Midway, San Diego

The Midway area, also referred to as the North Bay area, is a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It is located at the northern (mainland) end of the Point Loma peninsula, northwest of Downtown San Diego and just west of Old Town. It is often considered to be part of Point Loma, although the city treats it as a separate Planning Area.

The boundaries of the Midway community plan are the

Historically the area was part of the

In 1850, approximately 687 acres (278 ha) of land in the area was conveyed to a group of ten would-be developers, who subdivided the land in hopes of developing it. The names of some of the original ten investors are remembered in the existing street name system along Pacific Highway, including Emory, Sutherland, Noell, Estudillo, Wright, Banini, Couts, and Witherby.[1] However, the area was still marshy, and little development occurred until the 1930s, when commercial, industrial, and residential development could be found in some areas.^[5]

By the early 1900s, central Midway was known as Dutch Flats and still included a lot of standing water. Dutch Flats was also the name of what was originally a small dirt airstrip in the area used by the

During the 1940s, the Midway area experienced a boom, with numerous war-related industrial sites and thousands of people arriving from all over the country to work at them. At first, they had no place to live except ramshackle camps and tent cities. The Federal government then built a large (approximately 4000 units) housing complex for defense workers, known as the Frontier Housing.[9] Areas along Pacific Highway became wartime factories, and later provided the hub of the city's aerospace industry.^[1]

Throughout the 1950s, the neighborhood became a mecca for then-popular establishments such as a drive-in restaurant (Oscar's, owned by

The Frontier development housed 20,000 people and had three schools, a recreation center, and a library. It was unusual in the Point Loma area because of the diversity of its residents, which made existing homeowners uncomfortable; they lobbied the city to replace the development with something else. During the 1960s the entire housing project was demolished and replaced with the Sports Arena and large retail and commercial areas.[13]

During the 1990s the city proposed to build a “bay to bay” water link between San Diego Bay and Mission Bay, which would have run right through the Midway area.[14] However, the plan received little community support and was abandoned after a consultant's report deemed it not economically feasible.^[15]

The area contains two sites that are listed on the

The area is entirely flat. It consists mostly of “fill” land built up over formerly marshy areas and river sediment deposits. Nothing remains of the former wetlands except Famosa Slough State Marine Conservation Area (a city-owned nature preserve which is technically located in Point Loma but is considered part of Midway by many people) and the San Diego River bed itself.

Most of the area is commercial or industrial in nature, but there are some residential areas, including the seniors-only Orchard Apartments (built on land owned by the city of San Diego), a Navy family housing complex between Rosecrans and Barnett, and some private apartment and condominium developments in the Pacific Highway corridor near the San Diego Trolley.

Economy

The area now consists primarily of medium-to-large strip malls with region-serving stores such as groceries, drugstores, and general and discount stores. There are a few remaining small industrial businesses such as boat repair yards and trucking firms. There are also many airport-related businesses such as long-term parking lots and car rental companies.

A major employer in the area is the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, known as “SPAWAR". SPAWAR is a major Navy Acquisition Command, as well as the parent organization to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center - Pacific, a research laboratory in Point Loma. In February 2019 the name of the facility was changed to Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific. The Navy has indicated it would like to move its facilities elsewhere and lease the site out for redevelopment, possibly as a regional transportation center.^[17]

Midway is also known for a concentration of adult establishments such as strip clubs, partly because city laws regulating such establishments make the area favorable for them, and partly because of the proximity of large military bases (MCRD and formerly the Naval Training Center San Diego) full of young recruits. Homeless people are exceptionally visible in the area, partly because of illegal but tolerated encampments along the San Diego River, and partially due to the presence of numerous establishments such as Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and the San Diego Veterans Village.

Midway was included in the North Bay Redevelopment Project area^[18] until it and all other redevelopment agencies were dissolved by the state of California in 2012.^[19]

Culture

The

The community is located next to the intersection of Interstate 5 and Interstate 8. It is dominated by multi-lane roads which serve as the main ingress and egress for the entire Point Loma peninsula. Rosecrans Street, Midway Drive, Sports Arena Boulevard (formerly known as Frontier Drive), West Point Loma Boulevard and Pacific Highway are the main streets. Traffic is extremely heavy and congestion is common. Two intersections in the Midway area (Midway/Rosecrans and Sports Arena/Rosecrans) are among the worst intersections in the city for accidents, according to the city of San Diego.[22]

Government

The area is part of the Second Council District in the City of San Diego, currently represented by Jennifer Campbell. The Midway Community Planning Group advises the city on planning, land use, and other issues.

References

32°44′28.94″N 117°12′54.7″W / 32.7413722°N 117.215194°W / 32.7413722; -117.215194