La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood 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 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature of . La Jolla is surrounded on three sides by ocean bluffs and beaches and is located north of

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 ...

and south of the Orange County line. The neighborhood's border starts at Pacific Beach to the south and extends along the Pacific Ocean shoreline north to include

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is a coastal state park in San Diego, California. The reserve is one of the wildest stretches of land on the Southern California coast, covering . It is bordered immediately to the south by Torrey Pines Golf Co ...

ending at Del Mar. La Jolla is home to many educational institutions and a variety of businesses in the areas of lodging, dining, shopping, software, finance, real estate, bioengineering, medical practice and scientific research. The

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

is located in La Jolla, as is Birch Aquarium,

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma. Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...

Scripps Research Scripps Research is a nonprofit American medical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the institute has over 170 laboratories employing 2,100 scientists, tec ...

, and the

Salk Institute for Biological Studies The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a scientific research institute in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California. The independent, non-profit institute was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among th ...

History

Etymology

Local Native Americans, the

Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as 'Iipai-Tiipai or by the historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Uni ...

, called this location (), ( = ). The topographic feature that gave rise to the name "holes" is uncertain; it probably refers to sea-level caves located on the north-facing bluffs, which are visible from La Jolla Shores. It is suggested that the Kumeyaay name for the area was transcribed by the Spanish settlers as . Another suggestion for the origin of the name is that it is an alternative spelling of the Spanish phrase , which means . Despite being disputed by scholars, this derivation of the name has been widely cited in popular culture. This supposed origin gave rise to the nickname "The Jewel". The name may also come from the Spanish , meaning a geographic hollow. Different spelling conventions over the years would permit this to be written as La Jolla.

Early history

During the Mexican period of San Diego's history, La Jolla was mapped as ''pueblo'' land and contained about 60 lots. When California became a state in 1850, the La Jolla area was incorporated as part of the chartered City of San Diego. In 1870, Charles Dean acquired several of the pueblo lots and subdivided them into an area that became known as La Jolla Park. Dean was unable to develop the land and left San Diego in 1881. A real estate boom in the 1880s led speculators Frank T. Botsford and George W. Heald to further develop the sparsely settled area. In the 1890s, the San Diego, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla Railway was built, connecting La Jolla to the rest of San Diego. La Jolla became known as a resort area. To attract visitors to the beach, the railway built facilities such as a bath house and a dance pavilion. Visitors were housed in small cottages and bungalows above La Jolla Cove, as well as a temporary

tent city A tent city is a temporary housing facility made using tents or other temporary structures. State governments or military organizations set up tent cities to house evacuees, refugees, or soldiers. UNICEF's Supply Division supplies expandable te ...

erected every summer. Two of the cottages that were built in 1894, the "Red Roost" and the "Red Rest", also known as the "Neptune and Cove Tea Room", still exist and are the oldest buildings in La Jolla that are still on their original site. The two cottages have been vacant since the 1980s, boarded up and covered in tarpaulins while their fate was debated. In November 2020 the Red Rest was largely destroyed by fire. The La Jolla Park Hotel opened in 1893. The Hotel Cabrillo was built in 1908 by "Squire" James A. Wilson and was later incorporated into the La Valencia Hotel. By 1900, La Jolla comprised 100 buildings and 350 residents. The first reading room (library) was built in 1898. A volunteer fire brigade was organized in 1907; the city of San Diego established a regular fire house in 1914. Livery stable owner Nathan Rannells served successively as La Jolla's volunteer fire captain, first police officer (the only San Diego police officer north 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: Mi ...

), and first postmaster. La Jolla Elementary School began educating local children in 1896. The Bishop's School opened in 1909. La Jolla High School was established in 1922. Between 1951 and 1963, other elementary schools (Bird Rock, Decatur, Scripps, and Torrey Pines) were established in the area to ease overcrowding. The La Jolla Beach and Yacht Club (later the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club) was built in 1927.

Ellen Browning Scripps

In 1896 journalist and publisher

Ellen Browning Scripps Ellen Browning Scripps (October 18, 1836 – August 3, 1932) was an American journalist and philanthropist who was the founding donor of several major institutions in Southern California. She and her half-brother E. W. Scripps, E.W. Scripps creat ...

settled in La Jolla, where she lived for the last 35 years of her life. She was wealthy in her own right from her investments and writing, and she inherited a large sum from her brother George H. Scripps in 1900. She devoted herself to philanthropic endeavors, particularly those benefiting her adopted home of La Jolla. She commissioned many of La Jolla's most notable buildings, usually designed by Irving Gill or his nephew and partner Louis John Gill. Many of these buildings are now 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 ...

or are listed as historic by the city of San Diego; these include the La Jolla Woman's Club (1914), the La Jolla Recreational Center (1915), the earliest buildings of The Bishop's School, and the

Old Scripps Building The George H. Scripps Memorial Marine Biological Laboratory, known as the Old Scripps Building, is a historic research facility on the campus of the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, California. Built in 1909-10, it is the oldest o ...

, as well as her own residence, built in 1915 and now housing the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Her donations also launched Scripps Memorial Hospital in 1924 (originally located on Prospect Street in La Jolla until it moved to its present site in 1964), the Scripps Metabolic Clinic (now

), and the Children's Pool. Ellen Browning Scripps also founded

Scripps College Scripps College is a private liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1926, a year after the consortium's formation. Journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps pr ...

, a women's college, in 1926. Scripps College is located in Claremont in Los Angeles County (not to be confused with Clairemont, a neighborhood of

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

, one of the nation's oldest oceanographic institutes, was founded in 1903 by William Emerson Ritter, chair of the zoology department at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, with financial support from Scripps and her brother E. W. Scripps. At first the institution operated out of a boathouse in

Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) Coronado is a Spanish surname derived from the village of Cornado, near A Coruña, Galicia. People with the name * Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred t ...

. In 1905, they purchased a site in La Jolla, where the Institution still stands today. The first laboratory buildings there opened in 1907. The institution became part of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

in 1912. Ultimately, it became the nucleus for the establishment of the

Camp Matthews

From 1917 through 1964, the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

maintained a military base in La Jolla. The base was used for marksmanship training and was known as Camp Calvin B. Matthews. During and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the population of La Jolla grew, causing residential development to draw close to the base, so that it became less and less suitable as a firing range because of risk to the adjacent civilian population. Meanwhile, the site was being eyed as a location for a proposed new campus of the University of California. In 1962, Camp Matthews was declared surplus by the Marine Corps. The base formally closed in 1964, and that same year, the first class of undergraduates enrolled in the University of California San Diego.

University of California, San Diego

Local civic leaders had long toyed with the idea of a San Diego campus of the

, and the quest became more definite following World War II. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, under its director Roger Revelle, had become an important defense contractor, and local aerospace companies like

Convair Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, was an American aircraft-manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee ...

were pressing for local training for their scientists and engineers. The state legislature proposed the idea in 1955, and the Regents of the university formally approved it in 1960. During the planning stage of the university's establishment, it was briefly known as the "University of California, La Jolla", but the name was changed to "University of California, San Diego" before its founding in 1960. The founding chancellor was

Herbert York Herbert Frank York (24 November 1921 – 19 May 2009) was an American nuclear physicist of Mohawk origin. He held numerous research and administrative positions at various United States government and educational institutes. Biography Her ...

, named in 1961, and the second chancellor was John Semple Galbraith, named in 1964. The university was designed to have a "college" system; there are now eight colleges. The first college was established in 1965 and was named Revelle College after Roger Revelle, who is regarded as the "father" of the university. A

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

was established in 1968. The landmark

Geisel Library Geisel Library is the main library building of the University of California, San Diego. It is named in honor of Audrey Geisel, Audrey and Theodor Seuss Geisel, the latter of whom is better known as children's author Dr. Seuss. The building's di ...

with its

Brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

opened in 1970. The university is the second largest employer in the city and has the 7th largest research expenditure in the country.

Antisemitism

The Camp Matthews site for the university was selected with some hesitation; one of the concerns was "whether La Jollans in particular would lay aside old prejudices in order to welcome a culturally, ethnically, and religiously diverse professoriate into their midst". La Jolla had a history of restrictive housing policies, often specified in deeds and ownership documents. In La Jolla Shores and La Jolla Hermosa, only people with pure

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an ancestry could own property; this excluded

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, who were not considered

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

. Such " restrictive covenants" were once fairly common throughout the United States; the 1948 Supreme Court case ''

Shelley v. Kraemer ''Shelley v. Kraemer'', 334 U.S. 1 (1948), is a landmark United States Supreme Court case that held that racially restrictive housing covenants (deed restrictions) cannot legally be enforced. The case arose after an African-American family purch ...

'' ruled them to be unenforceable, and Congress outlawed them twenty years later via the Fair Housing Act (Title VII of the

Civil Rights Act of 1968 The Civil Rights Act of 1968 () is a Lists of landmark court decisions, landmark law in the United States signed into law by President of the United States, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. Titles ...

). However, realtors and property owners in La Jolla continued to use more subtle ways of preventing or discouraging Jews from owning property there.For example, when the world-famous mathematician and philosopher

Jacob Bronowski Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to science, and as the presenter and writer of the thirteen-part 1973 BBC television ...

came to the Salk Institute in 1963, he wanted to build a home on La Jolla Farms Road for his family. For his required character references, his family produced letters from members of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, in Revelle stated the issue bluntly: "You can't have a university without having Jewish professors. The Real Estate Broker's Association and their supporters in La Jolla had to make up their minds whether they wanted a university or an anti-Semitic covenant. You couldn't have both." The issue was overcome; La Jolla now boasts a thriving Jewish population, and there are four synagogues in La Jolla.

Mount Soledad cross

Mount Soledad Mount Soledad, also known as Soledad Mountain, is a prominent landmark in San Diego, California, United States. The mountaintop is the site of the Mount Soledad Cross. Geography The mountain lies between Interstate 5 to the east and the Pac ...

is an hill on the eastern edge of La Jolla and one of the highest points in San Diego. A large

Christian cross The Christian cross, seen as representing the crucifixion of Jesus, is a religious symbol, symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix, a cross that includes a ''corpus'' (a representation of Jesus' body, usually three-dimensional) a ...

was placed at the top in 1913 as a prominent landmark. It has been replaced twice, most recently in 1954 with a cross ( tall including the base). Originally known as the "Mount Soledad Easter Cross", its presence on publicly owned land was challenged in the 1980s as a violation of the

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...

. Since then the cross has had a war memorial built around it and was renamed "Mount Soledad Veterans War Memorial". The issue has been in almost continual litigation ever since, with the city attempting to sell or give away the land under the cross. By an act of Congress, the federal government took possession of it under

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

in 2006. The

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...

declared the cross unconstitutional in 2011, and the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

declined to hear an appeal. In December 2013, U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ordered that the cross be removed within 90 days, but stayed the order pending a forthcoming appeal by the government. On July 20, 2015, a group called the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association reported that it had bought the land under the cross from the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

for $1.4 million. On September 7, 2016, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a one-page ruling, ordering dismissal of the case and an end to all current appeals, stating that the case was now moot because the cross was no longer on government land. Both sides agreed that this decision puts a final end to the case.

Arts

La Jolla became an

art colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission ...

in 1894 when Anna Held (also known as Anna Held Heinrich) established the Green Dragon Colony. This was a cluster of twelve rustic cottages that included The Green Dragon, Wahnfried, and The Ark, a boat-shaped structure with port holes and swinging bunks. The La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...

, Dorothy McGuire, and

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón FerrerAncestry Library Edition (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, and producer, active in film, theatre, and television. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ...

. It became inactive in 1959, but was revived in 1983 on the University of California campus under the leadership of Des McAnuff. It now incorporates three theaters: the Mandell Weiss Theatre (1983), the Mandell Weiss Forum (1991) and the Potiker Theater (2005). The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego was founded in 1941 in La Jolla, in the former home of Ellen Browning Scripps (designed by Irving J. Gill). The museum has undergone several renovations and expansions, and is working on plans to triple its size. The La Jolla Music Society was founded in 1941 as the Musical Arts Society of La Jolla by Nikolai Sokoloff, former conductor of the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...

. It presented the premieres of commissioned works in the auditorium of La Jolla High School before presenting their concerts in the Sherwood Auditorium of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Since April 2019, the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center is the permanent home of La Jolla Music Society and hosts world-class performances presented by LJMS as well as other San Diego arts presenters. Additionally, The Conrad will see a wide range of conferences, corporate meetings, and private events.

Geography

Demarcation

The neighborhoods's border starts at Pacific Beach to the south and extends along the Pacific Ocean shoreline north to include

ending at Del Mar. La Jolla encompasses the neighborhoods of Bird Rock, Windansea Beach, the commercial center known as the Village of La Jolla, Muirlands, La Jolla Shores, La Jolla Farms, Torrey Pines,

and others. The City of San Diego defines the neighboorhood's eastern boundary as Gilman Drive and the Interstate 5 freeway and the northern boundary as UCSD. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

defines a somewhat larger area, assigning the neighborhood the 92037 ZIP Code, recognizing it as a historically and geographically distinct area. Because it has its own ZIP code, addresses can read La Jolla, CA. It is the only neighborhood within the City of San Diego so recognized. Additionally, it is in the 919xx/920xx sequence used for suburban and rural ZIP Codes in San Diego County, rather than the 921xx sequence used for the remainder of the City of San Diego. These conditions sometimes lead to the erroneous impression that La Jolla is a separate city, rather than a part of San Diego. The 92037 ZIP code extends the northeasterly boundary to Genesee Avenue and the northerly boundary to

Del Mar, California Del Mar (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach city in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The population was 3,954 ...

. The UCSD campus, also part of La Jolla, has ZIP Codes 92092 and 92093. Despite the city and postal service definitions, La Jolla does not have universally accepted boundaries. In the 1980s, the trustees of Scripps Hospital voted to move the campus from downtown La Jolla to University City, east of Interstate 5 and not within the traditional boundaries of La Jolla. The governing documents of the hospital required it to be located in La Jolla, however. A court ruled that "La Jolla" exists as a "state of mind" and thus allowed the relocation of the hospital. Several businesses and housing developments located in the University City neighborhood of San Diego use "La Jolla" in their names.

Wildlife

La Jolla's offshore waters are home to diverse marine wildlife. Marine mammals, such as migratory

gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

, humpback and

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

s— harbor porpoises, dolphins (including,

common dolphin The common dolphin (''Delphinus delphis'') is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, wit ...

s, as well as rough-toothed, bottlenose, Pacific white-sided and

Risso's dolphin Risso's dolphin (''Grampus griseus'') is a marine mammal and dolphin, the only species of the genus ''Grampus''. Some of the most closely related species to these dolphins include: pilot whales (''Globicephala'' spp.), pygmy killer whales (''Fere ...

s) and

orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

s, can be found in the area.

California sea lion The California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') is a coastal eared seal native to western North America. It is one of six species of sea lions. Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of Califo ...

s and harbor seals are often seen hauled-out on the rocks, and their presence can lure bigger, predatory sharks. Southern California also has many species of fish (such as

garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

sculpin A sculpin is a type of fish that belongs to the superfamily Cottoidea in the order Perciformes.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology suggest transitions in station-holding demand acros ...

), including sharks, such as clam-eating dogfish and

leopard shark The leopard shark (''Triakis semifasciata'') is a species of houndshark, in the family (biology), family Houndshark, Triakidae. It is found along the Pacific coast of North America, from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico. Typically ...

s and the

great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocea ...

. During the winter, great white sharks breed, hunting seals around the kelp forest, and sometimes coming closer to

shore A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

. For these reasons,

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s and

buoy A buoy (; ) is a buoyancy, floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. History The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navig ...

s are areas that surfers avoid, as sharks in these locations can ambush pinnipeds diving back into the water. However, most encounters with great white sharks are uneventful. Many of the marine animals live within and/or depend on the extensive offshore

kelp forest Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on E ...

, where scuba divers often explore. The kelp forests are also home to a number of

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

species, including

sea urchin Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen language, Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any small to very large marine life, marine gastropod mollusc in the family (biology), family Haliotidae, which once contained six genera but now cont ...

sea stars A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

and

limpet Limpets are a group of aquatic snails with a conical gastropod shell, shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. This general category of conical shell is known as "patelliform" (dish-shaped). Existing within the class Gastropoda, ...

s to king crab and giant octopus.

Green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exte ...

s and many migratory and resident sea and

shorebirds FIle:Vadare - Ystad-2021.jpg, 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, forage for food c ...

, are also native to the area.

Geology

La Jolla is an area of mixed geology, including sandy beaches and rocky shorelines. The area is occasionally susceptible to flooding and ocean storms, as occurred in January and December 2010.

, a mountain, lies between

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is mostly within the community of La Jolla where the northern and eastern slopes form a sharp

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

along the Rose Canyon Fault. The community of Pacific Beach is on the southern slope. There are many narrow roads and hundreds of homes overlooking the ocean on its slopes. It is the home of the Mount Soledad Cross, built in 1954, later designated a Korean War Memorial, that became the center of a controversy over the display of religious symbols on government property. The La Jolla ocean front has an alternating rugged and sandy coastline that serves as a habitat for many wild seal congregations. There are many beaches accessible from the cliffs all throughout the coast of La Jolla.

Climate

Demographics

According to United States Census Bureau figures, the ethnic/racial makeup of La Jolla is 82.5% White, 0.8% Black, 0.2% American Indian, 11.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.0% any other race, and 3.1% two or more races. Latinos, who may be of any race, form 7.2% of La Jolla's population. There is also a sizable Persian population in La Jolla. La Jolla had the highest home prices in the nation in 2008 and 2009, according to a survey by

Coldwell Banker Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is an American real estate franchise owned by Anywhere Real Estate, with headquarters in Madison, New Jersey. It was founded in 1906 in San Francisco, and has approximately 3000 offices in 49 countries and terri ...

. The survey compares the cost of a standardized four-bedroom home in communities across the country. The average price for such a home in La Jolla was reported as US$1.842 million in 2008 and US$2.125 million in 2009.

Neighborhoods

* La Jolla Farms — This northern La Jolla neighborhood is just west of UCSD. It includes Torrey Pines Gliderport, the

, and a group of expensive homes on the cliffs above

Black's Beach Black's Beach is a secluded section of beach beneath the bluffs of Torrey Pines on the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. It is officially part of Torrey Pines State Beach. The northern portion of Black's Beach i ...

(one of which is the Audrey Geisel University House). * La Jolla Shores — The residential area and

campus along La Jolla Shores Beach and east up the hillside. Also includes a small business district of shops and restaurants along Avenida de la Playa. * La Jolla Heights — The homes on the hills overlooking La Jolla Shores. No businesses. * Hidden Valley — Lower portion of

on the northern slopes. No businesses. * Country Club — Lower Mt. Soledad on the northwest side, including the La Jolla Country Club golf course. * Village — Also called Village of La Jolla (not to be confused with La Jolla Village) the "downtown" business district area, including most of La Jolla's shops and restaurants, and the immediately surrounding higher density and single family residential areas. * Beach-Barber Tract — The coastal section from Windansea Beach to the Village. A few shops and restaurants along La Jolla Boulevard. * Lower Hermosa — Coastal strip south of Beach-Barber Tract. No businesses. * Bird Rock — Southern coastal La Jolla, and the very lowest slopes of Mt. Soledad in the area. Notable for shops and restaurants along La Jolla Boulevard, five traffic roundabouts on La Jolla Boulevard, coastal bluffs, and surfing areas just two blocks off the main drag. * Muirlands — Relatively large area on western middle slope of Mt. Soledad. No businesses. * La Jolla Mesa — A strip on the lower southern side of Mt. Soledad, bordering Pacific Beach. No businesses. * La Jolla Alta — A master-planned development east of La Jolla Mesa. No businesses. * Soledad South — Southeastern slopes of Mt. Soledad, all the way up to the top, east of La Jolla Alta. * Muirlands West — The small neighborhood between Muirlands to the south, and Country Club to the north. No businesses. * Upper Hermosa — Southwestern La Jolla, north of Bird Rock and east of La Jolla Blvd. * La Jolla Village — Not to be confused with the Village (of La Jolla). In northeast La Jolla, east of La Jolla Heights, west of I-5 and south of UCSD. The neighborhood's namesake is the La Jolla Village Square shopping and residential mall, which includes La Jolla's only remaining movie theater.

Community groups

The La Jolla Community Planning Association advises the city council, Planning Commission, City Planning Department as well as other governmental agency as appropriate in the initial preparation, adoption of, implementation of, or amendment to the General or Community Plan as it pertains to the La Jolla area as well as review specific development proposals. The nonprofit La Jolla Town Council represents the interests of La Jolla businesses and residents that belong to the council. The Bird Rock Community Council serves the Bird Rock neighborhood, while the La Jolla Shores Association serves the La Jolla Shores neighborhood. La Jolla Village Merchants Association, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed in February 2011 to manage the La Jolla Village Business Improvement District for the City of San Diego. Community organizations include Independent La Jolla, a membership-based citizens group seeking to secede from the city of San Diego. Service clubs in La Jolla include

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization ...

, Rotary, La Jolla Woman's Club and the Social Service League of La Jolla, to name a few. La Jolla is a subsidiary location for Chicago-based Linking Efforts Against Drugs (LEAD), a national drug-prevention organization recognized nationally for its success in reducing substance use and abuse among teens. La Jolla is the home of InspirED, a community-focused EdTech company that supports schools in supporting their students' mental health through therapeutic services, educational opportunities, and technology.

Attractions and activities

La Jolla is the location of

Torrey Pines Golf Course Torrey Pines Golf Course is a 36-hole municipal golf facility in University City, a community of San Diego, California. The course sits on the coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, just south of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. Opened ...

, the site each January or February of a

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

event formerly known as the Buick Invitational and since 2010, called the Farmers Insurance Open. Torrey Pines also hosted the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and 2021 U.S. Open. Nearby is the de facto

nude beach A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to us ...

. Torrey Pines Gliderport is popular, where people fly and watch glider sailplanes. Torrey Pines Golf Course plaque

Downtown La Jolla is noted for jewelry stores, boutiques, upmarket restaurants and hotels. Prospect Street and Girard Avenue are also shopping and dining districts. The Museum of Contemporary Art, founded in 1941, is located above the waterfront in what was originally the 1915 residence of philanthropist

. The museum has a permanent collection with more than 3,500 post-1950 American and European works, including paintings, works on paper, sculptures, photographic art, design objects and video works. The museum was renamed Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in 1990 to recognize its regional significance. In 2011, the La Jolla Community Foundation commissioned various artists to contribute to the scenery of the town, through various

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s. Some of the artists that are featured in the series are

John Baldessari John Anthony Baldessari (June 17, 1931 – January 2, 2020) was an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. He lived and worked in Santa Monica and Venice, California. Initially a paint ...

, Julian Opie and Kim MacConnel. There are 11 murals in the series, all of which will be on display for two years. The La Jolla Fencing Academy opened in 2017 on Villa La Jolla Drive. Among its coaches is two-time world junior saber champion, and 2023 US saber champion, Konstantin Lokhanov. Beaches and ocean access include Windansea Beach, La Jolla Shores,

La Jolla Cove La Jolla Cove is a small cove with a beach that is surrounded by cliffs in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. Point La Jolla forms the south side of the cove. The area is protected as part of a marine reserve and is popular with sn ...

and Children's Pool Beach. For many years, La Jolla has been the host of a rough water swim at La Jolla Cove.

, one of the only

nude beaches A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to use ...

in the area, is throughout the year. Sunset Cliffs is a location popular amongst locals and tourists for views of the sunset off to the horizon past the cliffs and

s below. La Jolla Shores is located next to Scripps Pier and is close to many small shops, homes and restaurants.

is the most popular tourist destination in La Jolla, featuring many snorkelers, swimmers and wildlife, such as seals. The La Jolla Concours d'Elegance auto show is hosted at

annually. All of the popular beaches and coastal access points, listed from north to south, include: *

(a ''de facto''

) *Scripps, near the

* La Jolla Shores * La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club *

*Boomers Beach * Shell Beach * Children's Pool Beach *Wipeout Beach *Horseshoes *Marine Street * Windansea Beach * Bird Rock

Transportation

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 ...

light rail system has four stops on the Blue Line located in the La Jolla neighborhood: * Nobel Drive, which serves the La Jolla Village Square shopping center in the La Jolla Village neighborhood. * VA Medical Center, which serves the Veteran Affairs hospital of the same name next to UC San Diego. * UC San Diego Central Campus, located in the center of the university of the same name. * UC San Diego Health La Jolla, located near Scripps Memorial Health La Jolla, Jacobs Medical Center, the

Moores Cancer Center The Rebecca and John Moores Cancer Center is the region's only NCI-designated Cancer Center, part of UC San Diego Health and affiliated with the University of California, San Diego. It is supported, in part, by the National Cancer Institute T ...

, and the UC San Diego East Campus (contains the UC San Diego Health La Jolla campus of hospitals & medical facilities, and the Preuss School). These four stations were opened on November 21, 2021, when the Blue Line was extended nine stops north from Old Town Transit Center to serve areas such as La Jolla Village, UC San Diego, and University City.

Education

Higher education

The

University of California San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

is the center of higher education in La Jolla. The campus' name was briefly UC La Jolla during the planning stage of the university's development. UCSD includes

and the

San Diego Supercomputer Center The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) is an organized research unit of the University of California, San Diego. Founded in 1985, it was one of the five original NSF supercomputing centers. Its research pursuits are high performance comput ...

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...

is also headquartered in La Jolla, with several academic campuses located throughout the county and the state. Among the several research institutes near UCSD and in the nearby Torrey Pines Science Park are Scripps Research Institute, the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (formerly called the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation), La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology (LJI), and the

Other schools

La Jolla is served by the

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 ...

. Public schools include La Jolla High School, La Jolla Elementary, Muirlands Middle School, Torrey Pines Elementary, and Bird Rock Elementary, as well as Preuss School, a public

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

. The community's prep schools are The Bishop's School, The Children's School, Delphi Academy, Stella Maris Academy, The Gillispie School, and the Evans School. La Jolla Country Day School is located in the nearby community of University City.

Religious institutions

Christian: * All Hallows Catholic ChurchSchaelchlin, Patricia. ''La Jolla: The Story of a Community 1897-1987'', Friends of the La Jolla Library, San Diego, 1988 * Assembly of God *

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...

Church *

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

(the first church built; burned down in 1915 and re-built in 1916 at 1216 Cave Street) * Barabbas Road Church * First Baptist Church * La Jolla Christian Fellowship * La Jolla Lutheran Church * La Jolla Presbyterian Church * La Jolla Religious

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

* La Jolla

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

* Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic church * Prince Chapel by the Sea (

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...

) * St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal * St. John Church of God in Christ * Torrey Pines Christian Church * The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

San Diego California Temple The San Diego California Temple is the 47th constructed and 45th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is located in San Diego, California. The intent to build the temple was announced on April 7, 1984, by Gor ...

* University Lutheran Church Jewish: * Congregation Beth El * Congregation Adat Yeshurun *

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

Jewish Center of La Jolla

Business and media

* La Jolla (under the fictionalized name "Esmerelda") is the setting for

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

's final

Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe ( ) is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The genre originated in the 1920s, notably in '' Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiell Hammett's The Cont ...

novel, ''Playback'', published in 1958. Chandler lived in La Jolla for the previous decade. La Jolla's Hotel del Charro becomes "Rancho Descansado" in the novel. A number of landmarks described can still be found today. * La Jolla was home to the comic book publisher

WildStorm Productions Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC ...

, from its founding by

Jim Lee Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...

in 1993, until its closing in 2012 when

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, which had purchased the publisher as an imprint in 1998, absorbed the company and moved the office to Burbank, California. * La Jolla is the base for the Sundt Memorial Foundation, a national organization aimed at discouraging youth from getting involved in drugs. * La Jolla is also a subsidiary location for Chicago-base
Linking Efforts Against Drugs (LEAD)
a national drug-prevention organization recognized nationally for its success in reducing substance use and abuse among teens. * La Jolla is the home of InspirED, an EdTech company that supports schools in supporting their students' mental health through therapeutic services, educational opportunities, and technology. * La Jolla is mentioned in the Beach Boys' 1963 song

Surfin' U.S.A. "Surfin' U.S.A." is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry's " Sweet Little Sixteen" set to new lyrics written by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The s ...

and in The Network's 2003 song Spike. * "La Jolla" is the name of a song on Wilbur Soot's 2020 album '' Your City Gave Me Asthma''.

Film

*Laboratory scenes for the movie ''The Cell'' (2000) were filmed at The Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla. *La Jolla is one of the backdrops in the movie ''Traffic'' (2000). *Scenes for the movie '' The Samuel Project'' (2018) were filmed in La Jolla. *The movie '' Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea'' (2023) is set in

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

, but some scenes were filmed at the director's home in La Jolla.

Television

* La Jolla is the setting for the 2011 season of '' The Real World: San Diego'', the twenty-sixth season of the long-running

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

reality television series. * The

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' Grace and Frankie'' is set in La Jolla, although filming takes place in other parts of California. *

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's '' Big Shot'' takes place in La Jolla.

Notable people

La Jolla has been the home to many notable people, including prominent scientists, business people, artists, writers, surfers and performers.

References

External links

La Jolla Town Council

Local history timeline
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