Historic Gaslamp District, San Diego Ca

Exploring a New City

Have you ever been to a new city for a wedding or family reunion and wondered where you can go to see historic sites, architecture, museums, etc? Let's take San Diego for an example.

San Diego is known for places like Sea World, the Wild Animal Park, the San Diego Zoo, it's gorgeous beaches, and mild weather. But unless you have been there, I'll bet you didn't know San Diego had a quaint and safe little "downtown" area called the Gaslamp District. The Gaslamp District not only offers great dining and nightlife such as Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar, the gaslamp is the historic heart of San Diego.

A Bit of Interesting History
Close your eyes for a second and imagine flat, barren land with no natural vegetation or fresh water sources. San Diego is probably the last place you have in mind, right? But this is exactly the predicament the Spanish were faced with when establishing San Diego in the mid 1700's.

Now you can see why it took great vision and courage to attempt to found a modern city in a location with almost no natural resources. Today the Gaslamp Quarter is a burgeoning center for commerce, dining, and nightlife, consisting of 16 charming blocks characterized by their Victorian architecture, wide brick sidewalks and namesake multi-bulb lampposts.

From the early 1900's until the early 1980's, people mainly went to the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego to visit its houses of ill repute. Two decades later, the historical district has been transformed into what is now the hottest area in San Diego for restaurants and night life. In fact, the Gaslamp Quarter is known as the "New Orlean's (French Quarter) of the West Coast."

Article Written By,
Adam O'Connor