North Park, San Diego, California
Encyclopedia
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA. It is situated to the northeast of Balboa Park, bounded on the north by the canyons overlooking Mission Valley, on the south by Switzer Canyon
Switzer Canyon
Switzer Canyon is a canyon in San Diego, California. It is situated to the east of Balboa Park and serves as the boundary between the neighborhoods of North Park and South Park in Central San Diego...
and the South Park
South Park, San Diego, California
Central portion of San Diego and neighborhood boundariesSouth Park is a neighborhood in San Diego, California located east of Balboa Park, and borne out of its southern neighbor Golden Hill. "South Park" is also north of Grant Hill and south of North Park, the boundary being Juniper Street...
neighborhood, on the east by Interstate 805
Interstate 805
Interstate 805 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass of Interstate 5, running along the eastern areas of the Greater San Diego area from San Ysidro near the Mexico–U.S...
and City Heights
City Heights, San Diego, California
City Heights is a large community in the eastern part of San Diego, California, known for its ethnic diversity. Along the main streets one can find Hispanic, White American, East African, African American, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian businesses...
, and on the west by Florida Canyon and Hillcrest
Hillcrest, San Diego, California
Hillcrest is a neighborhood in San Diego, California northwest of Balboa Park and south of Mission Valley.Hillcrest is known for its tolerance, diversity, and locally-owned businesses, including restaurants, cafés, bars, clubs, trendy thrift-stores, and other independent specialty stores...
. The pre-Interstate 805 boundary of North Park was widely considered to be 35th Street, which is now part of City Heights.
The North Park sign can be seen at 30th Street
30th Street (San Diego)
30th Street is a major north-south road in San Diego, California on the east side of Balboa Park. It connects several of the densest urban communities of Central San Diego and has a high rate of pedestrian activity...
and University Avenue, and this intersection is often considered to be the heart of the neighborhood. North Park includes the subneighborhoods of Burlingame, Altadena, and the Morley Field area (site of the proposed Dryden Historic District). North Park is part of the 53rd congressional district, and San Diego City Council District 3. Todd Gloria was elected as North Park's council member on November 4, 2008. Residents of North Park are served by a vibrant and active all-volunteer group, the North Park Community Association NPCA. The NPCA hosts free Bird Park Summer Concerts, runs a Stop Graffiti Now! campaign, connects neighbors who have common concerns, and promotes local businesses through its Member Discount Program. North Park's business community is also served by a business improvement district
Business improvement district
A business improvement district is a defined area within which businesses pay an additional tax or fee in order to fund improvements within the district's boundaries. Grant funds acquired by the city for special programs and/or incentives such as tax abatements can be made available to assist...
called North Park Main Street.
Like much of San Diego, in the 2000s North Park has seen significant increases in housing prices. Some in the community believe this is evidence that the community has undergone gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
, however no comprehensive housing or population study has yet been conducted to confirm this point. Downtown North Park contains the Ray Street Arts District
Ray Street Arts District
The Ray Street Arts District is an arts district in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego, California.-Location:The Ray Street Arts District is centered on Ray Street between University Avenue and North Park Way in North Park, San Diego, California, and often includes 30th Street to the west as...
.
History
In the summer of 1893, San Diego merchant Joseph Nash sold 40 acres (16.2 ha) of land northeast of Balboa Park to James Monroe Hartley, who wished to develop a lemon grove. The Hartley family began the arduous process of clearing the land to prepare the earth for the grove, but providing the fledgling trees with proper irrigation was always a problem. Barrels of water had to be hauled from downtown San Diego up a wagon trail that would eventually be called Pershing Drive.As the growth of San Diego eventually caught up with the original Hartley lemon grove, it eventually became roughly bordered by Ray Street to the west, 32nd Street to the east, University Avenue to the north and Dwight Street to the south. Hartley deemed his area "Hartley's North Park" - and years later, the name evidently stuck as the City of San Diego referred to the new suburb as "North Park."
In 1911, Hartley's eldest son, Jack, and a relative (brother-in-law William Jay Stevens) developed the plot into one of San Diego's first residential and commercial districts. After first establishing "Stevens & Hartley", North Park's first real estate firm, in 1905, Jack and William built North Park's first "high rise" commercial building, the Stevens building, on the northwest corner of 30th Street and University Avenue (today's "Western Dental" building) in 1912. "Thirtieth & University" became North Park's symbolic place name - and within 10 years, this became the heart of the community.
Later in the 1910s, North Park became one of the many San Diego neighborhoods connected by the Class 1 streetcars
San Diego Class 1 Streetcars
The San Diego Class 1 Streetcars were a fleet of twenty-four unique streetcars that were originally built to provide transportation for the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. The cars were designed by the San Diego Electric Railway Company under the leadership of John D. Spreckels and...
and an extensive San Diego public transit system that was spurred by the Panama-California Exposition of 1915 and built by John D. Spreckels
John D. Spreckels
John Diedrich Spreckels , the son of German-American industrialist Claus Spreckels, founded a transportation and real estate empire in San Diego, California in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
. These streetcars became a fixture of this neighborhood until their retirement in 1939.
North Park was the site of the crash of PSA Flight 182
PSA Flight 182
Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182, registration N533PS, was a Boeing 727-214 commercial airliner that collided with a private Cessna 172 over San Diego, California on September 25, 1978. Pacific Southwest Airlines' first accident involving fatalities, the death toll of 144 makes it the...
, California's deadliest aviation accident to date.
Architecture
Although North Park 92104 is a neighborhood of mixed architectural styles from many eras, one area of note is the Morley Field area of North Park. Named for its proximity to Balboa Park's Morley Field Sports Complex, this area is lined with turn-of-the-century Craftsman BungalowsAmerican Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
and California Bungalow
California Bungalow
California bungalows, known as Californian bungalows in Australia and are commonly called simply bungalows in America, are a form of residential structure that were widely popular across America and, to some extent, the world around the years 1910 to 1939.-Exterior features:Bungalows are 1 or 1½...
s. Because many of the homes were designed by renowned designer and builder David Owen Dryden
David Owen Dryden
David Owen Dryden , was a renowned San Diego builder-architect best known for his craftsman-style bungalows in the suburbs north of San Diego's Balboa Park including the North Park, Mission Hills and University Heights neighborhoods. Most of Dryden's work was constructed between 1911 and 1919...
, the area is the site of the "Dryden Historic District." This historical district includes the homes along 28th and Pershing Streets, both bordered on the south by Upas Street and to the north by Landis Street. North Park Dryden Historic District was approved by Historical Resources Board on June 23, 2011 An application for designation of 28th Street and Pershing Avenue from Upas to Landis Streets as a historic district was filed with the City of San Diego Historical Resources Board in May 2007. In September 2008, City staff requested additional information. The Working Group submitted a Supplemental Application in January 2009. The Supplemental Application discusses why the neighborhood reflects significant elements of North Park's development, justifies the proposed district boundaries and nominates Edward F. Bryans, who built more than a dozen homes in the proposed district, as a Master Builder.
On June 23, 2011, the City's Historical Resources Board (HRB) approved, by a vote of 8-0, establishment of the North Park Dryden Historic District and also approved Edward F. Bryans as a Master Builder. Of the 136 homes in the District, 104 were approved by the HRB as contributing resources to the District.
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As evidenced above, interest in the history of North Park (especially its architecture) appears to be growing. Helping to foster this interest and awareness is the North Park Historical Society, a local volunteer civic organization. The North Park Historical Society manages a website at NorthParkHistory.org which contains many articles about historic sites, people and events; North Park walking tours; and information about committee projects and meeting information. Some of the site's extensive collection of articles on North Park's history were written by Donald Covington
Donald Covington
Donald Covington , former Professor of Design in the Art Department of San Diego State University, taught courses in the history of architecture and design. He held an M.A...
- historian, Dryden
David Owen Dryden
David Owen Dryden , was a renowned San Diego builder-architect best known for his craftsman-style bungalows in the suburbs north of San Diego's Balboa Park including the North Park, Mission Hills and University Heights neighborhoods. Most of Dryden's work was constructed between 1911 and 1919...
Expert and North Park enthusiast.
Arts, culture and cuisine
An eclectic array of restaurants, as well as independent coffee shops, can be found along the main arteries of 30th Street30th Street (San Diego)
30th Street is a major north-south road in San Diego, California on the east side of Balboa Park. It connects several of the densest urban communities of Central San Diego and has a high rate of pedestrian activity...
and University Avenue. The area is also dotted with bars and night clubs that cater to a wide diversity of patrons.
Downtown North Park contains the Ray Street Arts District
Ray Street Arts District
The Ray Street Arts District is an arts district in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego, California.-Location:The Ray Street Arts District is centered on Ray Street between University Avenue and North Park Way in North Park, San Diego, California, and often includes 30th Street to the west as...
. Ray at Night is a gallery walk held the second Saturday of every month in North Park. It is the largest and longest running artwalk in San Diego's history.
Nearby, the Birch North Park Theatre reopened after major renovations in 2005. It is the home of Lyric Opera San Diego
Lyric opera san diego
Lyric Opera San Diego is a San Diego, California based theatre company specialising in Comic opera, Operetta, and Musical theatre. The company was founded in 1979, primarily for the purpose of performing Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. At the time it was known as the San Diego Gilbert and Sullivan...
.
North Park has a Farmers Market every Thursday at the parking lot located at University and 32nd Streets. The Spring/Summer hours are 3pm-sunset, Fall/Winter 2pm-Sunset. They feature over 35 independent vendors; locally grown produce/flowers; gourmet/ethnic foods; arts and crafts; books; and, often, live music.
The San Diego Music Foundation hosts a large musical festival—North Park Music Thing--in the fall on El Cajon Boulevard, which helps add to North Park's reputation as a great community for the arts in San Diego.
As a tradition every December, North Park holds its annual holiday parade. Formerly known as the North Park Toyland Parade, it is now called the North Park Lions Club Holiday Parade.
Like other urban San Diego communities, North Park has a high rate of pedestrian activity, relative to other regions of San Diego county.
North Park is one of the most diverse communities in San Diego. It has sizeable populations of Latinos, Caucasians, and LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
individuals. Businesses and residential neighborhoods alike reflect this diversity.
Publications
- A recent book, North Park: A San Diego Urban Village, has been published by the North Park Historical Society. It recollects the development of the neighborhood from 1896 to 1946, and includes an array of historic photos of the area.
- North Park Calendars are published by the North Park Historical Society.
- The San Diego Uptown News covers North Park and surrounding communities http://www.sduptownnews.com.
- The North Park News is a local publication, delivered free of charge to North Park residents
- North Park Main Street's website features Once Upon A Time in North Park articles, submitted by various writers from the North Park Historical Society.
Transportation
North Park is served by Interstate 805Interstate 805
Interstate 805 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass of Interstate 5, running along the eastern areas of the Greater San Diego area from San Ysidro near the Mexico–U.S...
, which is accessible from the University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard exits.
University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard
El Cajon Boulevard
El Cajon Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare through San Diego, La Mesa and El Cajon, California. Before the creation of Interstate 8 it was the principal automobile route from San Diego to El Cajon, the Imperial Valley, and points east....
are the major east-west thoroughfares in North Park. University Avenue leads west to Hillcrest
Hillcrest, San Diego, California
Hillcrest is a neighborhood in San Diego, California northwest of Balboa Park and south of Mission Valley.Hillcrest is known for its tolerance, diversity, and locally-owned businesses, including restaurants, cafés, bars, clubs, trendy thrift-stores, and other independent specialty stores...
and east to City Heights
City Heights, San Diego, California
City Heights is a large community in the eastern part of San Diego, California, known for its ethnic diversity. Along the main streets one can find Hispanic, White American, East African, African American, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian businesses...
and La Mesa
La Mesa, California
La Mesa is a city in San Diego County, California. The population was 57,065 at the 2010 census, up from 54,749 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1869 and officially incorporated as a city on February 16, 1912. Its official flower is the bougainvillea....
. El Cajon Boulevard leads west to Washington Avenue and Mission Hills
Mission Hills, San Diego, California
Mission Hills is a neighborhood of San Diego, California, USA. It is located on hills just south of the San Diego River valley and north of downtown San Diego, overlooking Old Town and San Diego Bay. It was subdivided on January 20, 1908 as a smaller portion of what is now referred to as Mission...
and continues east to the city of El Cajon
El Cajon, California
-History:El Cajon is located on the Rancho El Cajon Mexican land grant made in 1845 to María Antonia Estudillo, wife of Miguel Pedrorena. In 1876 Amaziah Lord Knox , a New Englander who had recently moved to California, established a hotel there to serve the growing number of people traveling...
. Florida Street connects North Park to Downtown San Diego through Florida Canyon in Balboa Park to the south, and to Adams Avenue and University Heights
University Heights, San Diego, California
University Heights is a neighborhood in Central San Diego, California centered around Park Boulevard and Adams Avenue. The area is filled with a number of restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, and artist's studios primarily on Park Boulevard and Adams Avenue. Live entertainment can be found most...
to the north. 30th Street
30th Street (San Diego)
30th Street is a major north-south road in San Diego, California on the east side of Balboa Park. It connects several of the densest urban communities of Central San Diego and has a high rate of pedestrian activity...
connects North Park to Adams Avenue and Normal Heights
Normal Heights, San Diego, California
Normal Heights is a neighborhood of the mid-city region of San Diego, California. It is known for its affordable pubs, restaurants, coffee houses, antique shops, book shops, and burgeoning arts community.-History:...
to the north, and to South Park
South Park, San Diego, California
Central portion of San Diego and neighborhood boundariesSouth Park is a neighborhood in San Diego, California located east of Balboa Park, and borne out of its southern neighbor Golden Hill. "South Park" is also north of Grant Hill and south of North Park, the boundary being Juniper Street...
and Golden Hill
Golden Hill, San Diego, California
Golden Hill is a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It is located south of Balboa Park, north of Sherman Heights/Highway 94 , and east of Downtown....
to the south. Texas Street heads north directly into Mission Valley.
There is substantial bus service (bus routes 1,2,6,7,10,11, and 15 connecting to Downtown San Diego as well as to the transportation hub in Old Town
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California, is a state protected historical park in San Diego. It commemorates the early days of the town of San Diego and includes many historic buildings from the period 1820 to 1870. The park was...
). The busiest bus line corridor in the San Diego metro region, known as the University Avenue transit corridor (bus routes 7 and 10), traverses North Park.
Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates the North Park Post Office at 3791 Grim Avenue. This post office was closed in July of 2011 due to budget cuts in the postal service..
Books
- North Park: A San Diego Urban Village recollects the development of the neighborhood from 1896 to 1946. Copies of this book are available from the North Park Historical Society and online bookstores.
External links
- North Park Main Street
- North Park Community Association (NPCA)
- North Park Historical Society (NPHS) -- publishers of the 2009 North Park Calendar and North Park: A San Diego Urban Village
- New To San Diego
- Unofficial neighborhood web site
- 92104.org: North Park Wiki Guide/Wiki about the 92104 area
- NorthParkScene
- Between Heights Community
- City Council District 3