The College Area is a residential community in the Mid-City region of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, United States. It is dominated by

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

(SDSU), after which the area is named. Several neighborhoods in the College Area were developed in the 1930s, with others becoming established in the post-war period. The College Area is bordered to the west by

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

and Talmadge and to the east by the city of La Mesa. It includes the neighborhoods of the Catoctin Area, Dennstedt Point, East Falls View Drive, Saranac-Mohawk, and an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

neighborhood near Congregation Beth Jacob Orthodox Synagogue.

El Cajon Boulevard El Cajon Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare through San Diego, La Mesa and El Cajon, California. Before the creation of Interstate 8 it was the principal automobile route from San Diego to El Cajon, the Imperial Valley, and points ...

is a busy shopping district; additional retail establishments are at South Campus Plaza, a university housing and commercial complex on College Avenue. The region includes

East Campus Medical Center at UC San Diego Health East Campus Medical Center at UC San Diego Health is a 306-bed acute care hospital operated by UC San Diego Health in San Diego, California, adjacent to San Diego State University (SDSU). It serves the College Area and is one of only two hospit ...

, a 306-bed acute care facility, and the College-Rolando branch of the

San Diego Public Library The San Diego Public Library is a public library system serving 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 and philant ...

History

College Area Business District signage 20250121

On August 18, 1948, the "Campus Drive-In" movie theater with a capacity for 900 cars was built at the intersection of College Avenue and

. The opening night films were Give My Regards to Broadway and The Kansan. The final two features in 1983 were

The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy, dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell (actress), Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was prod ...

and

Dragonslayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...

. In 1961, snack-bar employee Tom O'Leary was convicted of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

for stabbing a patron named Dennis O'Connor to death at the drive-in. The O'Connor family sued the company for wrongful death but did not prevail. The dead man's family became active in city politics and eventually his sister

Maureen O'Connor Maureen O'Connor (born August 7, 1951) is an American lawyer and judge who served as the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court from 2011 to 2022. She was elected to the court in 2002, becoming chief justice in 2010. She was the first woman to ...

was elected

mayor of San Diego The mayor of the City of San Diego is the official head and chief executive officer of the U.S. city of San Diego, California. The mayor has the duty to enforce and execute the laws enacted by the San Diego City Council, the legislative branch. ...

in 1986. Three

neon Neon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is the second noble gas in the periodic table. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with approximately two-thirds the density of ...

drum majorettes wearing

Indian headdress file:Native American PowWow 9488.jpg, A modern-day Cheyenne Dog Soldiers, dog soldier wearing a feathered headdress during a pow wow at the Indian Summer festival in Henry Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2008 War bonnets (also called ...

es from the Drive-In are preserved in the

Vons The Vons Companies, Inc. is a supermarket chain owned by Albertsons, with most of its locations in Southern California and the Las Vegas Valley. It is headquartered in Fullerton, California, and operates stores under the Vons and Pavilions ban ...

shopping center at this location and one large one is preserved in the College Grove Shopping Center further south on College Avenue in Oak Park. On October 31, 2024, an urban

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

in a gorge along Montezuma Avenue damaged six homes and prompeted evacuations and school closings.

Geography

The College Area lies on a plateau known as Montezuma Mesa which overlooks

Interstate 8 Interstate 8 (I-8) is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the southern edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, ...

. The neighborhood's borders are defined by Montezuma Road/Collwood Boulevard to the southwest, Interstate 8 to the north, 73rd Street to the east, and El Cajon Boulevard to the south. A large canyon opens up in the center of the SDSU campus known as Aztec Bowl and descends toward Alvarado Creek in Mission Valley. Canyon Crest Drive snakes down through the canyon from 55th Street to College Avenue.

Transportation

MTS (Metropolitan Transit System) operates the

San Diego Trolley The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system serving San Diego County, California. The trolley's operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. , is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The trolley operates as a critical componen ...

SDSU Transit Center SDSU Transit Center is a San Diego Trolley station on the Green Line and bus hub. It is located on the campus of San Diego State University (SDSU). The line connects the main campus with SDSU Mission Valley, a noncontiguous campus expansion wh ...

and

UC San Diego Health East station UC San Diego Health East station (shortened as UCSD Health East, displayed on signage as UC San Diego Health East Campus Medical Center, formerly Alvarado station and Alvarado Medical Center station) is a station on San Diego Trolley's Green L ...

, both of which are in the College Area. The trolley station at SDSU, as well as a bus plaza, make up the SDSU Transit Center. Transfers are made from the SDSU trolley subway station located at the Transit Center, underneath the bus plaza. Riders can go up to the bus plaza via elevator or stairs. As of October 12, 2014, the SDSU Transit Center serves as the starting point for MTS Rapid Bus Route 215. A high-frequency, limited-stop service runs between San Diego State University and downtown San Diego via El Cajon Boulevard and Park Boulevard.

Education

The College Area is home to one traditional elementary school, one private K-8 school, two alternative K-8 schools, and SDSU.

Elementary schools

* Hardy (

San Diego Unified School District San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) is a public school district based in San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 ...

)

K through 8

*Blessed Sacrament Parish School

K through 12

** Language Academy ** Tubman Village Charter

Colleges and universities

* Platt College (1879-2023)

Gallery

File:College Rolando Library 20250121.jpg, College-Rolando Branch,

, 6600 Montezuma Road File:UDW hall, rolando, san diego 20250121.jpg, United Domestic Workers of America, UDW/AFSCME Local 3930, 4855 Seminole Drive File:Neon SDSU Aztec mascot at Campus Plaza shopping center.jpg, Preserved Neon Majorette (2023) File:Campus Drive-In Theater, closer view with neon, El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego, California.jpg, Historic Campus Drive-In (1979) File:College West, San Diego, CA, USA - panoramio (16).jpg, San Diego State University, College West File:College West, San Diego, CA, USA - panoramio (43).jpg, San Diego State University, College West File:College Area Community Garden (cropped).jpg, College Area Community Garden, Zura Wy File:Seminole Drive Church of Christ.jpg, Seminole Church of Christ, 4790 Seminole Drive File:Clay Park Ping Pong Table.jpg, The former Clay Park, 4768 Seminole Dr File:D-BOP elementary school 2025-04-16.jpg, Dr. Bertha O. Pendleton Elementary School, 6506 Solita Ave. File:Montezuma Park in College Heights (West View).jpg, Montezuma Park, 4929 Catoctin Dr File:Former Andrew Jackson Station - long view.jpg, The Susan Davis Post Office, 6401 El Cajon Blvd

References

External links

College Area Community Council

College Area Business District
{{Coord, 32, 46, 18.59, N, 117, 4, 8.18, W, type:city_region:US_dim:3900, display=title Neighborhoods in San Diego Urban communities in San Diego College Area (neighborhood)