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APPENDIX B SOUTHEASTERN SAN DIEGO HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA [12162] Prepared for DYETT & BHATIA Page & Turnbull FEBRUARY 14, 2013 imagining change in historic environments through design, research, and technology FINAL APPENDIX B APPENDIX B Historic Context Statement Southeastern San Diego Community Plan Update Final San Diego, California TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................... 1 I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 3 A. PROJECT BACKGROUND & PURPOSE .................................................................. 3 B. PROJECT BOUNDARIES .......................................................................................... 3 C. METHODOLOGY & RESEARCH ............................................................................. 5 PROJECT TEAM ................................................................................................................................... 6 D. HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT .......................................................................... 7 II. PREVIOUS SURVEYS, STUDIES AND REPORTS .......................................... 8 A. NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES ....................................................... 8 B. REGISTERED SAN DIEGO LANDMARKS & HISTORIC DISTRICTS ....................... 8 C. HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEYS & CONTEXT STATEMENTS ............................. 9 III. GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATION ................................................................. 10 A. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT THEMES & ASSOCIATED PROPERTY TYPES ...... 10 SUMMARY OF THEMES .................................................................................................................... 10 SUMMARY OF PROPERTY TYPES .................................................................................................... 10 B. RELATING THEMES WITH PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT ................................. 11 C. EVALUATION CRITERIA ........................................................................................ 14 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES & CALIFORNIA REGISTER OF HISTORICAL RESOURCES ....................................................................................................................................... 14 SAN DIEGO REGISTER OF HISTORICAL RESOURCES .................................................................. 16 INTEGRITY ......................................................................................................................................... 17 HISTORIC DISTRICTS ....................................................................................................................... 20 IV. HISTORIC CONTEXT .................................................................................... 22 A. PRE-HISTORY & EARLY SAN DIEGO HISTORY (TO 1867) .................................. 22 NATIVE AMERICAN PERIOD (TO 1769) ......................................................................................... 22 SPANISH PERIOD (1769-1821) ......................................................................................................... 23 MEXICAN PERIOD (1821-1848) ....................................................................................................... 23 EARLY AMERICAN PERIOD (1848-1867) ......................................................................................... 25 ASSOCIATED PROPERTY TYPES & REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS ........................................ 25 B. BUILDING SOUTHEASTERN SAN DIEGO (1868 – 1916) .................................... 26 ACQUIRING THE LAND: EARLY SUBDIVISIONS ........................................................................... 26 14 February 2013 i APPENDIX B Historic Context Statement Southeastern San Diego Community Plan Update Final San Diego, California RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................................................ 30 ENCANTO: SUBURBAN FARMS ...................................................................................................... 32 COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS ............................................................................................................. 34 DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL & COMMUNITY SERVICES .............................................................. 35 ANNEXATION .................................................................................................................................. 40 ASSOCIATED PROPERTY TYPES & REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS (1868 – 1916) ................ 42 C. SOUTHEASTERN SAN DIEGO EXPANDS (1917 – 1939) .................................... 51 PANAMA-CALIFORNIA EXPOSITION & WORLD WAR I ............................................................... 51 THE AUTOMOBILE ARRIVES ............................................................................................................ 51 ETHNIC DIVERSITY & MIGRATION ................................................................................................ 56 NEW MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENTS ................................................................................................ 58 ASSOCIATED PROPERTY TYPES & REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS (1917 – 1939) ................ 62 D. FREEWAY ERA (1940 – 1967) ................................................................................ 73 WORLD WAR II .................................................................................................................................. 73 SUBURBANIZATION ........................................................................................................................ 74 FREEWAY CONSTRUCTION ........................................................................................................... 80 EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES .................................................................................................. 83 ASSOCIATED PROPERTY TYPES & REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS (1940 – 1967) ................ 85 V. REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 91 A. BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................... 91 PUBLISHED WORKS .......................................................................................................................... 91 PUBLIC RECORDS ............................................................................................................................. 91 NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES & JOURNALS ..................................................................................... 91 SURVEYS & UNPUBLISHED WORKS ............................................................................................... 92 INTERNET SOURCES ........................................................................................................................ 93 B. ENDNOTES ............................................................................................................ 95 14 February 2013 ii APPENDIX B Historic Context Statement Southeastern San Diego Community Plan Update Final San Diego, California EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Historic Context Statement presents an overview of Southeastern San Diego’s history with a specific emphasis on describing the historic themes and patterns that have contributed to the neighborhood’s physical development. It is intended to support the Southeastern San Diego Community Plan Update by providing the framework for the future identification and evaluation of historic properties in the neighborhood. The built environment in Southeastern San Diego had its start with the Mexican land grants in the San Diego area, namely Pueblo Lands and Ex-Mission Rancho de San Diego de Alcalá, which would serve as the base for all future development in the plan area. American settlement of San Diego began in 1850 with the subdivision of “New San Diego,” and was solidified in 1867 when Alonzo Horton purchased 800 acres in downtown San Diego and began selling the lots at his real estate office. Southeastern San Diego was a patchwork of subdivisions and additions in the 1870s. It was common practice for entrepreneurs and land speculators to buy one or more blocks of Pueblo Lands and subdivide them into smaller parcels for resale. Block and parcel size varied by subdivision, and some of the street grids did not align. San Diego city leaders also tried to attract a railroad to further spur development in the city. In 1885, the California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe line, established a line between San Diego and National City. The Santa Fe Railroad also constructed a spur from San Diego to San Bernardino, providing the city’s first transcontinental connection. San Diego’s population tripled as a result of the arrival of the railroad. The city underwent a decade-long building boom, but actual settlement of the new subdivisions in Southeastern San Diego did not match the rate of land sales. After the boom, residential growth was slower but steady into the early twentieth century because of the neighborhood’s proximity to downtown, the rail lines, and the bay. Residential development during this early period was primarily concentrated west of 28th Street, and included both modest wood-frame workers’ cottages and large estates built by San Diego’s elite. In contrast with the suburban development of the western portion of the plan