Pacific Beach, San Diego, California

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For the small community in Grays Harbor County, see Pacific Beach, Washington.

Pacific Beach is a neighborhood of San Diego, bounded by La Jolla to the north, Mission Beach to the south, Interstate 5 to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. While largely populated by surfers and college students, the population is becoming more professional and affluent due to rising property and rental costs. "PB", as it is known as by local residents, is also home to one of San Diego's larger nightlife areas, with dozens of bars and eateries lining main east-west street Garnet and north-south street Mission.

Contents 1 The beach 1.1 Alcohol 2 Streets 3 History 4 Bars and nightlife 5 External links

[edit] The beach

A golden beach in Pacific Beach stretches for miles from the Mission Bay jetty to the cliffs of La Jolla. A sidewalk, the boardwalk, running along the beach, is typically crowded with pedestrians, cyclists, rollerbladers, and shoppers. The beach scene revolves around Crystal Pier, which is at the west end of Garnet Avenue.

[edit] Alcohol

Unlike many other areas of southern California, alcohol is permitted on the sand part of the beach in Pacific Beach from noon to 8:00 p.m., which naturally makes it a popular spot for parties on the weekends.

[edit] Streets

The primary north-south street running parallel to the beach is Mission Boulevard, with the streets named after late 19th century federal officials, then incrementing in alphabetical order as they move further from the coast. Bayard, Cass, Dawes, Everts, Fanuel, Gresham, Haines, Ingraham, Jewell, Kendall, Lamont, Morrell, Noyes, Olney, Pendelton. Mission Boulevard was formerly Allison Street, being the "A" street of the series.

The east-west streets are named after precious stones and are roughly in alphabetical order from north to south (two of which are officially misspelled):

• Agate
• Beryl
• Chalcedony
• Diamond
• Emerald
• Felspar - should be "Feldspar"
• Garnet¹
• Hornblend - should be "Hornblende"

Other east-west streets also named after stones fall in there, but out of order. These include: Sapphire, Tourmaline, Opal and Turquoise.

¹Despite the fact that Garnet Avenue is surrounded by streets named after other stones, many San Diego residents pronounce it like the surname, Garnette /gɑrˈnɛt/, instead of the stone, garnet /ˈgɑr.nɪt/.

[edit] History

Pacific Beach was developed during the boom years of 1886-1888 by D. C. Reed, A. G. Gassen, Charles W. Pauley, R. A. Thomas, and O. S. Hubbell. It was Hubbell who "leared away the grainfields, pitched a tent, mapped out the lots, hired an auctioneer and started to work". To attract people, they built the Race Track and San Diego College of Letters, neither of which survive today. A railway also connected Pacific Beach with downtown San Diego, and was later extended to La Jolla.

[edit] Bars and nightlife

Pacific Beach is one of the main centers of nightlife in San Diego. Garnet Ave between Ingraham St and Mission Blvd is the main area where bars and restaurants are located. Pacifc Beach tends to cater towards a younger, more college-oriented crowd compared to downtown San Diego. Dress codes are rarely enforced, if at all.

Some of the larger bars in Pacific Beach include PB Bar & Grill, Moondoogies, The Tavern and Typhoon Saloon. There are also a good selection of medium sized bars and a few smaller 'locals' places such as PB Pub and The Silver Fox. It was rumored that the band A.J. Leland took roots here in 2004.

[edit] External links

• Discover Pacific Beach website

To the North: Pacific Beach

California State Beaches

To the South Tourmaline Surfing Park