Hillcrest, San Diego, California
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Coordinates: 32°45′N 117°10′W / 32.75°N 117.167°W
Hillcrest is a neighborhood in San Diego northwest of Balboa Park.
Hillcrest is known for its tolerance, diversity, and locally-owned businesses, including restaurants, cafés, bars, clubs, trendy thrift-stores, and other independent specialty stores.[1] Due to Hillcrest's grid street pattern and relatively high population density, pedestrian activity is relatively high.
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[edit] Geography
Hillcrest is an older neighborhood going through gentrification, which is mostly residential with a large amount of retail and features tree-lined streets, traditional homes, and apartments. The neighborhood is bound by Mission Hills to the northwest, Bankers Hill and Balboa Park to the south, and University Heights and North Park to the east. A large ridge overlooking San Diego Bay borders the neighborhood to the west.
Nearby Balboa Park provides recreational and cultural opportunities to Hillcrest residents, as does the neighborhood's proximity to Downtown San Diego. Scripps Mercy Hospital and the UCSD Medical Center are located here.
Hillcrest is part of the Uptown community, which consists of the neighborhoods of Mission Hills, Hillcrest, Bankers Hill, Park West and University Heights west of Park Boulevard.[2]
[edit] Economy
There is a business improvement organization, and a planning organization representing residents interested in planning issues. Each attempts to work to make Hillcrest attractive for shoppers and residents.
[edit] Cultural
San Diego Gay Pride is an annual celebration for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. In July, there has been a parade, then a two-day festival in Balboa Park. It is considered to be[who?] the largest civic event in the city of San Diego.[3]
Hillcrest "CityFest" is an annual street festival which features food, live entertainment, a beer garden and street vendors. This event takes place annually in August.
Other regular events in Hillcrest include a weekly farmers market, Book Fair and Mardi Gras.
[edit] Transportation
Hillcrest is a walkable neighborhood with many of the cafés, restaurants and shops near the main residential pockets. It is common to see pedestrians, cyclists and scooters throughout the neighborhood and surrounding communities. Centrally located within San Diego, Hillcrest has easy access to freeways, beaches and the downtown area. Uptown Partnership,[4] the Community Parking District for the Uptown district which includes Hillcrest, receives 45% of meter revenues to reinvest in the community to improve parking availability, traffic circulation, transit effectiveness, and pedestrian mobility.
Hillcrest is served by State Route 163 at the University Avenue, Washington Street and Robinson Avenue exits. University Avenue and Washington Street are the major east-west thoroughfares in Hillcrest; Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Avenues connect Hillcrest to Downtown San Diego through Park West and Bankers Hill.
There is bus service connecting to Downtown as well as to the Mission Valley trolley stops because of the presence of the University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard transit corridors, the two busiest in the metro region.
[edit] History
Initially, Hillcrest was a chaparral-covered mesa. Kumeyaay Indians inhabited numerous villages scattered throughout the San Diego region. Spanish colonization brought the first of twenty-nine California missions with the founding of the nearby San Diego Mission. Presidio Park in Mission Hills, and Old Town just down the hill, are a part of San Diego history.
In 1870, Mary Kearney obtained a deed from the city for the land that eventually became Hillcrest. In 1871 C. D. Arnold and D. Choate, two real estate developers, obtained that property. George Hill, a wealthy railroad tycoon, then purchased the land. Real estate development began in 1910 and the area was built out by 1920. During the 1920s and 1930s Hillcrest was considered a suburban shopping area for downtown San Diego.
In 1940 the "HILLCREST" lighted sign at the intersection of University and Fifth Avenue was first erected, then later restored in 1977 and rebuilt in 1987. After World War II, Hillcrest was left with an aging infrastructure and population, but by the 1970s gays and lesbians began to settle in Hillcrest and revitalize the community.[citation needed]
The Hillcrest Town Council is an organization of local residents that was formed in 2007. It meets monthly. Their mission statement is “To provide a voice & enhance the quality of life for Hillcrest renters & homeowners while supporting actions that benefit our neighborhood.”
On August 2, 2007, a 100th birthday cake was served to the public, marking Hillcrest’s first one hundred years; there are Hillcrest Centennial events throughout the year.
[edit] LGBT community
1980: The Center for Social Services founded in Golden Hill in 1973 -- now called the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center, and generally known as "the Center" --moves to Hillcrest.
Protesting the city’s refusal of a parade permit, 200 gays and lesbians march through the streets of downtown for the first time.
1981: The first city-permitted gay pride parade is held.
1986: Maureen O’Connor is elected mayor. She becomes the first elected official to ride and march in the Pride parade.
1993: Christine Kehoe, now a state senator, is elected as the community's representative to the San Diego City Council. She is the first openly gay/lesbian elected official in San Diego.
1994: A new Vermont Street pedestrian bridge is completed. The span, featuring public art, costs $1.2 million.
Former Mayor Roger Hedgecock heads a group of protesters calling themselves “The Normal People”. They want to march in the Pride parade. A court denies them permission.
1999: Hundreds of gay-pride marchers and spectators were tear-gassed July 24 when an unidentified man threw a military-issue tear-gas grenade into the Family Matters (i.e. LGBT parents and their small children) contingent during the 25th annual Pride Parade.[citation needed]
2001: Mercy Gardens -- formerly the Sisters of Mercy Convent, which housed nuns from 1926-1990 -- is remodeled for use by the HIV-positive community.
The Fourteenth Annual Open Air Book Fair moved from Normal Heights to Hillcrest’s Fifth Avenue, drawing 5,000 literary enthusiasts.[when?][5]
Superior Court Judge Bonnie Dumanis, a Hillcrest resident, is elected San Diego District Attorney. She becomes the highest ranking, openly lesbian law enforcement officer in the nation.
2005: City Councilmember Toni Atkins, who represents Hillcrest, is elected Acting Mayor of San Diego by her fellow Councilmembers. San Diego becomes the nation's largest city with an openly gay or lesbian chief executive. She would step down from the post following the November election of new mayor Jerry Sanders.
2006: The 32nd Annual Gay Pride Festival was held July 28-30. 150,000 people gathered to watch The 25th Annual Gay Pride Parade.
2007: The Hillcrest Town Council is formed to give residents a voice[6]
Hillcrest is honored by the American Planning Association as one of the nation's top ten great neighborhoods. This was the first time the national group selected any communities.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ A day in Hillcrest... San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved on August 2, 2007. archived link)
- ^ San Diego Community Profile: Uptown. City of San Diego. Retrieved on August 2, 2007.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Uptown Partnership
- ^ The Fourteenth Annual Open Air Book Fair
- ^ http://www.hillcresttowncouncil.com hillcresttowncouncil.com
[edit] External links
- Hillcrest Centennial 1907-2007
- "Hillcrest: From Haven to Home", The Journal of San Diego History 26:4 (Fall 2000) by Michael E. Dillinger
- The Hillcrest Town Council
- History of HIllcrest
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