Nothing says fresh-faced, new, and vibrant better than the East Village district of Downtown San Diego. Before the arrival of Petco Park, the San Diego Padres Major League Baseball stadium, East Village was the forgotten ugly sister to Downtown’s popular Gaslamp Quarter. It is the largest of the Downtown districts, bordered by Interstate 5 to the east, the Core and Cortez Hill districts and the Gaslamp Quarter to the west, Barrio Logan to the south, and Balboa Park to the north. This eclectic neighborhood is now an edgy mix of reclaimed warehouse chic and new construction ultra-modern, and has been likened to Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood.
East Village History
East Village has come a long way from its industrial roots of the 1850s. In its earliest days, the neighborhood was predominantly a commercial area of warehouses, vacant lots, and public utilities, with a smattering of residential properties. By the 1980s it was a picture of urban blight with a dwindling population, shuttered and deteriorating businesses, and a large homeless population. The 1990s saw a small resurgence of interest in the district as artists began to populate repurposed warehouse spaces and social services moved in to meet the needs of the community. However, it wasn’t until 2004 that the construction of the Padres’ stadium became the neighborhood’s saving grace.
Read More at Source: Go San Diego
