First time here at the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation and they are really pretty! I'm sure if its someone who lives in the city probably doesn't think its too big of a deal, but should be a place for tourists to visit! And it was fun just taking pictures in general here with everyone! Pretty at night!
DONT DO GHOST TOUR! first they cram you into a small room with no air-conditioning that is full of chairs which you are not allowed to sit on. Then you stand there for 20+ minutes introducing yourself and sweating. The tour guide was a nice old lady but so absolutely dull and boring that we wanted to bail before we even left the house. I don t think we heard one complete ghost story on the whole tour but rather a string of her unrelated personal anecdotes. BIG disappointment :(
Really pretty. Lots of places to sit down. Statbucks with an outdoor seating area.
Gaslamp Quarter has a very colorful history in the 1800's San Diego's booming prosperity attracts unscrupulous characters seeking to take advantage of the city's growth.
This includes prostitutes and gamblers, including the famous Wyatt Earp, who would go on to run three gambling halls in San Diego.
Gradually, San Diego commerce begins moving north of Market Street.The abandoned area to the south becomes a redlight district known as the Stingaree, Red-haired call girl Ida Bailey takes up residence at a house of ill repute in the Stingaree.
Here you can find 350 prostitutes working in 120 bordellos.
The Stingaree's 71 saloons boast names such as the First and Last Chance Saloon, Old Tub of Blood, and Legal Tender.
In the 1900's Influenced by a wave of citizen morality, police raid the Stingaree and arrest 138 prostitutes operating out of sleeping rooms on the upper floors of the district's buildings
With the red lights of the Stingaree officially turned off, San Diego becomes unpopular as a liberty port for the Navy.
Following World War II, the suburbs outside of Downtown San Diego experience an influx of new residents and businesses, leaving the Gaslamp Quarter as the home of tattoo parlors, seedy bars, pawn shops, and locker clubs. Adult businesses, including peep shows, massage parlors, and adult bookstores, continue to converge on the Gaslamp for the next 20 to 30 years.
today, the Gaslamp Quarter has successfully transformed into a premier shopping, dining, and entertainment neighborhood. With over 200 restaurants, bars, nightclubs and lounges, boutiques, art galleries, and shops to pursue.
and pursue we did. in 3 days we hit a half dozen restaurants and at least as many bars and shops.
While we were there they had the streets blocked off several times for private concerts
I plan on bringing the wife here later this year.
gaslampfoundation.org
