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Historic Hot SpotSan Diego's Gaslamp Quarterteeming with night life
By Jenny Scheid
Back in the early '80s, people only went to the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego for a little questionable activity. The seedy neighborhood was a haven for prostitutes, porno shops and boarded-up businesses. What a difference a decade or two make. The historical district has been cleaned up and is now the hottest area in town for restaurants and night life. In fact, the Gaslamp Quarter has been billed as the "New Orleans of the West Coast." The quarter consists of 16 blocks roughly bordered by Broadway, Fourth Avenue, L Street and Sixth Avenue. It is characterized by its Victorian architecture, wide brick sidewalks and namesake multibulb lampposts. The Gaslamp Quarter has a colorful history that essentially began in the late 1860s when Alonzo Horton built a wharf at the end of Fifth Avenue. The area soon became the backbone of the fast-developing city.
However, as the business center moved north of Broadway, the quarter became better known for its vices - gambling, prostitution and drinking. A commercial resurgence in the early 1900s was followed by a period of decline in the mid-1900s. The district remained a sketchy part of San Diego through most of the 1950s and 1970s. Designated a National Registered Historic District in 1980, the quarter still took its time building a suitable identity as entrepreneurs struggled to establish a customer base. The resurrection began in earnest in 1985 when the Horton Plaza shopping center opened up on the outskirts of the Gaslamp Quarter. That same year Ingrid Croce opened Croce's Restaurant & Jazz Bar, a tribute to her late husband, singer-songwriter Jim Croce. The restaurant/bar and adjoining Croce's Top Hat Bar & Grille, at Fifth Avenue and F Street, offer a unique collaboration of dining and music with live jazz and rhythm and blues nightly. Now the area enjoys a vibrant night scene with approximately 70 chic restaurants and 20 nightclubs. San Diego's consistently mild weather and the Gaslamp's compact sphere of activity combine to make the quarter the perfect place to cruise for action.
Most nights, people out on the sidewalks outnumber those inside, and lines of cars snake through the streets in search of a coveted parking spot. Valet parking attendants charge $7 per vehicle, with a 10-minute retrieval time. We flew in on a recent weekend for a little fun and food. Although San Diego has great hotels all along the coast, we decided to base right in the Gaslamp Quarter. Our hotel, the Gaslamp Plaza Suites, is housed in the Watt-Robinson Building. At 11 stories, it was the first skyscraper in San Diego when it was completed in 1913. In 1988, the building opened as a 60-suite plaza, and many rooms now have been turned into vacation rentals. Most of the original architectural aspects have been preserved in keeping with the status of being listed in the National Register of Historic Places. While the lobby looks regal with its marble floors, glass chandelier and brass elevator doors, the hallways still resemble the office corridors they once were. Doors to the suites have large, curtained glass windows and mail slots. Inside, though, the spacious rooms are beautifully appointed in shades of mauve and green. Our one-bedroom suite had separate sleeping and living areas with kitchenette, two desks, two sofas, queen bed, two television sets and large windows with window seats.
Our corner room presented great views of Fifth Avenue and E Street, the hub of the Gaslight Quarter. But the voices of revelers waiting to get into the basement Club 66 nightclub and the clinking of bottles being tossed in the trash in the morning could prove annoying to light sleepers, who might want to request a room on the northeast side of the hotel. The wide assortment of dining choices in the quarter covers the global spectrum, with cuisine from Europe, Asia, Mexico and, of course, America. For no particular reason, we gravitated toward European fare during our stay. Our first stop was the venerable Horton Grand Hotel for high tea. The Victorian-era Horton Grand is actually two turn-of-the-century hotels that were moved from their original locations and rebuilt in a quiet corner of the Gaslamp Quarter. Tea is served Friday and Saturday afternoons in Ida Bailey's Restaurant, named after the quarter's most famous madam. Priced at $13.50, high tea consists of a sausage roll and Scotch egg, finger sandwiches, scones, chocolate truffles, petit fours, a glass of sherry and a choice of teas. Especially popular with women, the tea provides a reason to dress up and socialize with girlfriends or, in the case of one dignified lady, her two granddaughters. A selection of fashionable hats hangs in a niche for female customers who want to accessorize their outfits. For men who desire an appropriate headpiece, there's one battered fishing hat. That evening we headed to Cafe Sevilla, a Spanish restaurant with three different dining experiences. On the ground level, there's fine dining in El Patio Andaluz and appetizers in the Tapas Bar. We had reservations for the flamenco dinner show in the underground Club Sevilla.
For the $35 dinner, we had a choice of paella, sea bass, chicken breast or grilled New York steak, plus a salad and dessert. The paella was tasty, but my sea bass was bone dry. Traditional flamenco is one of the few forms of music where not only music and singing require improvisation, but also the dance. The singer, guitarist and percussionist were accompanied by two female dancers who beat out a steady staccato with their feet and hands. The younger woman was coy and smiling; her older counterpart, stern and forceful. Both dancers were impressive in their interpretations of the haunting music. After the dinner show, tables were carted away and the floor space turned into a Latin-American dance club. By the time we left Cafe Sevilla, lines had already formed in front of all the best nightspots, so we decided to take a stroll through the quarter and admire the contrast between the historical buildings and their contemporary tenants. The Keating Building, which houses Croce's restaurant and nightclub, might as well be called the widow's building. Fannie Keating had this Romanesque-style building constructed in 1890 as a tribute to her late husband, George. Originally heralded as one of the most prestigious office buildings in the city, it can still be seen as the Simon brothers' headquarters in reruns of the TV show "Simon & Simon."
The Blue Tattoo dance club is located in the basement of the 1888-era Louis Bank of Commerce. Years ago, ladies of the night use to peer out of the upper-level windows of what was once a notorious brothel. The women wore easily identifiable gowns that matched the color of the door to their rooms. The Hard Rock Cafe is in the Ingle Building, which housed the Gold Lion Tavern from 1907 to 1932. The ceiling of the restaurant features a beautiful, stained-glass dome taken from the Elks Club in Stockton, Calif. In the old City Hall building, constructed in 1874, an animated clientele of those in their 20s enjoy live music and the singles action at Jimmy Love's. We decided to forego the crowds that night and opted for a drink in the quiet Grape wine bar. A relative newcomer on Fifth Avenue, The Grape is in a long, narrow room with faux-painted yellow walls and murals of grapes and barrels.
The menu features appetizers and a nice selection of domestic and international wines, yet its lack of customers does not bode well for longevity in the high-rent neighborhood. That evening, we noticed the popularity of The Field, an Irish pub, and decided to have lunch there the next day. Entering The Field is like stepping back in time. The owners had all the interior decorations shipped directly from Ireland, and the dark tavern is filled with old farm equipment, pamphlets, flyers, tea cups and tins. Jampacked at night, it's still hopping during the day with customers seeking authentic Irish fare such as lamb stew, shepherd's pie, corned beef and cabbage and bangers (sausages) and champ (mashed potatoes creamed with spring onions). We ordered potato leek soup and a delicious chicken boxty - a potato pancake cooked on a griddle, filled with grilled chicken, peppers, mushrooms and fresh sage, rolled and topped with butter sauce. The bartenders know how to pour the perfect "black and tan" - a mixture of Guinness Stout and Harp Lager. We took one of the informative walking tours offered every Saturday by the Gaslamp Quarter Association. Our knowledgable guide, Walter McManus, gave us a history lesson of the quarter and pointed out places of interest, one of which was the Bitter End bar in the old Spencer Ogden Building. A typical "meat market" downstairs, the Bitter End offers a pleasant surprise up the long staircase where its classy counterpart attracts a well-dressed clientele. Segregated into several conversation areas, the upstairs bar features comfortable leather couches, high-back chairs, soaring ceilings, wood floors, velvet drapes, rich dark colors throughout and a fireplace. The house specialty is the Black Martini, a concoction of Absolut vodka, Kahlúa, a shot of chilled espresso and a whisk of cream that tastes like a spiked cappuccino. The quarter is famous for its high proliferation of Italian restaurants, so narrowing the choice to just one can be a bit of a challenge. Most San Diegans have their own favorite Italian restaurant in the quarter. A man in the Cesar Cigar Factory recommended La Tavalo; a friend favored Trattoria La Strada. We made reservations at Asti Ristorante after checking out the menu and talking to the friendly red-headed hostess. Italian-born chef Emanuele Daniele named the restaurant after his wife's hometown of Asti, located in northwest Italy. A huge painting on the wall depicts the horse races held every year in the square of the ancient town. The satisfying gnocchi al pesto di pistachi - potato dumplings sautéed in a fresh pistachio pesto with cream and Parmigiano cheese - and the exceptional veal chop with mushrooms and a brown reduction sauce validated our choice in restaurants. However, diners would be wise to ask for the cost of nightly specials as the $35 veal chop far outpriced anything on the regular menu. After dinner, we had to stop by The Dueling Piano Bar where the featured act was "direct from the New York, New York Hotel in Las Vegas." Pianists Dennis and Jeff are experienced in whipping the crowd into a frenzy with their rowdy tunes. Downstairs in Tsunami Beach Club, bare-chested men and bikini-clad women serve up drinks to customers who have just gotten off the crowded, sticky dance floor. The weekend beach parties attract a fair number of the under-30 crowd. While the quarter is well-known for its exciting night life, the area also draws a large amount of visitors during the day. The outdoor cafes are popular with the lunch crowd, and shoppers have more than 80 retail outlets and galleries to peruse. Two of my favorites are The Wine Bank and Gaslamp Books, Prints & Antiques. At first glance, The Wine Bank is an average, little shop crowded with mostly well-known California wines. But looks can be deceiving. Serious vinophiles will want to head downstairs for the labyrinth of rooms filled with an extensive collection of wines from all over the world. At the Gaslamp Books, Prints and Antiques, owners Kenneth Clich Sr. and Kenneth Clich Jr. have started the Gaslamp Museum of Historic San Diego in the rear of the bookstore. This museum features a large collection of memorabilia from the years Wyatt Earp spent in the city. During the late 1800s, Earp spent approximately eight years in San Diego, where he ran a number of saloons and gambling halls. Then there's the bizarre Museum of Death. Housed at the site of San Diego's first mortuary, the museum is dedicated solely to death with life-size execution devices, artwork by serial murderers, graphic videos, an electric chair, coffins, body bags and crime-scene photos, including the famous Sharon Tate murder by the Manson family. Most visitors were there out of curiosity, but some were a little disturbing in their enthusiasm for the gory displays. And, of course, there's Horton Plaza, the Disneyland of shopping malls. Covering 70 city blocks, the colorful, multilevel shopping center has 140 specialty shops and eating establishments. The Gaslamp Quarter's central location makes it a perfect base for seeing San Diego's other wonderful sights. The district is within walking distance to Seaport Village and an easy drive to Balboa Park, Sea World, Old Town and the beaches. Additional Photos
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