Gaslamp
Quarter
In the city's early days, this colorful downtown neighborhood was home
to San Diego's most profitable businesses - saloons, gambling joints,
bordellos and opium dens. By the 1960s, it had declined to a skid row
of flophouses and bars, whose seedy ambiance made it so unattractive
to investors that many of its old buildings survived by default. When
developers finally moved in, locals and the Gaslamp Quarter Council
saved the area from demolition, and a 16 block area was designated a
National Historic District.
Now, restaurants, bars and galleries occupy restored buildings dating
back to the 1870s, and wrought iron street lamps in the style of 19th
century gas lamps give the area its historic flavor. The most enjoyable
time to visit is on a warm evening, when people throng the streets and
crowd the sidewalk tables. Guided walking tours are offered by the local
council.
Embarcadero
San Diego's original dockside, just west of downtown, is a remarkably
clean and attractive area. It never developed as a major commercial
port but retains plenty of nautical ambiance thanks to the old ships
moored at the Maritime Museum, the kitschy re-created turn of the century
seafront architecture of Seaport Village and the San Diego Convention
Center, whose design is said to have been inspired by an ocean liner.
There's a public fishing pier and an open-air amphitheater where free
concerts are held during summer in the Embarcadero Marina Park.
Balboa Park
This huge park on the northeastern edge of downtown San Diego is a major
civic asset, boasting extensive areas of greenery, museums, theaters,
a zoo and an abundance of sports facilities, including tennis courts,
a swimming pool and golf courses. Many of the park's buildings sport
a Spanish Colonial theme, thanks largely to the 1915-16 Panama-California
Exposition held here. The exposition's temporary stucco buildings consciously
pursued a romantic Spanish-Mexican theme; they proved so popular that
many were retained or rebuilt in more durable concrete after the show.
The park is home to the ornate San Diego Museum of Art, which houses
a modest collection of European paintings, American landscapes and Asian
artifacts. The small but impressive Timkin Museum of Art has a better
collection of famous European art work and some smashing Russian icons.
The Centro Cultural de la Raza exhibits potent Mexican and Native American
art inside a converted water tank. A more traditional setting for viewing
art work is the Spanish Village, a collection of small tiled cottages
said to be 'an authentic reproduction of an ancient village in Spain.'
The cottages are rented out as artists' studios, and you can watch potters,
jewelers, painters and sculptors churn out pricey decorative kitsch.
The Casa be Balboa houses four museums, dedicated to San Diego's history,
local sports stars, model railways and photographic arts. One of the
park's most hyped venues is the Rueben H Fleet Space Theater & Science
Center, a hands-on science museum with a huge-screen Omnimax theater.
The Museum of Man specializes in Indian artifacts from the American
Southwest and has an excellent collection of baskets and pottery from
the San Diego area. If you feel the need to set a record for museum
visits, there's also the well-presented San Diego Automotive Museum,
the extensive displays in the Aerospace Museum and a Natural History
Museum.
San Diego Zoo
One of San Diego's biggest attractions, this superb zoo has a worldwide
reputation, a colorful history and an enlightened zoo management program.
It hosts more than 3000 animals in beautifully landscaped grounds in
the northern part of Balboa Park, northeast of downtown San Diego, and
also runs a free-range 1800 acre (720ha) Wild Animal Park, 32 miles
(50km) north of the city in Escondido. The zoo and associated park breed
endangered species in captivity for re-introduction into their natural
habitats. Its successes include the Arabian oryx, Bali starling and
Californian condor.
Highlights of the zoo include the Tiger River bioclimatic
exhibit, which realistically re-creates an Asian rainforest environment,
and Gorilla Tropics, which does the same with an African rainforest.
Other gems are the Sun Bear Forest, where Asian bears frolic, and the
African Rock Kopje, where klipspringers display their tremendous rock
climbing abilities. Kids can touch small animals at the children's zoo,
and you can peek at the zoo's latest arrivals in the nursery. This is
a wonderful institution; anyone remotely interested in the natural world
should set aside a full day to explore it.
Old Town
This area was the site of the first civilian Spanish settlement in California,
known as the Pueblo de San Diego. A plaza was laid out here in the 1820s,
and within 10 years it was surrounded by huts and whitewashed villas.
It remained the center of San Diego until 1872, when the city's focus
moved to the current downtown area. In 1968, Old Town became a State
Historic Park, archaeological work was undertaken, the few surviving
original buildings were restored and ruined structures were rebuilt.
The area is now a touristy pedestrian precinct, but the open plaza with
its shady trees is a pleasant place for a stroll, as long as you don't
take it too seriously as a historical site. You'll get a good idea of
San Diego's metamorphosis by visiting the 1820s Casa de Carrillo, the
oldest house in San Diego, located just north of Old Town: it's now
the pro shop for the Presidio Hills Golf Course. Old Town is 2.5 miles
(4km) northwest of downtown.
Hotel del Coronado
This much-loved San Diego institution, commonly known as Hotel Del,
is in the oh-so respectable seaside suburb of Coronado, just across
the bay from downtown San Diego. It's a quirky timber building with
a facade replete with conical towers, cupolas, turrets, balconies and
dormer windows. Its cavernous public spaces reflect the architects'
experience designing railway depots, though the acres of polished wood
give the interior a warm old-fashioned ambiance. Opened in 1888, the
hotel was where Edward (then Prince of Wales) first met Mrs Simpson
and where parts of the 1959 Marilyn Monroe movie Some Like It Hot were
filmed. Guided tours are available.
Coronado is joined to the mainland by a spectacular 2 mile (3km) bridge
and also by a long narrow sand spit that runs south to Imperial Beach.
A ferry runs to Coronado from San Diego's Broadway Pier.
SeaWorld
Undoubtedly one of San Diego's best known and most popular attractions,
SeaWorld opened in Mission Bay in 1964, and Shamu, its resident killer
whale, has become an unofficial symbol of the city. SeaWorld is very
commercial, very entertaining and slightly educational. There are plenty
of whales, sharks, dolphins and penguins on display and, if you like
your marine life choreographed, various special animal performances.
Note that SeaWorld has steep entry prices and long queues for some shows
and exhibits at peak times. The marine park is 5 miles (8km) northwest
of downtown.
La Jolla
This status-conscious seaside suburb, 12 miles (20km) northwest of downtown
San Diego, is known for the three 'R's - restaurants, rugs and real
estate. Pronounced 'la hoya,' it's blessed with a consistent unadorned
Mediterranean style of architecture, comprising arches, colonnades,
red-tile roofs and pale stucco, and has a rugged, invigorating coastline,
with pretty coves and excellent surf beaches.
Highlights of this swanky neighborhood include the Museum of Contemporary
Art, the superb displays in the Stephen Birch Aquarium-Museum and the
nearby Torrey Pines State Reserve, home to the last mainland stands
of the Torrey pine and some superb viewpoints out over the ocean. For
a worthwhile 360? view of the suburb, drive to the top of modest Soledad
Mountain, east of La Jolla. |
