North County San Diego Real Estate

San Diego, CA Area Guide

San Diego is named after Saint Didacus. The city is second-largest in California and the ninth largest in the United States. San Diego is located along the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of the United States and, as of the 2008 census, had a population of 1,279,329. This coastal city is also the county seat of San Diego County as well as the economic center of the San Diego– Carlsbad– San Marcos metropolitan area. According to Forbes the city of San Diego ranks as the fifth wealthiest in the United States. San Diego's biggest industries are manufacturing, the military, and tourism.

History

(The following information on San Diego’s history has been directly sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_California. Please click on the link provided for more information.)

The area of San Diego has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years by the Kumeyaay Indians. The first European to visit the region was Portuguese-born explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailing under the Spanish Flag, who sailed his flagship San Salvador from Navidad, New Spain. In 1542, Cabrillo claimed the bay for the Spanish Empire and named the site San Miguel. In November of 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno was sent to map the California coast. Arriving on his flagship San Diego, Vizcaíno surveyed the harbor and what are now Mission Bay and Point Loma and named the area for the Catholic Saint Didacus, a Spaniard more commonly known as San Diego. On November 12, 1602, the first Christian religious service of record in Alta California was conducted by Fray Antonio de la Ascensión, a member of Vizcaíno's expedition, to celebrate the feast day of San Diego. In 1769, Gaspar de Portolà established the Fort Presidio of San Diego overlooking Old Town. Around the same time, Mission San Diego de Alcalá was founded by Franciscan friars under Father Junípero Serra. By 1797, the mission boasted the largest native population in Alta California, with over 1,400 neophytes living in and around the mission proper. It is the southern end in California of the historic mission trail El Camino Real. After New Spain won its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, Mission San Diego de Alcalá's fortunes declined in the 1830s after the decree of secularization was enacted, as was the case with all of the missions under the control of Mexico. However, it remains an active Catholic church and is a National Historic Landmark.

In 1847 San Diego was a destination of the 2,000-mile (3,200 km) march of the Mormon Battalion, members of whom established a brickyard and built the city's first courthouse at the corner of San Diego Avenue and Mason Street in Old Town. The Battle of San Pasqual, a battle of the Mexican-American War, was fought in the San Pasqual Valley which is now part of the city of San Diego. With the end of that war and the great influx of Americans during the gold rush of 1848, California was admitted to the United States in 1850. San Diego was designated the seat of the newly-established San Diego County and was incorporated as a city in 1850. The first city charter was adopted in 1889. The current city charter was adopted in 1931.

The original site of San Diego was at the foot of Presidio Hill, in the area which is now Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. The location was not ideal, being several miles away from navigable water. In the late 1860s Alonzo Horton promoted a move to "New Town", several miles south of the original settlement, in the area which became Downtown San Diego. People and businesses flocked to New Town because of its location on San Diego Bay convenient to shipping. New Town quickly eclipsed the original settlement, known to this day as Old Town, and became the economic and governmental heart of the city.

Parks & Recreation

(The following information on San Diego’s parks and recreation has been directly sourced from: http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/centers/. Please click on the links provided for more information.)

The City of San Diego has over 50 recreation centers and many other recreational facilities that serve both residents and visitors of all ages, abilities and income levels. The City of San Diego Park & Recreation Department offers a variety of recreational activities and programs for both children and adults. Most of these activities and programs take place at our recreation centers and pools but some of them take place in our regional parks.

*Park amenities click here

Attractions

(The following information on San Diego’s attractions has been directly sourced from: http://www.sandiego.org/nav/Visitors/WhatToDo/ActivitiesAttractions.)

San Diego is packed with world-famous fun activities and exciting attractions for kids, adults-the whole family: SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Legoland California & horse racing excitement at Del Mar Racetrack. On any given day, summer or winter, rain or shine, you can find people out enjoying the San Diego surf. It may surprise you to know that there are over 30 museums in San Diego, and that only one of them is dedicated to surfing. In San Diego, golf is serious business, Torrey Pines, home of the annual Buick Invitational one of the top 50 golf destinations in the world". San Diego welcomes gay and lesbian travelers with a vast array of activities, including six popular annual Pride festivities, and a vibrant gay and lesbian community. Downtown San Diego is one of the newest dynamic metropolitan areas in the country, drawing visitors and residents alike with the tantalizing sights and sounds of a unique sophisticated city center.