Downtown San Diego
Downtown San Diego is the city center of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. In 2010, the Centre City area had a population of more than 28,000. Downtown San Diego serves as the cultural and financial center and central business district of San Diego, with more than 4,000 businesses and nine districts. The downtown area is the home of the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Opera as well as multiple theaters and several museums.[1][2] The San Diego Convention Center and Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, are also located downtown. Downtown San Diego houses the major local headquarters of the city, county, state, and federal governments.
History
The downtown of San Diego was previously inhabited by the Kumeyaay who referred to the area as Tisirr, and also established a village called Pu-Shuyi near what is now Seaport Village.[3][4]
The city of San Diego was originally focused on
In 1867,
In 1885, the transcontinental railroad reached San Diego. The
In the 1910s, Downtown became one of the many San Diego neighborhoods connected by
In 1964 the multi-story City Hall and Community Concourse were dedicated on a four-block-square property at 202 C Street. Recent mayors and city councils have discussed building a replacement city hall, but no replacement plan has been approved.
In the 1960s, Centre City began to fall into a state of disrepair and disrepute. Major businesses and stores moved from downtown to suburban shopping malls. Downtown became known as a hangout for homeless people and sailors on liberty. Tattoo parlors, bars, and strip clubs were predominant forms of business. Trash littered the Gaslamp Quarter, many 19th century Victorian houses were rundown, and there were few buildings of significant size (the tallest building at the time was fourteen stories, the locally famous El Cortez).[16] Despite this, low- and mid-rise buildings were beginning construction.
In 1975, redevelopment plans were created for Downtown.
Chinatown
In the 1860s, the first Chinese moved to Downtown.
Geography
Located in
Districts and neighborhoods
- Columbia, the west district of downtown. Located between the Marina and Little Italy, west of Columbia Street.
- Core District, the central business district of downtown.
- Cortez Hill, the northeast district of downtown.
- East Village, the east district of downtown, which is home to Petco Park and the surrounding Ballpark Village.
- Gaslamp Quarter, a two- by ten-block nightlife district in central Downtown
- Little Italy, the northwest district of downtown.
- Marina, the southwest district of downtown, which is home to Seaport Village and Pantoja Park.
Architecture
Due to San Diego International Airport (Lindbergh Field)'s proximity to downtown, there is a FAA imposed 500-foot height restriction on all buildings within a 1.5-mile radius of the runway.[27] The height regulation exists because when planes approach the airport, any structure taller than 500 feet within the radius could interfere with flight operations and potentially result in a collision.[28]
Government buildings
The United States Postal Service operates the downtown San Diego Post Office at 815 E Street.[29] The city's former main public library is located across the street from it at 8th and E streets, but currently is vacant. A new nine-story Central Library opened in 2013 on Park Boulevard at J Street.[30] Other government buildings downtown include City Hall and other city administration buildings, the San Diego Police Headquarters at 14th and Broadway, the State of California office building at 1350 Front Street, and a three-block federal office complex at 8th and Front streets. County and federal courthouses are also located downtown.
Historic landmarks
The Downtown area contains numerous sites that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They include:
- The Gaslamp Quarter Historic District
- The Star of India and the Berkeley, historic ships berthed at the B Street Pier in downtown
- The Alfred Haines House at 2470 E Street
- The Armed Services YMCA at 500 West Broadway
- The Balboa Theatre at 868 Fourth Avenue
- The former City of San Diego police headquarters, jail, and courts at 801 Market Street
- Eagles Hall at 733 Eighth Street
- The El Cortez Condominiums at 702 Ash Street
- The Hawthorne Inn at 2121 First Avenue
- The Horton Grand Hotel at 332 F Street
- The Independent Order of Odd Fellows building at 526 Market Street
- The John Ginty House at 1568 Ninth Avenue
- The McClintock Storage Warehouse at 1202 Kettner Boulevard
- The Medico-Dental Building at 233 A Street
- The Panama Hotel at 105 West F Street
- Pantoja Park on G Street and India Street
- The Pythias Lodge Building at 211 E Street and 870 Third Avenue
- The Robert E. Lee Hotel at 815 Third Avenue and 314 F Street
- The San Diego Rowing Club building at 535 East Harbor Drive
- The San Diego Trust and Savings Bank Building at 530 Broadway
- The Spreckels Theaterat 121 Broadway
- Santa Fe Depotat 1050 Kettner Street
- The U.S. Grant Hotel at 326 Broadway
- The U.S. post office at 815 E Street
- The U.S. courthouse at 325 West F Street
- The Walker Scott Building and Owl Drug Building at 1014 Fifth Avenue and 402 Broadway
Arts and culture
The Civic Theatre in the Community Concourse is the home of the
Filming locations
Other films shot in the downtown neighborhood include
Tourist attractions
The
The San Diego Convention Center and Petco Park are located downtown.
The
More than 200 cruise ships a year call at the cruise ship terminal. A passenger ferry connects downtown San Diego with Coronado, and San Diego Bay harbor tours depart from Harbor Drive.
Annual events
Downtown events include the Big Bay Balloon Parade, held in conjunction with the
Education
The downtown area is served by the
A few private or religious schools exist in the area.[43][44] California Western School of Law is located downtown.[45]
Infrastructure
Streets are laid out in a grid pattern and many are designated for one-way traffic. North–south roads have both names and numbers. The named roads begin with Harbor Boulevard and then move east past Pacific, Kettner, India, Columbia, State, Union and Front streets. The roads are then numbered and are called avenues, starting at 1st Avenue and continuing to Park Boulevard (12th Avenue). The general pattern is that even numbered streets head south, and odd numbered streets go north. East–west streets are laid out alphabetically from A to K, with the exception of D, H and I, which are replaced with Broadway, Market Street and Island Avenue, respectively. Streets north of A Street are named after trees, starting with Ash Street and going up to Laurel.
Main thoroughfares include Broadway and Market Street (east–west), and Harbor Drive, Pacific Highway and Park Avenue (north–south).
Three freeways either pass through or start/end in downtown San Diego. State Route 163 (SR 163) ends in downtown with the southbound lane of the freeway becoming 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue becoming the northbound lane at Ash Street. Interstate 5 (I-5) passes above the downtown area and is accessible from selected streets outside of the actual downtown area or at the intersection of 10th/11th and Ash (where 163 starts and ends). Additionally, SR 94 enters downtown from the east, with westbound SR 94 becoming F Street and G street becoming eastbound SR 94.
The downtown area is served by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, the San Diego Trolley. There is also a commuter train linking downtown with northern San Diego County, called the Coaster, which also stops at communities along the San Diego County costaline, as well as the Amtrak passenger rail system.
Parking is mainly concentrated in various "pay to park" lots, with metered parking spaces alongside most streets. There is also parking available at the County operation center (located between Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway, just north of Ash), as well as
See also
- North Embarcadero Visionary Plan
References
- ^ a b "Abortive Attempt to Establish New San Diego", Smythe's History of San Diego part 2, chapter 14
- ^ "Downtown San Diego". downtownsandiego.org. Downtown San Diego Partnership. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ "Kumeyaay Sense of the Land and Landscape". Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ^ Vaughn, Susan. "Invasion of the Tall Buildings | San Diego Reader". www.sandiegoreader.com. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
- ^ San Diego Historical Society Biography of William Heath Davis
- ^ Gaslamp Museum at the William Heath Davis House
- ^ "Early Journalism in San Diego The San Diego Herald and The San Diego Union". San Diego History Center. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ "John Judson Ames (1821 - 1861)". San Diego History Center. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ "Community Plan Update for the Community of Old Town Prehistoric Cultural Resources" (PDF). January 2015.
- ^ San Diego Historical Society biography of Alonzo Horton
- ^ Engstrand, Iris Wilson, California’s Cornerstone, Sunbelt Publications, Inc., 2005, p. 88
- ^ "San Diego Historical Society timeline". Archived from the original on 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
- ^ San Diego Historical Society timeline
- ^ San Diego Historical Society: Spreckels Theater
- ^ Hurley, Morgan M. (June 8, 2012). "Restored historic streetcar showcased at Trolley Barn Park". San Diego Uptown News. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
- ^ Journal of San Diego History, Volume 46, No. 1, Winter 2000
- ^ History of the City of San Diego Archived October 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. San Diego Government. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
- ^ Hacker, Steven (2005). "The Rhetoric Versus the Facts: What the Brookings Report Fails to Reveal" (PDF). International Association for Exhibition Management. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ Stouse, Amanda (11 June 2009). "Asian historic district set to get a makeover". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ Saito, Leland (Winter 2003). Hennessey, Gregg (ed.). Reclamation and Preservation (Report). San Diego Historical Society. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ Chu, Amy (8 April 1982). "The Climb to Gold Mountain: San Diego's Chinatown". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ Bay, Carlos (6 February 1975). "Chinatown". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ Dotinga, Randy (8 July 2010). "A Closer Look at S.D.'s Chinatown". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ Guevarra Jr., Rudy P. (Winter 2008). ""Skid Row": Filipinos, Race and the Social Construction of Space in San Diego" (PDF). The Journal of San Diego History. 54 (1): 26–38. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ Centre City Development Corporation (March 2006). Final Environmental Impact Report (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ Wong, Cliff (2 October 2015). "Exploring San Diego's forgotten Chinatown". Sampan. Boston: Asian American Civic Association. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ Shaw, Gary. "Not Sprawling To Ramona Archived October 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine". San Diego Metropolitan (October 2003). Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
- ^ FAA Information about San Diego International Airport (SAN). Airport-data.com (2013-12-12). Retrieved on 2014-05-24.
- ^ "Post Office Location - DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO Archived June 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
- ^ "New main library is a creation in concrete", San Diego Union-Tribune, November 16, 2011
- ^ "About MCASD". Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. MCASD. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ Cámara, Ana Sofia de la (2021-05-20). "10 Movies You Didn't Know Were Filmed In San Diego". Secret San Diego. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ "Demolition Man (1993)". Film Oblivion. 2020-04-08. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ Pamus, Jacob (2023-09-26). "Everybody Dies by the End: Horror Film Shot in Jamul and San Diego Now Available Online". East County Magazine. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ Stone, Ken (2020-07-25). "San Diego's Spielberg? Q&A With Director Brian Butler Near Sci-Fi Film Premiere". Times of San Diego. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ "Luke Pensabene | Co-Producer – Friend of the World". Charybdis Pictures. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ "San Diego Filmography". San Diego History Center | San Diego, CA | Our City, Our Story. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ Board, Josh (2010-06-10). "MOVIE REVIEW: My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done | SanDiego.com". SanDiego.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ Swil, Warren (1980-01-24). "Welcome to Borderline and other movies made in San Diego | San Diego Reader". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
- ^ San Diego Street Scene website
- ^ San Diego City Schools schoolfinder
- ^ Balboa School website
- ^ City Tree Christian School website
- ^ Cal Western School of Law website Archived 2008-12-16 at the Wayback Machine