Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego, California
Encyclopedia
The Gaslamp Quarter is the historic heart of San Diego, California
. It is a 16½ block historical neighborhood in Downtown San Diego and is the center of downtown night life. The Quarter is home to many events and festivals, including Mardi Gras
in the Gaslamp, Street Scene Music Festival
, Taste of Gaslamp and ShamROCK, a St. Patrick's Day
event. PETCO Park
, home of the San Diego Padres
is located one block away in downtown San Diego's East Village.
The area is listed as a historic district
on the National Register of Historic Places
as Gaslamp Quarter Historic District. Its main period of development began in 1867, when Alonzo Horton
bought the land in hopes of creating a new city center closer to the bay, and chose 5th Avenue as its main street. After a period of urban decay
, the neighborhood underwent urban renewal
in the 1980s and 1990s, and is today an energetic business and entertainment district.
The Gaslamp Quarter extends from Broadway to Harbor Drive, and from 4th to 6th Avenue, covering 16½ blocks. It includes 94 historic buildings, most of which were constructed in the Victorian Era
, and are still in use with active tenants including restaurants, shops and nightclubs.
When development of the area began in the 1860s, the area currently known as the Gaslamp Quarter was known as New Town, in contrast to Old Town
, which was the original Spanish colonial settlement of San Diego. The name "Gaslamp Quarter" is a reference to the gas lamps that were common in San Diego in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four new gaslamps have been installed at the intersection of Market Street and 5th Avenue to evoke that time.
The Gaslamp Quarter features a pedestrian scramble
at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Market Street.
buys 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) in what will eventually become the Gaslamp Quarter. Despite heavy investment from Davis, little development happens in this period.
1867: Alonzo Horton
arrives in San Diego and purchases 800 acres (3.2 km²) of land in New Town for $265. Major development begins in the Gaslamp Quarter.
1880s to 1900s: Now known as the Stingaree
, the area is home to many saloons, gambling halls, and bordellos
. Wyatt Earp
and his wife Josie come to San Diego and invest in real estate and saloons.
1950s-1970s: The decaying Gaslamp Quarter becomes known as a "Sailor's Entertainment" district, with a high concentration of pornographic theaters, bookshops and massage parlors.
1970: The start of the public interest in preserving buildings downtown, especially in Gaslamp Quarter.
1976: The city adopted the Gaslamp Quarter Urban Design and Development Manual, aimed at preserving buildings in the area, and the redevelopment of Gaslamp Quarter as a national historic district.
1982: Gaslamp Quarter became the major focus of the redevelopments in downtown by the city of San Diego.
populace to its streets. While the Quarter is largely devoid of sky scrapers, and instead has high rise buildings, the architecture is sophisticated and reflects a period of Victorian-style development in the city. The name sake of the Quarter, gas lamps line the streets of the Quarter on all blocks of the area. The abundance of dining venues reveals international aspects of the city that provide people with a variety of dining options reflecting global cuisine.
Shopping venues abound in the Quarter. While numerous clothing stores occupy storefront locations in the Quarter, adjacent Horton Plaza is the larger shopping center accommodating numerous stores.
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...
. It is a 16½ block historical neighborhood in Downtown San Diego and is the center of downtown night life. The Quarter is home to many events and festivals, including Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
in the Gaslamp, Street Scene Music Festival
Street Scene (San Diego music festival)
Street Scene was a music festival that was held each summer in San Diego, California from 1984 to 2009. Street Scene was one of America's largest annual music festivals, growing to include over 70 musical acts covering different musical genres and styles on multiple stages.-History:Beginning in...
, Taste of Gaslamp and ShamROCK, a St. Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
event. 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...
, home of 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...
is located one block away in downtown San Diego's East Village.
The area is listed as a historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as Gaslamp Quarter Historic District. Its main period of development began in 1867, when Alonzo Horton
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:...
bought the land in hopes of creating a new city center closer to the bay, and chose 5th Avenue as its main street. After a period of urban decay
Urban decay
Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
, the neighborhood underwent urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
in the 1980s and 1990s, and is today an energetic business and entertainment district.
The Gaslamp Quarter extends from Broadway to Harbor Drive, and from 4th to 6th Avenue, covering 16½ blocks. It includes 94 historic buildings, most of which were constructed in the Victorian Era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, and are still in use with active tenants including restaurants, shops and nightclubs.
History
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California, is a state protected historical park in San Diego. It commemorates the early days of the town of San Diego and includes many historic buildings from the period 1820 to 1870. The park was...
, which was the original Spanish colonial settlement of San Diego. The name "Gaslamp Quarter" is a reference to the gas lamps that were common in San Diego in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four new gaslamps have been installed at the intersection of Market Street and 5th Avenue to evoke that time.
The Gaslamp Quarter features a pedestrian scramble
Pedestrian scramble
A pedestrian scramble, also known as a 'X' Crossing , diagonal crossing , scramble intersection , and more poetically Barnes Dance, is a pedestrian crossing system that stops all vehicular traffic and allows pedestrians to cross an intersection in every direction, including diagonally, at the same...
at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Market Street.
Timeline
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...
buys 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) in what will eventually become the Gaslamp Quarter. Despite heavy investment from Davis, little development happens in this period.
1867: Alonzo Horton
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:...
arrives in San Diego and purchases 800 acres (3.2 km²) of land in New Town for $265. Major development begins in the Gaslamp Quarter.
1880s to 1900s: Now known as the Stingaree
Stingaree
The Stingaree was a neighborhood of San Diego between the boom of the 1880s and the cleanup of 1916. The reason for the neighborhood's fame was its role as the home to the city's "undesirables", including prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers and gamblers. For similar reasons of societal exclusion, it...
, the area is home to many saloons, gambling halls, and bordellos
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
. Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
and his wife Josie come to San Diego and invest in real estate and saloons.
1950s-1970s: The decaying Gaslamp Quarter becomes known as a "Sailor's Entertainment" district, with a high concentration of pornographic theaters, bookshops and massage parlors.
1970: The start of the public interest in preserving buildings downtown, especially in Gaslamp Quarter.
1976: The city adopted the Gaslamp Quarter Urban Design and Development Manual, aimed at preserving buildings in the area, and the redevelopment of Gaslamp Quarter as a national historic district.
1982: Gaslamp Quarter became the major focus of the redevelopments in downtown by the city of San Diego.
Attractions
The Gaslamp Quarter draws a cosmopolitanMulticulturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
populace to its streets. While the Quarter is largely devoid of sky scrapers, and instead has high rise buildings, the architecture is sophisticated and reflects a period of Victorian-style development in the city. The name sake of the Quarter, gas lamps line the streets of the Quarter on all blocks of the area. The abundance of dining venues reveals international aspects of the city that provide people with a variety of dining options reflecting global cuisine.
Shopping venues abound in the Quarter. While numerous clothing stores occupy storefront locations in the Quarter, adjacent Horton Plaza is the larger shopping center accommodating numerous stores.
Panorama