Mission Hills, San Diego
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Mission Hills is an upscale affluent neighborhood of
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, United States. It is located on hills just south of the
San Diego River The San Diego River is a river in San Diego County, California. It originates in the Cuyamaca Mountains northwest of the town of Julian, then flows to the southwest until it reaches the El Capitan Reservoir, the largest reservoir in the river ...
valley and north of downtown San Diego, overlooking Old Town, Downtown San Diego, and San Diego Bay. The area is primarily residential, with boutique shops and restaurants along Washington Street, in the West Lewis Shopping District, and in other clusters. The oldest parts of the neighborhood were subdivided according to George Marston's 1908 plan, and still consist mainly of houses from the 1908–1930 period, in
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
, Craftsman, Prairie School,
Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...
and other styles.


Location

The City of San Diego defines two areas, North Mission Hills and South Mission Hills with Washington Street as the dividing line. ity of San Diego, "Uptown Historic Context and Oral History Report" https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/planning/programs/historical/pdf/section34.pdf/ref> North Mission Hills is the area north of Washington Street and: * East of Old Town * West of Dove Street and Hillcrest *South of
Mission Valley Mission Valley is a wide river valley trending east–west in San Diego, California, United States, through which the San Diego River flows to the Pacific Ocean. For planning purposes the city of San Diego divides it into two neighborhoods: Miss ...
South Mission Hills is the area comprising historic subdivisions such as Middletown, Middletown Addition, South Florence Heights, Marine View, C.E Seaman, Osborn Hill and others, south of Washington Street and: * East of India Street and Middletown * North of Palm Street * West of Reynard Way and Dove Street Mission Hills shares the 92103 zip code with Hillcrest and is part of San Diego's Uptown community planning area.


History

The area was developed in the early 20th century and most of the houses are still from that era, often carefully preserved and restored. Homes there were also often designed by San Diego's noted architects including William Hebbard, William Templeton Johnson, Emmor Brooke Weaver, Nathan Rigdon,
Richard Requa Richard Smith Requa (March 27, 1881 – June 10, 1941) was an American architect, largely known for his work in San Diego, California. Requa was the Master Architect for the California Pacific International Exposition held in Balboa Park in 1935â ...
, and Joel E. Brown. Master Builders such as the Pacific Building Company, Morris B. Irvin, and Martin V. Melhorn contributed by building in the
vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...
. From 1910 till 1939, Mission Hills was connected by the Class 1 streetcars to the city by the
San Diego Electric Railway The San Diego Electric Railway (SDERy) was a mass transit system in Southern California, United States, using 600 volt DC streetcars and (in later years) buses. The SDERy was established by sugar heir and land developer John D. Spreckels in 1 ...
's line 3, the Fort Stockton line, and the neighborhood bears its influence with classic streetcar suburb development including small clusters of commercial buildings where the streetcar stops once were. The original historic neighborhood commercial district is around Washington and Goldfinch streets, two buildings (the 1913
Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
style Ace Drugstore and the 1929
Spanish Colonial Revival style The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...
Funcheon Building) in which have been renovated as the "Paseo de Mission Hills" complex incorporating a historic "Mission Hills" sign. Modern homes were built along canyon rims as infill during the 1950s and 1960s by modern masters such as Lloyd Ruocco, Homer Delawie, John Lloyd Wright and Sim Bruce Richards, among others. Ironically, San Diego's most famous architect,
Irving Gill Irving John Gill (April 26, 1870 – October 7, 1936), was an American architect. He did most of his work in Southern California, especially in San Diego and Los Angeles. He is considered a pioneer of the modern movement in architecture. Twelve ...
, never built in Mission Hills, as by the time this area was being developed he was mainly working in Los Angeles County. The famous
horticulturalist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
Kate Sessions helped to influence development in Mission Hills. She founded the Mission Hills Nursery, which is still an active business (since 1910).


Streets

The main business streets are University Ave. and Washington St. Other major streets are Ft. Stockton Dr. and Sunset Blvd. Many cross streets ranging north to south are named for birds in alphabetical order from Albatross to Lark. Streetcar rail tracks were built along the main thoroughfares of the neighborhood, such as Fort Stockton Drive.


Architecture and Historic Districts

Mission Hills contains two historic districts recognized by the City of San Diego:
Fort Stockton Line Historic District



Parks and culture

Pioneer Park and Mission Hills Park serve as two recreational parks within the neighborhood. In January 2019, the
San Diego Public Library The San Diego Public Library is a public library system serving the city of San Diego, California. History The San Diego Public Library was established on May 19, 1882, by an elected board of library trustees, one of whom was civic leader a ...
opened the new 14,000-square-foot, Craftsman-style Mission Hills-Hillcrest/Harley & Bessie Knox Library at Washington and Front streets in Hillcrest. This replaced the former Mission Hills/Hillcrest Branch at Washington and Hawk streets. Two of the neighborhood's many canyons are open to the public for hiking: Robyn's Egg Trail and the Allen Road Canyon Trail.


Education

Public schools in Mission Hills are part of the
San Diego Unified School District San Diego Unified School District (formerly known as San Diego City Schools) is the school district based in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1854. As of 2005 it represents over 200 institutions and has over 15,800 employee ...
. The public elementary school is Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School, which has grades K-8. Since there is no public high school in the neighborhood, students are given the choice of attending
Point Loma High School Point Loma High School is a public high school in the San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, California, United States. It is located in the Loma Portal neighborhood of Point Loma. The school serves the neighborhoods of Point Loma and ...
or
San Diego High School San Diego High School (SDHS) is an urban public high school located on the southern edge of Balboa Park, in San Diego, California, United States. It is the oldest high school in the San Diego Unified School District, one of the oldest public sc ...
. Several private and religious schools are located in Mission Hills. The best known is the lower school campus of the private Francis Parker School, founded in 1912. This school was run on progressive ideals by William Templeton Johnson and his wife, Clara. Mr. Johnson designed the original school building and his wife ran the school.


References


External links


OurMissionHills.com

MyMissionHillsNews

Uptown Community Profile, city of San Diego

MissionHillsLife.com
{{Historic Districts in San Diego County Neighborhoods in San Diego Historic districts in San Diego Urban communities in San Diego Streetcar suburbs