Clairemont, San Diego, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clairemont is a middle-class suburban neighborhood in northern San Diego. It was named for developer Carlos Tavares' wife, Claire. However, known friends of Mr. Buregner said his name was Claire and the community was named after him. Clairemont is one of the most populous neighborhoods in San Diego and includes the separate neighborhoods of North Clairemont, Clairemont Mesa East and Clairemont Mesa West. Bordered by State Route 52 in the north, Interstate 805 in the east, Interstate 5 in the west, and the neighborhood of Linda Vista on the south.
The neighborhood was first developed in the post-war building boom of the 1950s[1].
The community is sometimes confused with the incorporated city of Claremont in eastern Los Angeles County.
[edit] History
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About 1950, two men developed what became San Diego's largest post-war subdivision. Lou Burgener and Carlos Tavares called their community Clairemont after Tavares' wife, Claire. However, friends and family of Mr. Burgener said his name was actually Claire Buregner and the community was named after him and not after the wife of Mr. Tavares. Its design represented a new concept in community living because development did not have the traditional grid system of uniform blocks and streets. Instead, winding streets and scenic view lots took advantage of the canyons and bluffs overlooking Mission Bay. The first homes, built by Buregner and Tavares Construction Company, had highly customized floor plans. Also the company created Buregner Blvd. which had a custom home for the parents of Claire Buregner. The community of Clairemont was at first called by local residents "claire-mount" the mount meaning the mountains that the area utilized. However, time has simplified the pronunciation of the community to Clairemont. Due to the road structure Clairemont was created in a Norther direction which is what created the term "North Clairemont." However, Clairemont began to grow in an eastern direction which is now the political distinction of the area. Clairemonts western side has a majority of family homes created by Paradee homes. There are several apartments in this area but not nearly as many in the eastern side. The eastern side has row after row of apartments scattered around the area east of Genesse. The eastern side of the area has immense problems with drugs which have created several crime issues. Police in the area have asked residents to stay inside after dark in these areas due to aggressive attacks. Exact crimes and numbers can be found in SanDag. A reason for the amount of apartments is due to land issues and the unique feature which defines Clairemont as modern, stripmalls. Clairemont was the first area that did not rely on downtown shopping for supplies, clothing, and food. Western Clairemont created the ability to sustain large amounts of people which contractors used by creating vast amounts of apartments on the eastern side. Another reason for some of the apartment development was the HUD act which created Section 8 housing. However, the section 8 housing was closed and the apartments converted into condos. This moved poor residents into other apartments close by on the street called Beadnell Way. Beadnell Way has helped move Clairemont into a focus of the San Diego Police Department for gang violence and drug activity.
Local architects, Harold Abrams, Benson Eschenbach and Richard George Wheeler, designed 20 floor plans for the first development of 500 homes. Built in South Clairemont, these deluxe houses ranged in price from $13,000 to $20,000, featured spacious floorplans, large view windows, fireplaces, tiled bathrooms, paneling and the then latest kitchen built-ins. After years of housing shortages, San Diegans bought these homes.
Within a few years, several thousand houses had been constructed, including single family homes, duplexes and apartments. Since Clairemont was somewhat removed from the city proper, commercial business and retail shopping, schools, libraries and other city amenities were designed into the overall plan. Although the concept of suburban living is commonplace today, this approach was considered novel and Tavares' vision for Clairemont had far-reaching implications for San Diego as it stretched the city limits outward and began the now familiar pattern of migration from city to suburb. [2]
[edit] Notable residents
- Kendra Wilkinson, model and television personality
[edit] External links
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