Downtown Neighborhoods
Scroll down for more detailed information on individual neighborhoods
Marina
Bordered by the Gaslamp Quarter and the Columbia neighborhood, the Marina neighborhood was once comprised of warehouses and vacant lots. Through redevelopment, beginning in the early 1980s, the Marina now offers high-rise and mid-rise condominiums and apartments, townhouses, loft and single-room-occupancy (SRO) units, in a variety of styles, sizes and prices. Marina, characterized by open space, educational and cultural sites, and its convenient locale, is a remarkable residential setting for families, professionals and retirees.
Attractions of this neighborhood include the Martin L. King, Jr. Promenade; the Children's Park with its urban forest, reflecting pond and fountain; historic Pantoja Park, the Children's Museum; a portion of the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District and two trolley stops. Its proximity to San Diego Bay, the Embarcadero Marina Park, the waterfront boardwalk, Seaport Village, the San Diego Convention Center and waterfront hotels make the Marina a dynamic center for entertainment and business.
Seven hundred and fifty-six residential units, 750 hotel rooms, over 29,600 square feet of retail, and 480 parking spaces are slated for development within the next three years. A new Children's Museum and Park, and Seaport Village Expansion are other upcoming projects certain to enhance the attraction and quality of life in this popular neighborhood.
Columbia
Downtown's Columbia neighborhood encompasses the area between the waterfront and Union Ash, and F streets. Broadway, downtown's main street, begins at the Broadway Pier and runs through the center of this district. Though largely a commercial neighborhood, Columbia is the site of healthy development of all kinds. Over 1,800 residential units, 1,009,000 square feet of commercial space and hundreds of parking spaces are planned for development by 2006. Columbia is also home to the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, the Federal and County courthouses, and the State Office Building.
This region was formed from the bordering portions of two former districts: one zoned for commercial use, and the other for recreation. Previously, the Core, Columbia and Horton Plaza districts all comprised the Central Core district, whose plan emphasized the "highest level intensity governmental, commercial, office and residential development," according to the 1992 Centre City Community Plan. Over a decade later, this vision holds true in Columbia.
The waterfront in this neighborhood is a significant portion of the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, which includes development of, and along a 100-foot wide boardwalk to provide entertainment, dining, shopping, and increased access to the natural beauty of the area. More than $50 million is designated for public amenities in the project, meant to facilitate enjoyment of the natural environment, rather than to substitute a commercial one. The "water first" strategy is fundamental to the Visionary Plan, which also includes restructured piers and new activity centers.
Little Italy
The sloping landscape at the northern shore of San Diego Bay was once home to a thriving tuna fishing industry and the Italian-Americans who derived their livelihood from it. As the tuna industry declined and a significant portion of the neighborhood was disrupted by the construction of Interstate 5, Little Italy suffered decades of depreciation. When local business owners and residents teamed up with the Centre City Development Corporation in the early 1990s, things started looking up. They envisioned revitalization of the commercial district and preservation of the small scale and cultural dynamic of the community.
Little Italy today represents some of the finest of San Diego living: bay views, fine food, art and cultural festivities, and affordable residences. Its lovely vistas now offer an urban neighborhood with single-family homes, condominiums and apartments. A recently revitalized India Street is alive with restaurants, small cafes, galleries and specialty shops. Our Lady of the Rosary Church and Washington Elementary School remain important institutions of the area. Amici Park serves both as a playground for the school and a park, including a bocce ball court, for the community. Little Italy hosts over half-a-dozen annual festivals in celebration of holidays, music and art, including Festa, "Chalk La Strada," a Bocce Ball Tournament, ArtWalk, a jazz festival and Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter celebrations. The Little Italy Association brings the story of Little Italy to its visitors through public art displays. Five hundred parking spaces, 33,500 square feet of retail, 1,630 residential units, a County Waterfront Park and the India Street Revitalization Project are among the developments in the pipeline for Little Italy.
Gaslamp Quarter |
San Diego's Historic Gaslamp Quarter has become one of San Diego's most popular neighborhoods, featuring a charming blend of old and new building teeming with activity. In the 1870s Alonzo Horton built a wharf at the foot of Fifth Avenue and a development boom ensued. Although these days a wide variety of people enjoy the Gaslamp's bars and restaurants, the original visitors of the 1880s were gamblers and prostitutes, such as Wyatt Earp and Ida Bailey, who founded numerous gambling halls, saloons and brothels in San Diego's red light district, the Stingaree. San Diego remained a popular navy liberty port until 1912 when city officials cracked down on prostitution, effectively shutting down the lively Stingaree. In 1885, the Chinese Mission School opened; it quickly became a social center for Chinese and Japanese immigrants and facilitated interaction between Caucasian and Asian San Diegans. Today the Gaslamp's unique architecture stands as a testament to its 30-year heyday, between the years 1880 and 1910. Through the 1900s, the Gaslamp Quarter suffered economic and social decline, as the old buildings deteriorated and criminal activity mounted.
In an effort to combat social blight, the Redevelopment Agency drew upon the historic character of the Gaslamp Quarter to infuse it with new life. Their objective formed in 1976 was to "preserve the distinctive character of the original commercial architecture found in the Gaslamp Quarter while also providing for orderly change." The success of Horton Plaza, opened in 1985, helped stimulate the initial redevelopment activity within the Gaslamp Quarter. This 16.5-block neighborhood is now recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, and its 94 historically or architecturally significant structures now house more than 70 restaurants and nightclubs, movie theaters, shops, offices, galleries and lofts. The Asian Pacific Thematic District also has a significant history in the Gaslamp, and several Asian-style buildings still stand. Currently, 95,500 square feet of retail, 334 hotel rooms, and 364 residential units are planned for development over the next three years. Annual events such as Street Scene, the Mardi Gras Celebration, ShamRock, Taste of Gaslamp, and Cinco in the Gaslamp are held in this district, to the delight of San Diego area residents and visitors.
East Village
Boosted by plans surrounding Petco Park, development has skyrocketed in this district, the last to be developed by the city. Nearly 7,000 parking spaces; 1,056,900 square feet of retail space; 2,396 hotel rooms; and 2,429 residential units are planned for completion by 2006. Other projects include: Park at the Park, a picnic area and neighborhood park; East Village Square, a 500,000 square foot retail, entertainment and office development north of the ballpark; Campus at the Park, space for technology and office buildings on Park Boulevard; and the Park to Bay Link, a tree-lined promenade linking Balboa Park and San Diego Bay along Twelfth Avenue. Furthermore, four hotels, a new Main Library and numerous public improvements are planned.
East Village is San Diego's largest and most rapidly developing neighborhood. Schools, a central police station, commercial services and industry balance the residential land use. This center of modern urban development is also San Diego's arts district, spotted with artists' homes, studios, galleries and shops. The Redevelopment Agency has focused on giving East Village residents "an enviable quality of life" through beautification, rehabilitation, employment opportunities, and the development of East Village as an arts and entertainment center.
East Village had suffered from deterioration, crime and homelessness before the Centre City Community Plan was implemented in 1992. Vast public improvements, social services, and commercial and residential developments have made over East Village, with an emphasis on its rich culture. Now, former warehouses and other old buildings have been transformed into charming residential lofts. The New School of Architecture, San Diego City College and two high schools augment this neighborhood's youthful, creative population.
Core
Downtown's Core neighborhood stretches from A Street to Broadway and Union and 12th Avenue. As its name connotes, the Core is the visual and physical center of downtown. Alonzo Horton began hotel and retail developments here in the 1860s and in the 1920s saw the addition of several grand theatres. The Core was downtown's fashionable business and entertainment quarter until the urban center's decline began in the 1960s. Since the Centre City Development Corporation's inception in 1975, development of the Core has been a crucial element to revitalizing San Diego's downtown area. Many old buildings have been renovated for new residential and commercial uses, drawing people into the neighborhood to live and work.
This Core now serves as the San Diego region's government and corporate hub, housing the Civic Center, City Hall, the Small Business Administration and the World Trade Center. Broadway and C Street are focal areas for daytime and nighttime activities fostered by street-level merchants. Existing notable structures in the Core include the Westgate and U.S. Grant hotels, the City Administration Building complex, Community Concourse and the Civic Theatre, the new Central Jail, trolley stops along C Street, and the high-rise offices of the B Street "Financial Corridor."
