Gaslamp Quarter Historic District
The Heart of Downtown
The past and present collide in this electrifying neighborhood that is the beating heart of downtown, flowing with the rich lifeblood of nearly one hundred historic buildings housed within its 16.5 square-blocks, and beating with the bass of buzzing nightclubs. Located to the east of the Balboa Theatre and running south across 4th and 5th avenues, Victorian-era buildings mingle along streets that house endless sought after eateries, rooftop bars, upscale galleries, exclusive speakeasies, hip craft breweries, trendy boutiques, as well as residential and office buildings.
History buffs will delight in the various tours on offer year-round by the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation, complete with docents in period dress. They explore both The Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House, and the streets of the Gaslamp Quarter, whose well-tread paths have hosted everyone from wild west legend Wyatt Earp to Alonzo Horton, the famed real estate developer for whom many downtown landmarks are named.
The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum can also be found here, within the eight-blocks of the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District, educating the masses on the lives of Chinese immigrants who called the area home in the late 1800s.
Here you can also hop on an Old Town Trolley Tour, for a narrated historic tour of various San Diego locales, with stops in historic Old Town, Seaport Village, Coronado, Little Italy and Balboa Park.
From dueling piano bars and magic showrooms to Alice in Wonderland themed wine-bars and nightclubs with world-class DJs, you will never have a dull night out in the neighborhood that personifies San Diego’s famed nightlife, with over 180 restaurants, 50 bars and 10 nightclubs.
