Pacific Beach, San Diego

Pacific Beach, San Diego
Community of San Diego
Pacific Beach

The beach at Pacific Beach looking south
Nickname(s): "P.B."
Pacific Beach, San Diego

Location within Central San Diego

Coordinates: 32°47′52″N 117°14′25″W / 32.7978265°N 117.2403142°W / 32.7978265; -117.2403142
Country  United States of America
State  California
County San Diego
City San Diego
Pacific Beach north of Crystal Pier
The Crystal Pier at sunset
Pacific Beach looking north, Crystal Pier in the distance

Pacific Beach is a neighborhood in San Diego, bounded by La Jolla to the north, Mission Beach and Mission Bay to the south, Interstate 5 to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.[1] While formerly largely populated by young people, surfers, and college students, because of rising property and rental costs the population is gradually becoming older, more professional, and more affluent. "P.B.," as it is known as by local residents, is home to one of San Diego's more developed nightlife scenes, with a great variety of bars, eateries, and clothing stores.

The beach

Pacific Beach's namesake stretches for miles from the Mission Bay jetty to the cliffs of La Jolla. The boardwalk, officially called Ocean Front Walk/Ocean Boulevard, is a pedestrian walkway that runs approximately 3.2 miles along the beach from the end of Law St. in the north down into Mission Beach, ending at the mouth of Mission Bay in the south. There are numerous local shops, bars, hotels, and restaurants along the boardwalk, and it is generally crowded with pedestrians, cyclists, rollerbladers, and shoppers. Adjacent to the boardwalk is the Crystal Pier, a public pier and hotel at the west end of Garnet Avenue.

Streets

The streets in Pacific Beach were renamed several times before receiving their current designations in 1900.[2] The primary north-south street running parallel to the beach is Mission Blvd., with the streets named after late 19th century federal officials, then incrementing in alphabetical order as they move further from the coast: Bayard, Cass, Dawes, Everts, Fanuel, Gresham, Haines, Ingraham, Jewell, Kendall, Lamont, Morrell, Noyes, Olney, and Pendleton. Mission Boulevard was formerly Allison Street, being the "A" street of the series.

The east-west streets are mostly named after precious stones. Starting at the north end of Mission Blvd. and heading south, the streets are:

History

Crystal Pier

Pacific Beach was developed during the boom years of 1886-1888 by D. C. Reed, A. G. Gassen, Charles W. Pauley, R. A. Thomas, and O. S. Hubbell. It was Hubbell who "cleared away the grainfields, pitched a tent, mapped out the lots, hired an auctioneer and started to work".[3] To attract people, they built a race track and the San Diego College of Letters,[4] neither of which survive today. A railway also connected Pacific Beach with downtown San Diego, and was later extended to La Jolla.

As with many Californian cities, the history of its development can be traced back to the completion of a cross-country railroad in the late 1880s. In 1902, lots sold for between $350–700 for ocean-front property and by 1950, the population of Pacific Beach reached 30,000 and the average home sold for $12,000.[5] Nonetheless, a small number of farms remained. Today, homes can sell for millions.

The United States Navy operated an anti-aircraft training center at Pacific Beach during World War II.[6] During the 1960s, development continued to increase with the city’s investment in Mission Bay Park, including the developments of the Islandia, Vacation Village and Hilton Hotels. In 1964 Sea World opened, which is located only a few miles from Pacific Beach.

The original name of this feature was "Bay Point" and today one may still find a USGS bench mark and associated RM (DC1025, DC1026 respectively) with that name there.[7] The "Bay Point Formation" is the name of a local rock strata first found and described there.[8]

Today, Pacific Beach is home to a younger crowd, including college students, single professionals, and families. The restaurant and nightlife culture has grown extensively, with Garnet Avenue becoming the major hub for places to eat, drink, and shop, and includes a range of bars, restaurants, pubs, and coffee houses.

Education

Pacific Beach public schools are part of the San Diego Unified School District. They include Mission Bay Senior High School, Pacific Beach Middle School, Kate Sessions Elementary, Barnard Elementary, and Crown Point Elementary.

Parks

Surfing at Pacific Beach
Surfing in Pacific Beach

In addition to bordering the Pacific Ocean and Mission Bay Park, Pacific Beach includes Kate Sessions Park and the Pacific Beach Recreation Center. Rose Creek, which flows through Pacific Beach before emptying into Mission Bay, provides open space and a rich wetland area.

Organizations

The nonprofit Pacific Beach Town Council promotes the area and organizes community events.[9] The Pacific Beach Planning Group advises the city on land use and other issues.[10] The Pacific Beach and Mission Bay Visitor Center provides information on the Pacific Beach Town Council, special events, lodging, dining, and Pacific Beach history.[11] Service clubs include Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions Club, Girl Scouts, Pacific Beach Woman's Club, Surf Club, Friends of the PB Library, PB Garden Club, and Toastmasters.

Media

Pacific Beach is serviced in print by the daily San Diego Union Tribune and the weekly Beach & Bay Press.

Bars and nightlife

Pacific Beach is one of the main centers of nightlife in San Diego. Garnet Avenue, between Ingraham Street and Mission Boulevard, is where many bars and restaurants are located. The nightlife in Pacific Beach caters to a younger crowd than the nightlife in downtown San Diego.

Notable current and former residents

See also

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mission Beach & Pacific Beach.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pacific Beach.
  1. ↑ San Diego Planning Department
  2. ↑ Locker, Z.B., "Whatever happened to Izard Street?" Journal of San Diego History, 1976
  3. ↑ Locker, Z.B., "Whatever happened to Izard Street?" Journal of San Diego History, 1976
  4. ↑ Fetzer, Leland (2005). San Diego County Place Names A to Z. San Diego: Sunbelt Publications. p. 108. In 1869, the site of the district's first race track, Agricultural Park ... promoters founded Pacific Beach Subdivision in 1887. Here they erected the San Diego College of Letters ... When it failed, its buildings became the Hotel Balboa.
  5. ↑ Pacific Beach and Mission Bay Visitor Center
  6. ↑ "U.S. Naval Activities World War II by State". Patrick Clancey. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  7. ↑ http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/datasheet.prl
  8. ↑ http://jpaleontol.geoscienceworld.org/content/33/4/685.abstract
  9. ↑ Pacific Beach Town Council website
  10. ↑ Pacific Beach Planning Group
  11. ↑ Pacific Beach and Mission Bay Visitor Center
To the North:
La Jolla		 California beaches To the South
Mission Beach
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