted edge throws light from every angle. Arrives boxed - white or gold gift box, your choice at checkout.

3-inch (76 mm) round crystal glass ornament · faceted gem-cut edge · white-backed print for crisp contrast · red ribbon hanger · your choice of white or gold gift box, included · free U.S. shipping.


QUICK FACTS — SAN DIEGO CA CRYSTAL ORNAMENT — CALIFORNIA TOWER

Town: San Diego, California

Founded: July 16, 1769; city 1850

Known for: Birthplace of California (1769); Balboa Park; the Hotel del Coronado (1888); San Diego Bay and the Navy

Art: California Tower, original Merlin Classics engraving

Blank: 3-inch (76 mm) round clear crystal glass ornament, faceted gem-cut edge

Print: white-backed for contrast; red ribbon hanger

Packaging: white or gold gift box, chosen at checkout

Made to order in the USA



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Wear Local. Feed Local. Stay Classic.

Product FAQs

How does your sizing work?

Every item is made to order, so please check the size chart on this page before you buy. Women's fitted tees run small; size up for a looser fit. Caps are one size with an adjustable strap.

How are items made and when will they arrive?

We make each item to order using premium blanks, embroidery and soft-hand prints. Production takes 2-5 business days (weekends and holidays excluded), then 4-10 days in transit via USPS, UPS or FedEx to U.S. addresses; most orders arrive within 6-15 business days. You'll get a tracking link the moment it ships. Any current shipping offer is shown in the bar at the top of every page and applies automatically at checkout, no code needed.

How do I send a gift?

Enter the recipient's address as the shipping address and your own as the billing address at checkout. Nothing ships with a price; the package includes a plain packing slip. Tracking goes to your email, not theirs. For birthdays and holidays, order two weeks ahead to be safe.

What's the return policy?

Made-to-order items can't be returned or exchanged for size or color, so please use the size chart and photos before ordering. If anything arrives defective, misprinted or damaged, send a photo and your order number within 30 days and we'll replace it or refund you.

How do I care for my item?

Apparel: wash cold, inside out, with like colors; no bleach; tumble dry low or hang dry. Embroidered pieces: iron inside out to protect the stitching. Caps: spot clean. Printed glasses and water bottles: hand wash only, no dishwasher, so the artwork lasts. Mugs and engraved glasses are dishwasher safe. Any item-specific care notes are in the description above.

Who makes this?

Merlin Classics is a small Connecticut brand making original retro designs for the towns people love. Every piece is printed, embroidered or engraved to order in the USA, and the business supports hunger relief in the communities our collections celebrate.

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Today San Diego is where California began, on a bay that has been America's harbor since 1769. Its story runs from the Kumeyaay homeland and Cabrillo's landing, through the first mission and the New Town on the water, to the Exposition's towers and the Navy fleet that still calls the harbor home. Our San Diego designs gather that identity into wearable form — the bear and star, the bay, and the city that never quite turns the lights off. San Diego, California: where the West Coast story started, on a working harbor.

Today San Diego trades on its climate as much as its history — 'America's Finest City,' roughly seventy degrees the year round, with the Pacific at the doorstep. Visitors and locals split their days between Balboa Park's museums and gardens, the coves and cliffs of La Jolla — where bright-orange garibaldi, California's state marine fish, cruise the tide pools and the underwater park — the lighthouse of Point Loma, and the long beaches of Coronado, Mission Beach, and Ocean Beach. The city eats from its own taco shops: fish tacos, carne asada fries, and the california burrito, invented right here. The bay glitters, the sun drops behind Point Loma, and the same harbor that started the whole story keeps right on working into the evening.

Why People Visit San Diego

San Diego rewards visitors with a rare mix: deep early-California history, a working Navy harbor, great parks, and miles of Pacific coast under a famously mild sky. People come for Balboa Park and the bay, the beaches and Point Loma sunsets, and the story of the city where California began — historic, easygoing, unmistakably Californian.

San Diego California Merlin Classics retro vintage logo featuring the California bear and star and 1850