In Downtown San Diego, the buildings sometimes
have an interesting history. Which building used to be a famous brothel? Which used to be
an opium den? Which was a favorite hang out of Wyatt Earp? And which was the city morgue?
Read on to learn more about the often rich
history of our downtown area.
As the San Diego community grew in the new
state of California, a government surveyor Andrew Gray (1820-1862)
recognized that the best place for a seaport city was on the bay, the site of today's
downtown. William
Heath Davis (1822-1909) of San Francisco agreed. For $2,304 Davis and three other
businessmen purchased 160 acres of waterfront land, up to what is now Front and Broadway.
He named it "New Town".
 They laid out 56
blocks, and dedicated Pantoja Plaza, the first park, as the center of New Town. Pantoja
Plaza remains today, as the center of much activity in the Marina District, surrounded by
condos such as Park Row, Marina Park, The Watermark
and Columbia Place.
 Davis purchased 14
prefabricated houses, built in New England, then constructed a wharf and warehouse in
preparation of the anticipated residents and shipping opportunities. Unfortunately, and
economic depression followed. While events of his day did not permit Davis to achieve his
dream, his ideas were a premonition as to what would occur in years to come. Of the 14
houses, one still exists (pictured to the right), at the corner of Fourth and Island. Now
operated as a museum by the Gaslamp
Quarter Historical Foundation, it is the oldest house still standing downtown.
Alonzo Erastus Horton (1813-1909)
purchased 960 acres of New Town within one month of arriving in San Diego. He paid a total
of $264 (27.5 cents per acre). He created a grid of streets with small blocks and without
alleys, allowing for a larger number of (more valuable) corner lots to be sold. The first
real estate boom was under way. The price of downtown lots doubled and tripled over and
over. New Town was established as the physical, social and economic hub of San Diego. Horton House, built where the U.S. Grant Hotel is now located, was one of the
finest hotels of the day. In addition to being president of the first Bank of San Diego,
he also donated land for a small town square that became Horton Plaza Park.
  
click image to learn more
San Diego’s first electric street lights
were installed downtown in 1886, and trolley lines began operating in 1888 over 37 miles
of track. Elegant office buildings dotted Fifth Avenue where the region’s business
occurred during the day. South of Market Street, however, several blocks of bawdy houses,
gin joints, gambling halls and opium dens, known as the Stingaree district, provided the
night life. The area today is part of the historic Gaslamp
Quarter.
  
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The Chinese community began downtown during
this period with the building of the railroad. The sights and sounds of China became
evident on the streets off Fifth Avenue as Cantonese merchants opened shops. Ah
Quin (1848-1914) came here to serve as a labor broker for the California Southern
Railroad. Quin was a man respected by all, a highly successful entrepreneur, a community
leader and patriarch, who bridged Chinese and American cultures. Despite living in the Stingaree,
he aided other Chinese in finding work and also improved living conditions. Known
affectionately as the Mayor of Chinatown, Quin’s success in assimilating Asians into
American life is ironically evidenced by the lack of a significant Chinatown in San Diego
today.
 Wyatt Earp (1848-1929)
arrived in San Diego after his Tombstone days. He invested heavily from 1885 to 1887, in
the Stingaree
district real estate and saloons. Earp owned or leased four saloons and gambling halls;
the most famous was the Oyster Bar, located in the Louis
Bank Building on Fifth Avenue.
click image to learn more
Speaking of Wyatt Earp, there is (or was, I'll
have to revisit) an interesting shop at 413 Market called "Wyatt Earp Museum, Books,
& Collectables".
Doc Holliday the man, did not live here as far
as I know. But my dog is named "Doc Holliday", if you want to see photos of him
and local pets, visit his website here.
Back to our history...
   
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The late 1890s ushered in a difficult period
for San Diego. The city’s struggling economy owed much of the following recovery to a
wealthy businessman named John D. Spreckels. He came to
downtown in 1887 for a visit from his home in San Francisco. He made his visit permanent.
In downtown, Spreckels was responsible for a great deal of growth. At one time, he owned
most of the acreage south of Broadway. He purchased the streetcar system and changed it
from horse-power to electricity. He also bought the San Diego Union and The
Tribune newspapers. San Diego’s cultural life benefited from his accomplishments,
as well, including the building of the landmark Spreckels Theatre (the first modern
commercial playhouse west of the Mississippi). He also built the San Diego Union Building,
the Hotel San Diego and the Bank of America Building at Sixth and Broadway. Built in 1927,
that was the last downtown building of any significant size built until the 1970s when the
current redevelopment program began.
  
click image to learn more
Also during this period, George Marston was busy focusing
on ways to improve life and provide opportunities for residents living in the growing
community. Marston had clerked for storekeeper Joseph Hash for five years before he and
partner Charles Hamilton bought the business for $10,000. Marston’s ultimately became
San Diego’s premier department store. An advocate for urban growth and development,
he was the founder of the San Diego Historical Society, and established both Presidio Park
and the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
In 1902, Marston put up $10,000 to allow the
city’s park commission to hire Samuel Parsons, landscape
architect for the City of New York, to prepare the first comprehensive plan for Balboa
Park.
In Marston's vision, Cedar Street was to be a
grand boulevard, lined with stately government buildings from the waterfront to Balboa
Park. The County Administration Building was the only building constructed. The later
construction of I-5 cut through downtown, shutting off any future opportunity to achieve
this plan.
The Panama-California
Exposition of 1915 and the California-Pacific Exposition of the early 1930s, along
with national tragedies posed by the Depression and First and Second World Wars, all had
much to do with shaping downtown San Diego between 1900 and 1950.
To be continued...
I hope you have enjoyed this look into our
history. As I continue to walk around downtown, if I find more buildings with colorful
histories, I'll be sure to snap the photos and add them to this page.
On another note, real estate is my business.
Whether it's buying, selling, or just a question, please stay in touch.If you have any
friends or family thinking about living or investing in Downtown, please give them my
name, phone number, email, or web site address, www.sdcondo.com.
My best,
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