Downtown San Diego, San Diego, California
Encyclopedia
Downtown San Diego, also referred to as Centre City, is the city center of San Diego, California
, the eighth largest city in America. In 2010, the Centre City area itself had a population of more than 28,000. Downtown San Diego serves as the cultural, financial center and central business district
of San Diego County
.
and four partners purchased 160 acres (64.7 ha) of land in what is now Downtown San Diego, believing that a town closer to the waterfront would attract more trade. They laid out a street plan and built a wharf and warehouse, but nothing much came of their planned development.
In 1867 Alonzo Horton
purchased 800 acres (323.7 ha) of pueblo lands in the current Downtown area, and in 1869 he added Davis’s 160 acres (64.7 ha) to his holdings; the area was referred to as the Horton Addition. Davis’s wharf had fallen to pieces by then, but Horton realized the area was still ideal for a harbor. He built a new wharf at the end of Fifth Avenue in 1869. He vigorously sold property and gave away land to promote development of the area, fueling the first of San Diego’s many real estate speculation booms. People flocked to the area, which became known as New Town, because of its better access to shipping. In 1871 government records were moved to a new county courthouse in New Town. By the 1880s New Town had totally eclipsed Old Town (as it is called to this day) as the heart of the growing city.
In 1885 the transcontinental railroad reached San Diego. The Santa Fe
railway station opened downtown in 1887. (That station was replaced in 1915 by the Downtown landmark Union Station which is still in use.) In 1886 the city’s first electric lights and first streetcars were established in New Town. In 1912 the Spreckels Theater
opened downtown, the first modern commercial playhouse west of the Mississippi. A new commercial pier, the Broadway Pier
, was built by the city in 1913.
In the 1910s, Downtown became one of the many San Diego neighborhoods connected by the Class 1 streetcars
and an extensive San Diego public transit system that was spurred by the Panama-California Exposition of 1915 and built by John D. Spreckels
. These streetcars became a fixture of the neighborhood until their retirement in 1939.
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 Apartment Hotel
). Despite this, low- and mid-rise buildings were beginning construction.
In 1975, redevelopment plans were created for Downtown. In 1985, Downtown underwent more redevelopment with the completion of Horton Plaza
, the Gaslamp Quarter revival, and the completion of the San Diego Convention Center
. Petco Park
, a baseball
ballpark used by the San Diego Padres
, opened in 2004.
Located in Central San Diego
, Downtown San Diego is delimited by San Diego Bay
to the west and southwest, Bankers Hill, Middletown, and Balboa Park to the north, Sherman Heights and Golden Hill to the east, and Barrio Logan and Logan Heights to the southeast. San Diego International Airport
is just northwest of downtown.
's (Lindbergh Field) proximity to downtown, there is a FAA
imposed 500-foot height restriction on all buildings downtown. The height regulation exists because when planes approach the airport, any structure taller than 500 ft. could interfere with flight operations and potentially cause a collision.
operates the downtown San Diego Post Office at 815 E Street. The city's main public library is located across the street from it at 8th and E streets. Other government buildings downtown include City Hall and other city administration buildings, 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.
as well as traveling shows. The San Diego Symphony
is headquartered at Copley Symphony Hall
, a renovated movie palace on 7th Avenue originally built in 1929 as the Fox Theater. The Spreckels Theater
at 1st and Broadway, in continuous operation since 1912, hosts local and traveling performances and productions. The Balboa Theatre
, built in 1924, re-opened in 2008 after extensive renovations as a venue for live performances and concerts. Both the Spreckles and the Balboa theaters are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other downtown theaters include the Lyceum in Horton Plaza
, which hosts the San Diego Repertory Theatre as well as concerts and art shows, and the Sledgehammer Theater. Night clubs such as the House of Blues and Croce’s feature well known musical groups.
aircraft carrier museum ship
, as well as the eight ships and boats of the San Diego Maritime Museum, headlined by the Star of India
.
The San Diego Convention Center
and Petco Park
are located downtown.
The Horton Plaza
and Seaport Village
shopping and dining complexes attract visitors as well as local residents.
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.
; the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade and Festival; the Parade of Lights featuring holiday-decorated boats on the Bay; and the San Diego Street Scene music festival.
. Washington Elementary School is located in the downtown area. San Diego High School
and San Diego City College
are located in the northeastern corner of downtown adjacent to Balboa Park. Middle school students from downtown attend Roosevelt Middle School in the Balboa Park area.
A few private or religious schools exist in the area. California Western School of Law
is located downtown.
Main thoroughfares include Broadway and Market Streets (east/west), and Harbor Drive, Pacific Highway and Park Ave (north/south).
Three freeways either pass through or start/end in downtown San Diego. Highway 163 ends in downtown with the southbound lane of the freeway becoming 10th Ave and 11th Ave becoming the northbound lane at Ash Street. Interstate 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/ends). Additionally, Highway 94 enters downtown from the east, with westbound 94 becoming F Street and G street becoming eastbound 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 along side 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 Horton Plaza and Seaport Village
shopping areas.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the eighth largest city in America. In 2010, the Centre City area itself had a population of more than 28,000. Downtown San Diego serves as the cultural, financial center and central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of San Diego County
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
.
History
The city of San Diego was originally focused in Old Town near the Presidio. In 1850 William Heath DavisWilliam Heath Davis
William Heath "Kanaka" Davis, Jr. was an early settler of San Diego, California.-Life:Davis was born in 1822, in Honolulu, Sandwich Islands to William Heath Davis, Sr. and Hannah Holmes Davis, a daughter of Oliver Holmes, royal governor of Oahu, and relative of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.. Both...
and four partners purchased 160 acres (64.7 ha) of land in what is now Downtown San Diego, believing that a town closer to the waterfront would attract more trade. They laid out a street plan and built a wharf and warehouse, but nothing much came of their planned development.
Alonzo Horton
Alonzo Erastus Horton was an American real estate developer in the nineteenth century. The Horton Plaza mall in downtown San Diego is named for him.-Early life:...
purchased 800 acres (323.7 ha) of pueblo lands in the current Downtown area, and in 1869 he added Davis’s 160 acres (64.7 ha) to his holdings; the area was referred to as the Horton Addition. Davis’s wharf had fallen to pieces by then, but Horton realized the area was still ideal for a harbor. He built a new wharf at the end of Fifth Avenue in 1869. He vigorously sold property and gave away land to promote development of the area, fueling the first of San Diego’s many real estate speculation booms. People flocked to the area, which became known as New Town, because of its better access to shipping. In 1871 government records were moved to a new county courthouse in New Town. By the 1880s New Town had totally eclipsed Old Town (as it is called to this day) as the heart of the growing city.
In 1885 the transcontinental railroad reached San Diego. The Santa Fe
California Southern Railroad
The California Southern Railroad was a subsidiary railroad of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in Southern California. It was organized July 10, 1880, and chartered on October 23, 1880, to build a rail connection between what has become the city of Barstow and San Diego,...
railway station opened downtown in 1887. (That station was replaced in 1915 by the Downtown landmark Union Station which is still in use.) In 1886 the city’s first electric lights and first streetcars were established in New Town. In 1912 the Spreckels Theater
Spreckels Theater Building, San Diego, California
The Spreckels Theater Building was built in San Diego, California in 1912. It was touted as "the first modern commercial playhouse west of the Mississippi". It has been in continuous operation since its opening, with a few brief intervals for refurbishing....
opened downtown, the first modern commercial playhouse west of the Mississippi. A new commercial pier, the Broadway Pier
Broadway Pier, San Diego
Broadway Pier in Downtown San Diego, California, is located on San Diego Bay at the intersection of Broadway and North Harbor Drive. It houses one of San Diego's two cruise ship terminals....
, was built by the city in 1913.
In the 1910s, Downtown became one of the many San Diego neighborhoods connected by the Class 1 streetcars
San Diego Class 1 Streetcars
The San Diego Class 1 Streetcars were a fleet of twenty-four unique streetcars that were originally built to provide transportation for the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. The cars were designed by the San Diego Electric Railway Company under the leadership of John D. Spreckels and...
and an extensive San Diego public transit system that was spurred by the Panama-California Exposition of 1915 and built by John D. Spreckels
John D. Spreckels
John Diedrich Spreckels , the son of German-American industrialist Claus Spreckels, founded a transportation and real estate empire in San Diego, California in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
. These streetcars became a fixture of the neighborhood until their retirement in 1939.
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 Apartment Hotel
El Cortez Apartment Hotel
El Cortez Apartment Hotel is a landmark hotel in San Diego, California. Built from 1926 to 1927, the El Cortez was the tallest building in San Diego when it opened. It sits atop a hill at the north end of Downtown San Diego, where it dominated the city skyline for many years. From its opening in...
). Despite this, low- and mid-rise buildings were beginning construction.
In 1975, redevelopment plans were created for Downtown. In 1985, Downtown underwent more redevelopment with the completion of Horton Plaza
Westfield Horton Plaza
Horton Plaza, officially Westfield Horton Plaza, is a five level outdoor shopping mall located in downtown San Diego and remarkable for its bright colors, architectural tricks and odd spatial rhythms. It stands on six and a half city blocks and is adjacent to the city's historic Gaslamp Quarter. ...
, the Gaslamp Quarter revival, and the completion of the San Diego Convention Center
San Diego Convention Center
The San Diego Convention Center is the primary convention center in San Diego, California. It is located in the Marina district of downtown San Diego near the Gaslamp Quarter, at 111 West Harbor Drive...
. Petco Park
PETCO Park
Petco Park is an open-air ballpark in downtown San Diego, California, USA. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium as the home park of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the NFL's San Diego Chargers...
, a baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
ballpark used by the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
, opened in 2004.
Geography
Central San Diego
Central San Diego is an urban region in San Diego, California. It comprises the core urban neighborhoods surrounding Balboa Park and Downtown San Diego...
, Downtown San Diego is delimited by San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...
to the west and southwest, Bankers Hill, Middletown, and Balboa Park to the north, Sherman Heights and Golden Hill to the east, and Barrio Logan and Logan Heights to the southeast. San Diego International Airport
San Diego International Airport
San Diego International Airport , sometimes referred to as Lindbergh Field, is a public airport located northwest of the central business district of San Diego, California and from the Mexico – United States border at Tijuana, Mexico...
is just northwest of downtown.
Districts and neighborhoods
- Columbia, the west district of downtown.
- Core District, the central business district of downtown.
- Cortez Hill, the north-east district of downtown.
- East Village, the east district of downtown, which is home to Petco ParkPETCO ParkPetco Park is an open-air ballpark in downtown San Diego, California, USA. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium as the home park of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the NFL's San Diego Chargers...
and the surrounding Ballpark Village. - Gaslamp Quarter, a two by ten block night life district in central Downtown
- Little Italy, the north-west district of downtown.
- Marina, the south-west district of downtown, which is home to Seaport VillageSeaport VillageSeaport Village is a shopping and dining complex adjacent to San Diego Bay in downtown San Diego, California. It houses more than 70 shops, galleries, and eateries on of waterfront property. The Village contains several freestanding buildings in an assortment of architectural styles, from...
and Pantoja ParkPantoja ParkPantoja Park is a public park located in the Marina District of Downtown San Diego, California. Originally built in 1850, it is the oldest park in the city of San Diego. The park is named for Don Juan Pantoja y Arriola, a Spanish navigator who drew the first map of San Diego Bay in 1782. In the...
. - Horton District, the district comprising Horton Plaza and adjacent buildings in central downtown.
- Seaport VillageSeaport VillageSeaport Village is a shopping and dining complex adjacent to San Diego Bay in downtown San Diego, California. It houses more than 70 shops, galleries, and eateries on of waterfront property. The Village contains several freestanding buildings in an assortment of architectural styles, from...
, a tourist district within the Marina District, which is not an official district or neighborhood.
Architecture
Due to San Diego International AirportSan Diego International Airport
San Diego International Airport , sometimes referred to as Lindbergh Field, is a public airport located northwest of the central business district of San Diego, California and from the Mexico – United States border at Tijuana, Mexico...
's (Lindbergh Field) proximity to downtown, there is a FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
imposed 500-foot height restriction on all buildings downtown. The height regulation exists because when planes approach the airport, any structure taller than 500 ft. could interfere with flight operations and potentially cause a collision.
Government buildings
The United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates the downtown San Diego Post Office at 815 E Street. The city's main public library is located across the street from it at 8th and E streets. Other government buildings downtown include City Hall and other city administration buildings, 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 IndiaStar of India (ship)Star of India was built in 1863 as Euterpe, a full-rigged iron windjammer ship in Ramsey, Isle of Man. After a full career sailing from Great Britain to India and New Zealand, she became a salmon hauler on the Alaska to California route...
and the BerkeleyBerkeley (ferryboat)The Berkeley was one of several ferryboats of the Southern Pacific Railroad that operated on San Francisco Bay between the Oakland Pier and the San Francisco Ferry Building for sixty years...
, 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 TheatreBalboa TheatreBalboa Theater is a theater located in downtown San Diego, California, that was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Built in 1924, the Balboa Theater was a grand 1920s movie palace with a seating capacity of 1,600. The theater was converted to housing for the U.S. Navy...
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 Apartment HotelEl Cortez Apartment HotelEl Cortez Apartment Hotel is a landmark hotel in San Diego, California. Built from 1926 to 1927, the El Cortez was the tallest building in San Diego when it opened. It sits atop a hill at the north end of Downtown San Diego, where it dominated the city skyline for many years. From its opening in...
at 702 Ash Street - The Hawthorne Inn at 2121 First Avenue
- The Horton Grand HotelHorton Grand HotelHorton Grand Hotel is a restoration of two historic hotels, the Grand Horton and the Brooklyn Kahle Saddlery, in downtown San Diego, California. The Horton-Grand was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980....
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 ParkPantoja ParkPantoja Park is a public park located in the Marina District of Downtown San Diego, California. Originally built in 1850, it is the oldest park in the city of San Diego. The park is named for Don Juan Pantoja y Arriola, a Spanish navigator who drew the first map of San Diego Bay in 1782. In the...
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 TheaterSpreckels Theater Building, San Diego, CaliforniaThe Spreckels Theater Building was built in San Diego, California in 1912. It was touted as "the first modern commercial playhouse west of the Mississippi". It has been in continuous operation since its opening, with a few brief intervals for refurbishing....
at 121 Broadway - Santa Fe Depot at 1050 Kettner Street
- The U.S. Grant Hotel at 326 Broadway
- The U.S. post office at 815 E Street
- The U.S. courthouseJacob Weinberger United States CourthouseThe Jacob Weinberger U.S. Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located in San Diego, California. It is a courthouse for the United States bankruptcy court for the Southern District of California.-Building history:...
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 San Diego OperaSan Diego Opera
The San Diego Opera Association is a professional opera company located in the city of San Diego, California and is a member of OPERA America. It was founded in 1950 to present productions by San Francisco Opera in the San Diego area...
as well as traveling shows. The San Diego Symphony
San Diego Symphony
The San Diego Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in San Diego, California. On 6 December 1910, it gave its first concert as the San Diego Civic Orchestra.Currently, the Symphony performs over 100 concerts each season...
is headquartered at Copley Symphony Hall
Copley Symphony Hall
Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego, California, designed by Weeks and Day, opened in 1929 as the Fox Theatre for $2.5 million. The hall was conferred to the San Diego Symphony in 1984....
, a renovated movie palace on 7th Avenue originally built in 1929 as the Fox Theater. The Spreckels Theater
Spreckels Theater Building, San Diego, California
The Spreckels Theater Building was built in San Diego, California in 1912. It was touted as "the first modern commercial playhouse west of the Mississippi". It has been in continuous operation since its opening, with a few brief intervals for refurbishing....
at 1st and Broadway, in continuous operation since 1912, hosts local and traveling performances and productions. The Balboa Theatre
Balboa Theatre
Balboa Theater is a theater located in downtown San Diego, California, that was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Built in 1924, the Balboa Theater was a grand 1920s movie palace with a seating capacity of 1,600. The theater was converted to housing for the U.S. Navy...
, built in 1924, re-opened in 2008 after extensive renovations as a venue for live performances and concerts. Both the Spreckles and the Balboa theaters are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other downtown theaters include the Lyceum in Horton Plaza
Westfield Horton Plaza
Horton Plaza, officially Westfield Horton Plaza, is a five level outdoor shopping mall located in downtown San Diego and remarkable for its bright colors, architectural tricks and odd spatial rhythms. It stands on six and a half city blocks and is adjacent to the city's historic Gaslamp Quarter. ...
, which hosts the San Diego Repertory Theatre as well as concerts and art shows, and the Sledgehammer Theater. Night clubs such as the House of Blues and Croce’s feature well known musical groups.
Tourist attractions
The Columbia (waterfront) neighborhood of downtown hosts the MidwayUSS Midway (CV-41)
USS Midway was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class, and the first to be commissioned after the end of World War II...
aircraft carrier museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
, as well as the eight ships and boats of the San Diego Maritime Museum, headlined by the Star of India
Star of India (ship)
Star of India was built in 1863 as Euterpe, a full-rigged iron windjammer ship in Ramsey, Isle of Man. After a full career sailing from Great Britain to India and New Zealand, she became a salmon hauler on the Alaska to California route...
.
The San Diego Convention Center
San Diego Convention Center
The San Diego Convention Center is the primary convention center in San Diego, California. It is located in the Marina district of downtown San Diego near the Gaslamp Quarter, at 111 West Harbor Drive...
and Petco Park
PETCO Park
Petco Park is an open-air ballpark in downtown San Diego, California, USA. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium as the home park of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the NFL's San Diego Chargers...
are located downtown.
The Horton Plaza
Westfield Horton Plaza
Horton Plaza, officially Westfield Horton Plaza, is a five level outdoor shopping mall located in downtown San Diego and remarkable for its bright colors, architectural tricks and odd spatial rhythms. It stands on six and a half city blocks and is adjacent to the city's historic Gaslamp Quarter. ...
and Seaport Village
Seaport Village
Seaport Village is a shopping and dining complex adjacent to San Diego Bay in downtown San Diego, California. It houses more than 70 shops, galleries, and eateries on of waterfront property. The Village contains several freestanding buildings in an assortment of architectural styles, from...
shopping and dining complexes attract visitors as well as local residents.
More than 200 cruise ships a year call at the cruise ship terminal. A passenger ferry connects downtown San Diego with Coronado
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
, and San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...
harbor tours depart from Harbor Drive.
Annual events
Downtown events include the Big Bay Balloon Parade, held in conjunction with the Holiday BowlHoliday Bowl
The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I-A college football bowl game that has been played annually at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, since 1978. Beginning with the 2010 playing the bowl will officially be known as the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl after...
; the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade and Festival; the Parade of Lights featuring holiday-decorated boats on the Bay; and the San Diego Street Scene music festival.
Education
The downtown area is served by the San Diego City SchoolsSan Diego City Schools
San Diego Unified School District is the school district of San Diego, California. It was founded in 1854...
. Washington Elementary School is located in the downtown area. San Diego High School
San Diego High School
San Diego High School is an urban public educational complex comprising six small schools located on the southern edge of Balboa Park, in San Diego, California. It is part of the San Diego Unified School District. It is the oldest high school in the San Diego Unified School District and one of the...
and San Diego City College
San Diego City College
San Diego City College is a public, two-year community college located in San Diego, California. City College is part of the San Diego Community College District along with San Diego Mesa College, San Diego Miramar College and San Diego Continuing Education...
are located in the northeastern corner of downtown adjacent to Balboa Park. Middle school students from downtown attend Roosevelt Middle School in the Balboa Park area.
A few private or religious schools exist in the area. California Western School of Law
California Western School of Law
California Western School of Law, founded in 1924, is a private, non-profit law school located in San Diego, California. It is popularly known as California Western or Cal Western and formerly California Western University. The school was approved by the American Bar Association in 1962 and became...
is located downtown.
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 Blvd then move east past Pacific, Kettner, India, Columbia, State, Union and Front Street. The roads then numbered and are called Avenues, starting at 1st Avenue and contunuing to Park Blvd (12th Ave) 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 & I which are replaced with Broadway, Market and Island streets respectively. Steets north of A Street are named after trees and start with Ash Street, and going up to Laurel.Main thoroughfares include Broadway and Market Streets (east/west), and Harbor Drive, Pacific Highway and Park Ave (north/south).
Three freeways either pass through or start/end in downtown San Diego. Highway 163 ends in downtown with the southbound lane of the freeway becoming 10th Ave and 11th Ave becoming the northbound lane at Ash Street. Interstate 5
Interstate 5 in California
Interstate 5 is a major north–south route of the Interstate Highway System in the U.S. state of California. It begins at the Mexico – United States border at the San Ysidro crossing, goes north across the length of California and crosses into Oregon south of the Medford-Ashland metropolitan...
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/ends). Additionally, Highway 94 enters downtown from the east, with westbound 94 becoming F Street and G street becoming eastbound 94.
The downtown area is served by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System is the public transit service provider for Central, South, Northeast and Southeast San Diego County, in the United States. MTS operating subsidiaries include the San Diego Trolley, Incorporated , and San Diego Transit Corporation...
, the San Diego Trolley
San Diego Trolley
The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system operating in the metropolitan area of San Diego. The operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. , is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System ...
. 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
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
passenger rail system.
Parking is mainly concentrated in various "pay to park" lots, with metered parking spaces along side 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 Horton Plaza and Seaport Village
Seaport Village
Seaport Village is a shopping and dining complex adjacent to San Diego Bay in downtown San Diego, California. It houses more than 70 shops, galleries, and eateries on of waterfront property. The Village contains several freestanding buildings in an assortment of architectural styles, from...
shopping areas.
External links
- 2030 Forecast from SANDAGSan Diego Association of GovernmentsThe San Diego Association of Governments is an association of local San Diego County governments. It is the metropolitan planning organization for the County, with policy makers consisting of mayors, councilmembers, and a County Supervisors, and also has capital planning and fare setting powers...
- Centre City Development Corporation
- Downtown Projects List from CCDC
- Downtown Neghborhoods Map from CCDC
- Viva-city
- Clean and Safe Partnership
- SanDiegoDowntown.org
- San Diego Downtown Residents Group
- San Diego Quiet Zone
- Downtown Map