Downtown San Diego
It houses the major local headquarters of the city, county, state, and federal governments.
The area comprises seven districts: Gaslamp Quarter, East Village, Columbia, Marina, Cortez Hill, Little Italy, and Core.
San Diego International Airport is located three miles (4.8 km; 2.6 nmi) northwest of downtown.
[3][4] The city of San Diego was originally focused on Old Town near the Presidio, several miles north of current downtown.
The partners under Davis's leadership purchased 160 acres (65 ha) of land in what is now downtown San Diego.
[6] John Judson Ames wrote a prospectus for a newspaper, the San Diego Herald in December 1850, soliciting advertisements and subscriptions from the towns-people;[7] the first issue was published on May 29, 1851.
[10] Davis's wharf had fallen to pieces by then, but Horton realized the area was still ideal for a harbor.
[12] He vigorously sold property and gave away land to promote development of the area, fueling the first of San Diego's many real estate speculation booms.
[23] Beginning in the early 1900s, Filipinos began to move to San Diego, and settled in and near Chinatown.
Due to San Diego International Airport's proximity to downtown, there is a FAA imposed 500-foot height restriction on all buildings within a 2.3-mile radius of the runway.
[27] The height regulation exists because when planes approach the airport, any structure taller than 500 feet within the radius could interfere with flight operations and potentially result in a collision.
[28] The United States Postal Service operates the downtown San Diego Post Office at 815 E Street.
The San Diego Symphony is headquartered at Jacobs Music Center, a renovated movie palace on 7th Avenue originally built in 1929 as the Fox Theater.
The Spreckels Theater at 1st and Broadway, in continuous operation since 1912, hosts local and traveling performances and productions.
The Balboa Theatre, built in 1924, re-opened in 2008 after extensive renovations as a venue for live performances and concerts.
The Museum of Contemporary Art, also located in downtown San Diego, has displayed work across a collection of media since 1950.
[32] Demolition Man was filmed along Harbor Drive near the San Diego Convention Center and America Plaza trolley station.
The San Diego Convention Center and Petco Park are located downtown, as well as Seaport Village.
The named roads begin with Harbor Drive and then move east past Pacific Highway, Kettner Boulevard, India, Columbia, State, Union and Front streets.
Main thoroughfares include Broadway and Market Street (east–west), and Harbor Drive, Pacific Highway and Park Avenue (north–south).
There is also parking available at the County operation center (located between Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway, just north of Ash), as well as Seaport Village.
