Latest
The Gaslamp Quarter sign over Fifth Avenue in San Diego

The Gaslamp Quarter, from red-light district to downtown’s busiest blocks

by

Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The streets south of Broadway in downtown San Diego were laid out by Alonzo Horton in the late 1860s, and by the 1880s they were the business center of the city. Part of the area, known as the Stingaree, was also home to saloons, gambling halls and brothels, and police raided it in 1912.

Through the mid-20th century, the area declined into a district of pawn shops, adult theaters and cheap hotels, while new office towers went up farther north.

Saving the buildings

In the 1970s, property owners and preservationists pushed to protect the Victorian commercial buildings. The Gaslamp Quarter was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and the city supported restoration. The Horton Plaza shopping center opened nearby in 1985 and brought shoppers back downtown.

The arch over Fifth Avenue, with its Gaslamp Quarter sign, became a landmark.

Business today

The district has dozens of restaurants, bars and nightclubs, along with hotels. It benefits from conventions at the nearby convention center and Padres games at Petco Park. Big events such as Comic-Con fill its streets.

The challenges include high rents, homelessness and public safety concerns that affect foot traffic. Horton Plaza mall closed and has been redeveloped as an office campus. The Gaslamp Quarter Association works with businesses on events and cleanliness. Nightlife remains its core, with restaurants and hotels hoping for more daytime visitors.

More in Business