Alonzo Horton bought downtown San Diego for $265
Alonzo Horton arrived in 1867, bought about 800 acres by the bay at auction and built the New Town that became downtown San Diego.
downtown San Diego
Petco Park and the East Village development it set off
The Padres’ downtown ballpark opened in 2004 after a long political fight. It helped transform East Village from warehouses to apartment towers.
The Gaslamp Quarter, from red-light district to downtown’s busiest blocks
San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter was once the Stingaree. Preservation in the 1970s and 1980s turned its Victorian buildings into restaurants and nightlife.