San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter

By Gaslamp Quarter Association, Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation & San Diego Historical Society, Arcadia Publishing.

Reviewed by Craig MacDonald

San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter—Broadway to Harbor Drive, 4th to 6th Avenues—is a terrific example of how public/private partnerships can revitalize older business areas, once again making downtowns historic, vibrant and popular destinations.

This fun book, full of epic photos showing the ups and downs of this popular spot, is a real keepsake for anyone interested in redeveloping their community or who love history and the state's second largest city.

No wonder California's called, "The Golden State." Alonzo Erastus Horton, who created the town of Hortonville, Wisconsin, came seeking riches in the California Gold Rush. He got rich selling supplies to miners in El Dorado County and later sold furniture in San Francisco.

When the former wrestling champion heard of the great weather, bay & land in San Diego, he sold off much of his business empire, came south and eventually bought 960 acres for 27 1/2-cents an acre. He called his new development, Horton's Addition. It was located next to the bay, so ships could deliver goods easier & the Main Street was 5th Avenue. It became a center for trade, commerce & government.

With a gold rush in nearby Julian and talk of the Transcontinental Railroad terminating in San Diego, construction & the population exploded.

Wyatt Earp and his wife, Josie, even came to town, bought four saloons and gambling halls and called the first race at Del Mar.

Bum, a St. Bernard/Spaniel mix, arrived as a stowaway aboard a San Francisco ship. The beloved dog became San Diego's Favorite Canine, who had the run of the town.

In 1888, Alfred Wilcox, who came to San Diego in 1849 as captain of a ship carrying government workers to turn San Diego River into Mission Bay, built an Italianate-Baroque Revival building. Many years later, Interior Designer Marsha Sewell-Shea & husband, Architect Michael Shea, recognized the Gaslamp as a great place to live. They purchased the historic structure & restored it to its glory.

The Keating Building, built in 1890, had steam heat and an iron cage elevator. Decades later, Singer Jim Croce and his Musician wife, Ingrid, saw it and wanted to live there. Jim died in a plane crash shortly after they fell in love with the structure. As a tribute, Ingrid created a restaurant and jazz club in the historic building. Their friends, Willie Nelson, Arlo Guthrie, James Taylor & Waylon Jennings came to enjoy the club.

But when the Julian rush for riches came to an end & Transcontinental Railroad owners decided to make Los Angeles the Western Terminus, many people left the city for other places.

There was hope again when the Panama Canal was being constructed in 1914 and efforts were made to clean up portions of downtown, especially "The Stingaree"—a restricted area which had turned to adult entertainment, opium dens and gambling.

Police raided the district and took 136 suspected women of the night to the train depot. The ladies were supposed to buy one-way tickets to LA but all but two purchased round trip tickets!

City Plumbing Inspector Walter Bellon, who was accompanied by armed bodyguards, helped clean things up by tracking down absentee landlords and forcing them to comply with Public Health & Welfare Regulations.

San Diego created the Panama California Exposition & even built a new train depot.

By 1920, cars took over horses and wagons.

After World War II, the old Stingaree land became known as The Gaslamp Quarter, full of tattoo parlors, seedy bars, massage parlors and pawn shops.

In the late 1960s, some locals began a Historic Preservation Movement for the section, in time for San Diego's 1969 Bicentennial. Under the leadership of Tom Hom, property owners & preservationists came together to reinvigorate the rundown spot.

Mayor Pete Wilson created the Centre City Development Corporation; there were street improvements; a Business Improvement District was formed—Gaslamp Quarter Association—as many buildings were fixed to their former glory. In the 1980s, after the Gaslamp was designated a Historic District, money became available to investors to restore their original splendor.

Special events brought others downtown; street fairs & concerts flourished and people proudly showed off the new & improved, exciting properties during tours.

This book highlights—in photos & text—some of the wonderful buildings you can see in the Gaslamp:

—The Spencer Ogden Building is one of the oldest still standing (1874) at F & 5th Avenues.

—The Bancroft Building, 5th Ave. & G St., was originally built by famed California Historian, H.H. Bancroft, whose work is in the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, known worldwide for its collection of material on Western History.

—Built in 1892, San Diego Hardware is the longest-running family-owned business in the Gaslamp. It still has its hardwood floors & tin ceiling at 5th Ave. & E St.

—Frank Woolworth, founder of F.W. Woolworth, built at 5th Ave., near Broadway, a "Five & Dime" Store building in 1886. He loved living in San Diego.

This interesting book is a real winner!

—The reviewer was a San Diego Union reporter in the 1970s, who wrote about Gaslamp buildings, including the 1850 Davis-Horton House, the oldest wooden structure in modern downtown. During World War II, a German spy lived there. Near the Gaslamp is the Olde Cracker Factory, 448 W. Market, once home to Bishop & Co Cracker & Candy—1913-31 & Nabisco Biscuit Company—1931-41. For 40 years, it was an Antique Emporium. The enthusiastic and loveable Joe & Ruth Sherman operated the very popular business for much of this time. It later was remodeled and today offers creative office space, rooftop penthouses, live/work lofts and ground floor retail. Over the years, the fascinating, historic structure has had various owners, including the famous Scripps Family.