Agua Caliente is a historic entertainment center and present-day district of

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, at the southeastern end of the ''Centro'' borough. The ''Agua Caliente Tourist Complex'' formed in the late 1920s along Agua Caliente Boulevard when a road was built that led from the historic Rio Zone to a natural hot springs two miles up the

Tijuana River , name_etymology = , image = Presa Tij 1.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Dam on the Tijuana River in Mexico. , map = Tijuana River Basin.svg , map_size = 250 , map_caption ...

Valley. Paramount icons of Tijuana developed in Agua Caliente such as the

Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel The Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel is a now-defunct resort that operated from 1928 to 1935. Although the casino and hotel were closed, the racetrack continued to operate for many years. The original grandstand structure was destroyed by fire in 1 ...

and the Agua Caliente Racetrack. Today Agua Caliente is one of Tijuana's paramount tourist centers, the location of some of the city's most affluent neighborhoods, and also contains commercial and other offices along Boulevard Agus Caliente.

History

The hot springs around which the Agua Caliente Tourist Complex grew was a well known location and prior to major development, was the site of small hotels and cabins. With the development of the casino and resort in 1928, Agua Caliente developed as a premier tourist attraction that drew the likes of

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consid ...

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

, and

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...

. The resort was designed in a Mexican and Californian colonial style, fitted with gardens, its own airstrip, bungalows, minarets, baths, and the casino and hotel itself. The Agua Caliente Club was a golf course adjacent to the city that later became the Tijuana Country Club. In 1930 the golf course had its first

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

event at the Agua Caliente Open, won by

Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (alon ...

. The Agua Caliente Racetrack was constructed one year later in 1929 and was the site of the

Agua Caliente Handicap The Agua Caliente Handicap is a defunct thoroughbred horse race that was once the premier event at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and the richest race in North America. Inaugurated in 1917 as the Coffroth Handicap, it ...

. The race attracted wealthy

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

ns and was the richest race in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. In 1935, then Mexican President

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the Me ...

outlawed gambling and the resort was closed. The resort was converted into a technical school and the site gradually fell into a state of disrepair as the resort furnishings were stripped away. Though the race track continued to operate, gambling was not legalized until 1938. In 1971 the original structure of the racetrack was destroyed in a fire. It was later repaired and continues operation today, though horse racing has been replaced with

Greyhound Racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tr ...

, as the Racetrack of Agua Caliente ( es, Hipódromo de Agua Caliente).

Plaza Aguacaliente & Grand Hotel Tijuana The Plaza Aguacaliente & Grand Hotel Tijuana (commonly known by locals as Las Torres) is a high-rise complex of twin skyscrapers in Tijuana, Mexico. With a height of 89.9 meters (295 feet) to the top floor, and 28 stories, they were the tallest ...

are a set of twin towers built adjacent to the Tijuana Country Club, constructed in 1982. It was the first major complex built in Agua Caliente after the original Tourist Complex. The early 2000s saw the establishment of

Estadio Caliente The Estadio Caliente Xoloitzcuintles is a multi-use stadium in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, that is mostly used for football matches. The stadium hosts home matches for the football club Club Tijuana Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Cali ...

on the grounds of the racetrack, though the stadium does not interfere with races. The development of the stadium brought

Club Tijuana Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, commonly known as Tijuana, or simply as ''Xoloitzcuintle, Xolos'', is a Mexican professional Football team, football club based in Tijuana. The club's badge is the founder's (Jorge Hank) hairless xoloit ...

to the city, its first professional

association soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

team.

Agua Caliente today

In the contemporary era Agua Caliente is one of Tijuana's most developed districts. Along with

Avenida Revolucion Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, Lon ...

, it is one of the city's tourist centers and is the site of luxury hotels and numerous shopping centers. It is the city's primary athletic center being home to the only golf course in the city,

Auditorio Fausto Gutierrez Moreno Auditorio Fausto Gutierrez Moreno also known as Auditorio de Tijuana is an indoor arena in Tijuana, Mexico. It is primarily used for basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one ...

, Estadio Caliente, and the Agua Caliente Race Track.

Commercial area / edge city

Part of Agua Caliente along Boulevard Agua Caliente functions as an extension of the city's main commercial district, the

Zona Río Zona Río (English: "River Zone") is an official zone, and the main modern business district, of the city of Tijuana, Mexico. Zona Río is located at a strategic point, in the north of the city, about from the U.S.-Mexico border and from Downto ...

. The Agua Caliente submarket had, in 2016, of class A and B office space, while the contiguous

submarket had , for a total of . As such, the contiguous Zona Río/Agua Caliente area can be considered an

edge city ''Edge city'' is a term that originated in the United States for a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional downtown or central business district, in what had previously been a suburban residential or rura ...

, that is a primary commercial area outside of a traditional downtown.Chapter 11: "The List: Edge Cities Coast to Coast" in

Notable landmarks

* Agua Caliente Racetrack *

Agua Caliente Resort and Casino Tower The Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel is a now-defunct resort that operated from 1928 to 1935. Although the casino and hotel were closed, the racetrack continued to operate for many years. The original grandstand structure was destroyed by fire in 1 ...

* The Minaret ( es, El Minarete) * Tijuana Country Club

Major buildings on or in Agua Caliente

* Centura Tower *

Grand Hotel Tijuana The Plaza Aguacaliente & Grand Hotel Tijuana (commonly known by locals as Las Torres) is a high-rise complex of twin skyscrapers in Tijuana, Mexico. With a height of 89.9 meters (295 feet) to the top floor, and 28 stories, they were the tallest bu ...

* Green View Tower

Corporate presence

The following companies have corporate presence in the area: * AIG Mexico * Baker & McKenzie *

Bancomext The Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior ( English: ''National Exterior Commerce Bank'') or "Bancomext" is a Mexican state-owned bank and export credit agency An export credit agency (known in trade finance as an ECA) or investment insurance ...

* Sony Mexico * Zurich Financial Services

References

{{Use mdy dates, date=August 2011 Tourist attractions in Baja California