Gaslamp Quarter Historic District

Sixteen blocks of downtown San Diego, bounded by Broadway, 4th Avenue, Pacific Highway and 6th Avenue, make up the Gaslamp Quarter, formerly called the "Stingaree." Most buildings date from 1880 to 1910. They are typically two and three stories of common brick, built at the property line with tall ground floors, corbelled cornices, deep-set openings, inset entrances and bay windows. Notable examples include the Louis Bank of Commerce, Nesmith-Greely, Hubbell, Marston, Keating and Backesto buildings. Many facades were later stripped, stuccoed or covered with metal fronts, though some blocks remain largely intact. The district was nominated as the only significant remnant of turn-of-the-century commercial San Diego. Alonzo Horton's land purchases and wharf at the foot of Fifth Avenue encouraged investment, and by 1900 Fifth Avenue was the city's commercial hub, with electric streetcars and arc lamps. The nomination argues that the flavor of that first urban period is worth preserving.