| Downtown San Diego Neighborhoods/Districts | ||
| Back to Main Menu | Columbia | Core | Cortez Hill | East Village | Gaslamp Quarter | Horton Plaza | Little Italy | Marina | Map | ||
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For more information read the Downtown Community Plan (40 pages) |
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 The 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
neighborhood. Primarily a commercial neighborhood, there
are also several residential buildings. Columbia is home
to the
San Diego Museum of
Contemporary Art, the
Federal and
County
courthouses, and the
State Office Building,
County Administration Building, the
Historic Santa Fe Train Depot,
the
Cruise Ship Terminals,
the
Embarcadero Promenade,
the
USS Midway and the
Maritime Museum of San Diego.This region was formed from the bordering portions of two former neighborhoods: one zoned for commercial use, and the other for recreation. Previously, the Core, Columbia and Horton Plaza neighborhoods 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.
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 Downtown's Core neighborhood stretches
from A Street to Broadway and Union to 12th Avenue. 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, San Diego Housing Federation, and the Small Business Administration. Broadway and C Street are focal areas for daytime and nighttime activities fostered by street-level merchants. Notable historic structures in the Core on Broadway include the Sofia (formerly the Pickwick), the Marriott (formerly San Diego Trust & Savings) and U.S. Grant hotels. [see also Thomas Wolcott Sefton & SOHO)
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 Named after the historic
El Cortez Hotel,
this neighborhood is one of San Diego's oldest
and most distinguished residential
neighborhoods. North of downtown's Core and
south of I-5 between Tenth Avenue and Union
Street, the 111- acre Cortez Hill is two
neighborhoods in one. East of Sixth Avenue rises
downtown's highest land mass, the hill dominated
by the El Cortez Apartments (formerly
El Cortez Hotel).
West of Sixth Avenue the flatter area is known
as Cortez West. The hill has drawn residents for
over a century, and the original Victorian style
dwellings of the first settlers have now become
part of its charm.
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 Boosted
by plans surrounding
Petco Park,
development skyrocketed in this neighborhood, the last
to be developed by the city. 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.
East Village is San Diego's largest Downtown 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.
The East Village has a rich African-American heritage and the Black Historical Society of San Diego & Museum is located here. See Harlem of the West & a History of African-Americans in Downtown San Diego 1860 - 1960 |
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| Gaslamp Quarter | ||
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| Horton Plaza | ||
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| 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.
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 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.
The Marina District is one of the older and more established Downtown San Diego Neighborhoods. |
Other notable structures include the
elegant
In 1992, the Redevelopment
Agency envisioned reviving this district by
further developing the hill for residential use,
and encouraging a mix of residential and
commercial infill. Schools, churches and a
pedestrian-friendly environment now characterize
the western portion of Cortez Hill. Commercial
shops and sidewalk cafes line Fifth and Sixth
Avenues, and Ash Street provides a gateway to
the waterfront. As the highest land mass in the
Centre City Community Planning area, Cortez Hill
boasts views of urban San Diego, Balboa Park,
the bay and Pacific Ocean. The intimate
neighborhood feeling, diverse housing, proximity
to the downtown core and Balboa Park, and
waterfront and mountain views make Cortez Hill a
desirable location. A notable feature of Cortez
Hill is
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
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
In 1885, the
The
When he arrived in 1867,
Named after his
namesake
Attractions of this neighborhood include the
