D is for Downtown San Diego
(This is part of a series, Blogging from A to Z April 2014 Challenge. My theme for the challenge is Quintessential San Diego from A to Z, focusing on those things that are typical, or perfect, or classic examples of San Diego life. Today is D.)
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Downtown San Diego is made up of several distinct neighborhoods, each with their own personality. We’ll talk about five of them.
The Civic Center and urban core is home to the City of San Diego’s Mayor’s Office, City Council and government offices for many core city services. This is where you might go for jury duty, or a court date. The San Diego Civic Theater hosts national famous plays and performances. For shopping there is Horton Plaza mall, which includes movie theaters and an ice skating rink at Christmastime.
The Gaslamp District is an urban redevelopment project success story. A formerly run-down, sketchy area has been transformed into a vibrant restaurant and nightlife destination. It’s fun to note the historic buildings with their new life and paint.
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East Village is another transformation story. Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres baseball team, opened in 2004, bringing new life to a tired area. Now the brand new San Diego City Library has opened its doors in East Village. Now East Village is downtown San Diego’s largest and fastest growing neighborhood, with a mix of eclectic and trendy shops, lofts, galleries, restaurants and living spaces.
The Marina District is the area nestled along San Diego Bay. It is the home of the San Diego Convention Center, which has hosted Comic Con for many years. Attendance topped 130,000 in recent years. This year’s Comic Con is July 24-27. San Diego becomes a crazy place during those days! Seaport Village (great place to take the grandkids!) and the Embarcadero are also parts of the Marina District.
Perhaps my favorite neighborhood is Little Italy. Settled by Italian tuna fishermen, it is now home to wonderful family owned Italian restaurants and walkable urban residential areas. Little Italy hosts a farmers’ market every Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm, called Little Italy Mercato. The streets fill with stalls selling food, plants, gifts, and live music. So many people bring their dogs, that you may wonder if dogs are required.
https://www.donnaamisdavis.com/d-downtown-san-diego/San DiegoSan Diego A to ZSan Diego (This is part of a series, Blogging from A to Z April 2014 Challenge. My theme for the challenge is Quintessential San Diego from A to Z, focusing on those things that are typical, or perfect, or classic examples of San Diego life. Today is D.) Downtown San Diego is made up of...Donna Amis DavisDonna Amis Davis[email protected]AdministratorDonna Amis Davis
Donna This is perfect. Now there’s no planning necessary…you’ve done it all!
Thank you, Corinne. There could be a Downtown A to Z, I’m sure.
Really enjoying your posts (both on Palawan and this current series on San Diego, which we’re visiting in December). Thanks!
Oh great! Thank you. Hope you have a really fun trip. December is a great month in San Diego. The sunsets can be just spectacular.
Jen, there was a Decolongon family in Puerto Princesa that we were acquainted with. Are you related?
The San-Diego at Night pic is sublime! And Comic-Con sounds fun!
Comic Con is really wild. So many people dress in their Cos-play outfits, you never know who you will see out on the streets.
Love your blog Donna! Makes me want to come and be a tourist!!
Indeed. Thanks, Melinda. I’m finding all kinds of places I want to explore, too.
I can’t imagine how busy San Diego must get during Comic Con. We were recently in Munich which hosts Octoberfest annually and I couldn’t imagine how they host so many people. It must be a great time in San Diego each year, I can only imagine the things you’ve seen!
I have friends who are Comic Con regulars. But I haven’t yet ventured into the fray. Hmmm. Maybe I should. . .
I think of San Diego as one of the perfect places in the US. I read a blog from someone who used to live near the Little Italy area and always enjoyed reading about the neighborhood.
Can’t wait to follow your series.
(I’ll also be catching up on some Palawan posts when I get some free time. We’re going back to the Philippines at the end of next year for a few weeks and I think we’re going to try to go there. My avatar here is from Boracay.)
Absolutely love San Diego, so we’re delighted to find your blog! (Thank you, A to Z Challenge!) Thanks for sharing – lots of good ideas for our next visit. We found ourselves inadvertently in the middle of Comic Con last year…what a riot! We didn’t make it to Balboa Park, one of my favorite parts of the city, so we’ll have to visit again soon!
That is funny! Thank you for the kind words.
Those pics aree so gorgeous– makes me want to visit on my next US trip!
Damyanti Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2014, Latest post on Amlokiblogs
Twitter: @damyantig
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Thanks for stopping by, Damyanti!