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Western San Diego

Photo Credit: HouseHunt.com

Talk about diversity! Western San Diego serves up a slice from many neighborhood pies—the sumptuous pampering of Coronado, the trendiness of Hillcrest, the affluent domesticity of Mission Hills, the quiet humility of North Park, the hippie nonchalance of Ocean Beach, and the tourist-pleasing history of Old Town. Plus, the region can crow about its frontage along the Pacific, the Bay, and Downtown.

Western San Diego’s neighborhoods include:

Coronado
Hillcrest
Mission Hills
North Park
Ocean Beach
Old Town
Point Loma
University Heights

View healthcare facilities in Central San Diego

Coronado
Naming this city with the Spanish word for “crowned” has proved prophetic. Its opulent Hotel del Coronado, built in 1888 and a Coronado landmark, has hosted both foreign royalty (Edward VIII, the Prince of Wales, met Coronado divorcée Wallis Simpson here in 1920) and American “royalty” (Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and every president since Lyndon Johnson).

The turrets and Victorian splendor of Hotel del Coronado (“the Del”) may have inspired the descriptions of the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz, as author Frank Baum lived and wrote within the hotel walls.

The 692-room hotel sits on what, from downtown San Diego, looks like an island. But Coronado belongs to a peninsula, connected to the mainland by the narrow Silver Strand spit, and accessible by ferry and the Coronado Bridge. The North Island Naval Air Station occupies the northern half of the peninsula, while the resort-like Coronado community inhabits the southern portion.

For play time, there are beaches, surfing, sailing, an 18-hole golf course, 18 public parks, tennis courts, dedicated bicycle paths, and a public pool. Stroll down the commercial main street, Orange Avenue, for restaurants, sidewalk cafés, eclectic shops, live theater, and the Museum of History and Art. Check out Ferry Landing Marketplace for art galleries, specialty shops, and a farmer’s market.

Coronado is home to high-quality schools and the nation’s largest concentration of retired admirals. Housing options include Victorian cottages, modern mansions, and condominiums on palm-lined avenues.

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Hillcrest
Proudly eclectic, Hillcrest has been compared to New York’s SoHo district and Los Angeles’ West Hollywood. Blooming out of 40 hilly acres in 1920 as San Diego’s first suburb, the community got a head start on its hip and artsy status. The ’60s and ’70s marked its low point—it suffered from neglect—but preservation-minded residents have reinvigorated Hillcrest with their determination and elbow grease.

The tightly knit community exudes a friendly atmosphere of acceptance and tolerance, and that has paid off commercially. Folks from all walks of life support the local creative businesses: stylish thrift stores, specialty food outlets, ethnic restaurants, vintage bookshops, avant-garde boutiques, trendy nightclubs, contemporary furniture stores, and kitschy outlets. Hillcrest also makes room for more “serious” enterprises, such as UCSD Medical Center–Hillcrest, and Scripps Mercy Hospital.

Hillcresters hang their hats in everything from Craftsman-style bungalows and Victorian houses to apartments and condos. Residents and visitors mingle during the annual CityFest street fair, which features vendor booths, concessions, and free live entertainment.

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Mission Hills
Sadly, there isn’t actually a mission in Mission Hills. Mission San Diego de Alcala, San Diego’s first mission, was founded here in 1769, but attacks by the indigenous Kumeyaay Indians forced the mission’s relocation to Mission Valley eight years later. Mission Hills, however, retained its name.

The affluent residential community is priciest north of Washington Street, which beats as the heart of the business district. Home styles represent various eras of the past century—Spanish bungalows from the 1920s, Frank Lloyd Wright-ish “contemporaries” from the 1950s, and wood-and-glass earth-toned homes from the 1970s. Potential residents may find distinctive architecture, two-story mansions, and winding streets lined with palms and eucalyptus.

Mission Hills residents spread out picnic blankets on Friday nights in the summer for band concerts in Pioneer Park. Music fills the air again during the annual street fair, which includes crafts and jewelry booths.

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North Park
Despite holiday displays by local merchants, the Christmas season really doesn’t begin each year until North Park hosts its historic Toyland Parade in early December. This float-filled, band-serenading spectacle was once this peaceful community’s greatest source of pride. Nowadays, though, a lot of locals are beaming year-round about their business district.

Wee shops and modest restaurants comprise much of the commercial corridor, but presentation is everything, and these businesses are benefiting from the smart packaging. Recent revitalization has given University Avenue, 30th Street, and El Cajon Boulevard a retro look. New features include lighted umbrella canopies, fresh landscaping, and sidewalk historical displays.

Residences here range from lackluster apartments to shingled Craftsman homes to Spanish stucco casas. Several homes date from the 1920s, and multi-unit buildings date from the 1960s. One former resident, Hall of Famer Ted Williams, has been memorialized with a baseball field at the local rec center.

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Ocean Beach
Launched as a community in 1888, Ocean Beach didn’t lock onto its identity until the 1960s. Embracing the Beach Boys as well as the counterculture movement, O.B. became a haven for surfers, hippies, and free-thinkers.

Not much has changed in this beach village. Surfers still hit the gnarly waves at Ocean Beach Pier, the West Coast’s longest commercial pier. Locals include college students, musicians, bikers, artists, and now-retired “flower children.” Surf shops, smoke shops, skate shops, secondhand music shops, and a natural-foods market have been joined by a dozen antique stores.

Located in the northwestern corner of the Point Loma peninsula, pedestrian-friendly Ocean Beach belies its mellow philosophy when it comes to community preservation. Residents don’t want tourism, commercialism, or popularity to spoil their neighborhood flavor, and they’re staunchly committed to that effort. They support their civic planning committees as readily as they support the annual kite festival, street fair, and Christmas parade.

Housing here is varied. Along the shoreline are funky bungalows and beach cottages. Southward, more family-oriented sub-neighborhoods include larger, cliff-side homes. Ocean Beach is more diverse in points of view than in ethnicities, with Caucasians making up about 90 percent of the population.

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Old Town
Some places never grow up. Old Town clings to its younger days, celebrating its distinction as the city’s birthplace, with Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Freeze-framing the period between 1821 and 1872, the park features five restored adobes, a blacksmith shop, a schoolhouse, and other historic buildings. Its historical exhibit has made it California’s most visited state park.

Old Town is crowded with souvenir shops, as well as with eateries featuring Mexican cuisine. Those businesses at Bazaar del Mundo enjoy pedestrian traffic attracted to the marketplace’s weekend fiestas.

For residents, Old Town offers custom-built homes ranging in architecture from modern to Spanish style. Multiple under-construction projects aim to supply the area with new homes, apartments, and townhouses.

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Point Loma
It’s not caught between the devil and the deep blue sea but Point Loma is located between San Diego and the deep blue sea. The peninsular neighborhood, the city’s westernmost point, offers many residents a view of Downtown or a view of the Pacific. Some lucky homeowners get both vistas.

The definitive landmark, the 40-foot-high Point Loma lighthouse, quickly lost the job for which it was built in 1855 when it was discovered its light shone above the Pacific Coast’s low-lying fog, making its beacon useless to ships. But folks still visit the Cabrillo National Monument grounds to climb the lighthouse’s spiraling stairs, as well as to witness winter’s migration of gray whales and to check out tidal pools.

“The Point” no longer hosts the America’s Cup competition, but it remains the home of the San Diego Yacht Club. History buffs, fun seekers, and the local Portuguese population attend the annual Cabrillo Festival for dances, food, and a reenactment of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s landing. The Portuguese explorer arrived at San Diego Bay in 1542, the first time a European set foot on the West Coast.

While Point Loma’s uninhabited southern half is government-owned, its remaining, habitable area offers a handful of sub-neighborhoods: Loma Portal features several mini-malls and large stores. In Roseville and La Playa, you’ll find the Naval Training Center and military housing. Sunset Cliffs and Fleetridge offer upscale real estate. Constructed mostly between 1950 and 1980, Point Loma’s homes are built in a variety of architectural styles—Spanish, English Tudor, French, California ranch, and contemporary.

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University Heights
Back in the early 1900s, a botanical garden and ostrich farm drew most San Diego visitors to University Heights, the terminus of the area’s original trolley. The community was originally developed for San Diego’s first college, but plans for the institution fell through. By then, however, the neighborhood’s name was firmly fixed.

University Heights features Mission Revival bungalows, wide sidewalks, and strong community volunteerism. Residents and visitors alike enjoy the neighborhood’s specialty shops, restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, antique shops, and cultural arts.

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Healthcare facilities in Central San Diego:
San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care
Scripps Clinic
Scripps Mercy Hospital
Sharp Cabrillo Hospital
Sharp Coronado Hospital
Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women
UCSD Medical Center–Hillcrest