Category Archives: Landmarks

The Santa Fe Depot has served residents and visitors to San Diego for more than a century!

By 1881, 800 Chinese were living in San Diego, most of them men who had come to work on the railroad at the request of Ah Quin. As they were far from home, marginalized and relatively poor, they needed resources by which they could have their basic needs met and also find individuals for friendship […]

It is important to include some of the historic sites that serve as a reminder of the important contributions in commerce, culture and architecture made by the Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and Hawaiian communities.

San Diego Lumber Company Building 1926 170 Sixth Avenue Architect: Unknown Architectural Style: Commercial/Spanish Revival The San Diego Lumber Company had a somewhat tumultuous beginning. On July 19,1872, Alonzo Horton transferred the title of the site to G.W.B. McDonald and W.B. Holcomb, who were previous owners of a lumber company known as McDonald and Company. […]

Pierce-Morse Building(1887) Sixth Avenue & F Street Architects: Comstock and Trotsche Architectural Style: Italianate / Commercial John Keats once said that “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” That might be said of the Pierce-Morse Building, an important part of the San Diego skyline of the late 1800s and the first part of the […]

The Woolworth Building (1922) 945 Fifth Avenue Architectural Style: Roman Neo-Classic Architect: Cass Gilbert of New York City     Building Contractors: Allan Macdonald & Felix Kahn    Gone are the days when one could get something of value for five or ten cents, but many of us remember roaming up and down the brightly lighted aisles of […]

The Dalton Building (1911) 939 5th Avenue Architectural Style :Commercial/Art Noveau Architect : F.W. Stevenson (1930) Contractor: Schaniel Brothers & E.F. Byers (1930) The original three-story, reinforced concrete with brick facade structure built in 1911 was a far cry from the well preserved art nouveau edifice now gracing 5th Avenue. It was built as a […]

The Simmons Hotel (1906) The New York Hotel (1906) 520 – 544 6th Avenue Architectural Stye: Early 20th Century Commercial Architect: Edwin Blachman Principle Contractor: Mortz-Trepte During the early 20th century, many small hotels sprang into construction in answer to the foreseeable need for accommodations for tourists coming to the proposed Panama-California Exposition. The exposition […]

Sterling Hardware Building 1887 & 1924 534 6th Avenue Architectural Style: Victorian Commercial/ Commercial Architect: Unknown Contractor (1924) – W.E. Kier From the first sale in 1867 of Lot I on Block 083/96, from Alonzo Horton to Jacob Lehr for $150, this modest property has been a whirlwind of activity. To say that numerous and […]

Blochman Bank Building     (1905) 635 Fifth Avenue             Architect: Unknown Builder : W.Y. Wentz Architectural Style : late Victorian/Commercial Inflation ,the cost of living and the cost of housing is skyrocketing these days, and it is now more expensive to live in San Diego than in San Francisco! […]