The Gaslamp Quarter is a historic neighborhood in

downtown San Diego Downtown San Diego is the central business district of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. It houses the major local headquarters of the city, county, state, and federal governments. The area comprises seven d ...

, California. It extends from Broadway to Harbor Drive and from 4th to 6th Avenue. The neighborhood is listed as a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as the Gaslamp Quarter Historic District. It includes over 90 historic buildings, most of which were constructed in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

; many are in use as restaurants, shops, entertainment venues, and nightclubs. The Gaslamp Quarter is known for its

nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

. It is the site of various events and festivals, including

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

in the Gaslamp, Taste of Gaslamp, and ShamROCK, a

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chri ...

event.

Petco Park Petco Park is a ballpark in San Diego, California. It is the home of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The ballpark is located in the East Village neighborhood of downtown San Diego, adjacent to the Gaslamp Quarter. Petco Par ...

, home of the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

, is one block away in the East Village neighborhood.

History

In the 1860s, the area was known as New Town, in contrast to

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

, the original Spanish colonial settlement of San Diego. Intensive development began in 1867, when

Alonzo Horton Alonzo Eratus Horton (October 24, 1813 – January 7, 1909) was an American real estate developer in the nineteenth century. Early life Horton was born 1813 in Union, Connecticut, the scion of an old New England family, Christman, Florence: ...

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 (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...

, the neighborhood underwent

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

in the 1980s and 1990s. It was rebranded the "Gaslamp Quarter" during the redevelopment and preservation efforts that occurred during the 1980s, though the streets were generally lit by arc lights, not gaslamps.

Timeline

*1850:

William Heath Davis William Heath "Kanaka" Davis Jr. (1822 – 1909) was a merchant and trader in Alta California who helped to establish "New Town" (now downtown San Diego) in San Diego, California. Life Davis was born in 1822 in Honolulu in the Kingdom of Ha ...

bought in what would eventually become the Gaslamp Quarter. Despite heavy investment from Davis, little development happened in this period. *1867: Real estate developer

arrived in San Diego and purchased of land in New Town for $265. Major development began in the Gaslamp Quarter. *1880s to 1916: Known as the

Stingaree The Stingaree was a neighborhood in downtown San Diego from the boom of the 1880s until it was demolished during a vice eradication campaign of 1916. It was the site of the city's Chinatown.Elizabeth Perl (Spring, 1977). San Diego's Chinese Mis ...

, the area was a working class area, home to San Diego's first

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

, "Soapbox Row" and many saloons, gambling halls, and bordellos. *1912: Stingaree was the site of a

free speech fight Free speech fights are struggles over free speech, and especially those struggles which involved the Industrial Workers of the World and their attempts to gain awareness for labor issues by organizing workers and urging them to use their collective ...

between socialists and city politicians which led to riots and the abduction by vigilantes of

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born Anarchism, anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europ ...

's husband. *1916: the entire neighborhood of Stingaree was demolished and renamed by anti-

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

campaigners. *1950s-1970s: The decaying Gaslamp Quarter became known as a "Sailor's Entertainment" district, with a high concentration of pornographic theaters, bookshops and

massage parlor A massage parlor (American English), or massage parlour (Canadian/British English), or massage salon is a place where massage services are provided. Some massage parlors are front organizations for prostitution and the term "massage parlor" has ...

s. *1970: Public interest in preserving buildings downtown started, 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. *1992: Gaslamp Quarter Archway is installed and dedicated.

References

External links

Gaslamp Quarter AssociationGaslamp Quarter Historical FoundationCentre City Development CorporationInformation about Gaslamp Quarter Happenings
{{Authority control Entertainment districts in California Culture of San Diego Landmarks in San Diego Historic districts in San Diego Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in San Diego

Gaslamp Quarter The Gaslamp Quarter is a historic neighborhood in downtown San Diego, California. It extends from Broadway to Harbor Drive and from 4th to 6th Avenue. The neighborhood is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places ...

Urban communities in San Diego Gilded Age

History

Timeline

See also

References

External links