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The historic heart of San Diego is a colorful 16-block district known as the Gaslamp Quarter, where restored Victorian-era buildings house shops and restaurants. On the west side of the district is Horton Plaza, a modern shopping and dining complex with six landscaped open-air levels. The plaza marks the spot where San Diego developer Alonzo Horton founded in 1867 what once was called “New Town.” Just to the north of this historic district is the San Diego Concourse, a multipurpose convention and performing arts complex. Along the city’s waterfront is an art deco-style cruise ship terminal, serving the most popular cruise ship port on the West Coast; the San Diego Maritime Museum, showcasing the 18th-century windjammer Star of India; and the architecturally distinguished San Diego Convention Center. North of the downtown area is Balboa Park, home of the world-class San Diego Zoo.

Northwest of the downtown is Old Town, site of the original Spanish settlement. Extending northward along the coast are popular oceanfront communities, including Pacific Beach and Mission Beach. Mission Valley follows the San Diego River, and its rim is lined with luxury homes and condominiums. Farther north is La Jolla, home to the San Diego campus of the University of California, leading research institutes, and an upscale shopping district called the Golden Triangle. On the peninsula forming San Diego Bay is the independent resort city of Coronado, connected to downtown San Diego by a long bridge.

The San Diego metropolitan area, coextensive with San Diego County, covers a land area of 4,204.5 sq mi. Nearly half of the area’s population lives in the city of San Diego. Other major cities are Chula Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, El Cajon, Vista, Carlsbad, and National City.

San Diego is a popular year-round resort city. In Balboa Park is the San Diego Zoo, one of the nation’s largest and home to more than 4,200 animals, including representatives of 78 species considered endangered. Sea World of California (Mission Bay) features a killer whale and the world’s largest collection of sharks. San Diego Wild Animal Park (Escondido) is a wildlife preserve that presents more than 3,000 animals in open-range exhibits.

Qualcomm Stadium is the home of the San Diego Padres, playing major league baseball, and the San Diego Chargers, playing major league football. Major sporting events in the city include a professional golf tournament in February, hydroplane races on Mission Bay in late summer, and the Holiday Bowl postseason college football game in December.

San Diego grew steadily during the early 20th century. By 1910 the city had 40,000 inhabitants. San Diego hosted the Panama-California Exposition (1915-1916) and the California Pacific International Exposition (1935-1936), international fairs that brought worldwide attention to the city.

The two world wars in the first half of the 20th century contributed to the military importance of San Diego. Naval bases were constructed and local defense industries expanded production. The aircraft and electronics industries became leading employers. By 1950 the city’s population had climbed to 334,387. During the following decade San Diego’s population grew by a remarkable 71 percent.

Several slumps in the aerospace industry prompted a move to diversify the local economy. The biggest jolt came in the early 1990s. Reduced spending for defense, a result of the end of the Cold War, hit San Diego’s aerospace industry particularly hard. Local employment in aerospace plummeted from 27,800 in 1989 to only 9,300 in 1995. The region benefited, however, through the closure of military installations elsewhere in the nation and the reassignment of functions to bases in the San Diego area. One of the area’s unsolved problems is the high cost of living. In the 1990s it cost about one-fifth more than the national average to live in San Diego. In 1997 the city adopted an innovative approach toward balancing growth and conservation. Some undeveloped sections of land, primarily in the city’s eastern side, will be acquired and permanently set aside to protect wildlife and plants. In exchange other sections of land will be freed for unrestricted development. The agreement will preserve some of the region’s most important habitat while meeting the housing needs of a growing population.

Real Estate: United States - California

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