Mira Mesa (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "

Table Table may refer to: * Table (database), how the table data arrangement is used within the databases * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and column ...

View") is a community and 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. The city-recognized Mira Mesa Community Plan Area is roughly bounded by

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...

on the east,

Interstate 805 Interstate 805 (I-805) is a major north–south List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass (road), bypass auxiliary route of Interstate 5 in California, I-5, running roughly t ...

on the west, the Los Peñasquitos Canyon on the north and

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located in Miramar, a commu ...

on the south. Most of the community plan area is referred to as Mira Mesa; the community plan area also includes the neighborhoods of Sorrento Valley and Sorrento Mesa. The Mira Mesa neighborhood, as defined by the

San Diego Police Department The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of San Diego, California. Established on May 16, 1889, the department employs 1,731 officers and 601 civilian staff. It covers 343 square miles of service area with ...

's neighborhood map, is roughly bounded by Interstate 15 to the east, Camino Santa Fe to the west, the Los Peñasquitos Canyon to the north and Carroll Canyon to the south.

History

Prior to European settlement, Mira Mesa was inhabited by 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 ...

peoples who lived along Penasquitos Creek. After

Mexican independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...

, the land became part of the

Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos was a Mexican land grant in present-day southwestern San Diego County, California, given in 1823 to Francisco María Ruiz. The name means "Saint Mary of the Little Cliffs". It encompassed the present-day ...

land grant to Francisco María Ruiz in 1823. Around the time of

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 area now called Mira Mesa was used by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

as a test area. Just west of U.S. Route 395 (now Interstate 15) was a

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

auxiliary landing field, known locally as Hourglass Field because the layout of the runways was a single piece of

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

in the shape of an hourglass. The Navy also used the surrounding area as a bombing range. Starting in 1969 there was a housing boom in the area that now extends from the I-15 freeway in the east to I-805 in the west and is approximately 10,500 acres (42 km²). This was one of the earliest areas of urban sprawl along the I-15 Corridor. Hourglass Field became the site of San Diego Miramar College and Hourglass Field Community Park. The area was built so quickly that it lacked schools, shopping centers, or other services for its thousands of residents. In 1971

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...

started his political career running for mayor with the slogan "No more Mira Mesas!" as a promise to stop quick, unplanned growth in San Diego. Since its inception, Mira Mesa was largely influenced by the military located at the adjacent NAS Miramar. Mira Mesa was the northernmost "real community" of San Diego, and was separated from the rest of the city by NAS Miramar for many years. By the late-1990s, the Mira Mesa area had undergone extensive expansion to accommodate the thousands of new residents attracted by its proximity to major employers like 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 ...

Qualcomm Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...

, and dozens of biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Several commercial and industrial centers have been built within the Mira Mesa area.

Demographics

Mira Mesa has about 80,000 residents, including students, families, and single people. There are over 23,000 homes in the community, averaging 3.09 people per household. The median age is 32.4 years.

Arts and culture

* The Mira Mesa Street Fair is held the first Saturday in October on Camino Ruiz on the block just north of Mira Mesa Boulevard. The fair is sponsored by the Mira Mesa Town Council. * Annual San Diego Tet Festival is held at Mira Mesa Park on Lunar New Year Weekend. Moved to Liberty Station due to renovations at Mira Mesa park.

Sports

* Mira Mesa girls' softball, for ages 12 and under, won the state championship in 1999, 2005 and 2006.

Education

The neighborhood's schools are in

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 ...

. ; Elementary schools * Ericson Elementary School * Hage Elementary School * Hickman Elementary School * Jonas Salk Elementary School * Mason Elementary School * Sandburg Elementary School * Walker Elementary School ; Middle schools * Challenger Middle School * Wangenheim Middle School ; High schools *

Mira Mesa High School Mira Mesa Senior High School (MMHS) is a public high school in San Diego, California. It is part of San Diego Unified School District. The school serves the Mira Mesa community as well as students participating in the district's Voluntary Enr ...

Private schools

* Christ the Cornerstone Academy * Good Shepherd Catholic School (

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

) * Mira Mesa Christian School * Rainbow Kids Integral Preschool

Community colleges

* Miramar College

Weekend education

In the early 1990s the Minato School (a Japanese weekend school) held its classes at Wangenheim Junior High. However it moved to

Chula Vista Chula Vista ( ; , ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh-most populous city in Southern California, the 15th-most populous city in the ...

in 1996.

Media

* ''Mira Mesa Living'', a community newspaper publishing local news and events, started publishing bimonthly in July 2010. The previous community newspaper, the Mira Mesa

Scripps Ranch Scripps Ranch is a community of San Diego, California, in the northeastern part of the city. It is located east of Interstate 15, north of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and west of Poway. Its ZIP Code is 92131. Scripps Ranch is an inland bed ...

''Sentinel'', stopped publication in July 2009.Mira Mesa has a community radio station at 87.9 * The ''Mira Mesa Times'' newspaper

Infrastructure

Emergency services

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department provide fire services to Mira Mesa through Fire Station #38 and Fire Station #44. Fire Station #38, which includes Engine 38, Truck 38, and Paramedic 38, is located on New Salem Street near the main Mira Mesa Park and Recreation Center. Fire Station #44 is located at the corner of Black Mountain Road and Maya Linda Road. It includes Engine 44, Truck 44, and HAZMAT 1 and 2. Mira Mesa is served by the Northeastern division of the

. A police

storefront A storefront or shopfront is the facade or entryway of a retail store located on the ground floor or street level of a commercial building, typically including one or more display windows. A storefront functions to attract visual attention to a b ...

located adjacent to the Epicentre along Mira Mesa Boulevard serves the local area including Scripps Ranch.