Frank_Bruce
Hotel San Diego - Federal Courthouse; San Diego, California.
A brief history on the last days of the Hotel San Diego, its destruction, and rise of the U.S. Federal courthouse tower.
This hotel used to be quite the place back in its heyday from what I understand. But the post WW-II years in downtown San Diego brought blight and neglect to many areas. This hotel was transformed into an SRO - Single Room Occupancy - that mainly housed folks on the lower end of the economic spectrum.
Circa the late 1990s one of the street level restaurants was Sushi Deli, a popular sushi franchise in San Diego. I also seem to recall a mishmash of other business popped in and out of existence in the adjacent spaces.
Around April 2006 the Hotel San Diego was imploded to make room for a new federal courthouse. In the video you can hear the roar of the crowd in the background delighted to have witnessed the destruction (around the 30 second mark).
All the SRO tenants who had been living there had to go elsewhere - but where? SRO hotels in downtown San Diego by this time were becoming scarce. The loss of this hotel certainly fed into what would become San Diego's growing homelessness crisis.
The site is is now part of the Edward J Schwartz courthouse complex located in downtown San Diego on Broadway, bounded by Union Street on the east and State Street on the west. E Street used to define the block's southern approach, however that section of street no longer exists as it is now a pedestrian zone.
Part of the design includes a large plaza area that is supposed to mimic some aspect of San Diego's arid terrain. However the designer used a harsh off-white layer of tiny rocks to coat the plaza. It makes for a shoe-dirtying experience, but it is nice to have an open space in the area.
Hotel San Diego - Federal Courthouse; San Diego, California.
A brief history on the last days of the Hotel San Diego, its destruction, and rise of the U.S. Federal courthouse tower.
This hotel used to be quite the place back in its heyday from what I understand. But the post WW-II years in downtown San Diego brought blight and neglect to many areas. This hotel was transformed into an SRO - Single Room Occupancy - that mainly housed folks on the lower end of the economic spectrum.
Circa the late 1990s one of the street level restaurants was Sushi Deli, a popular sushi franchise in San Diego. I also seem to recall a mishmash of other business popped in and out of existence in the adjacent spaces.
Around April 2006 the Hotel San Diego was imploded to make room for a new federal courthouse. In the video you can hear the roar of the crowd in the background delighted to have witnessed the destruction (around the 30 second mark).
All the SRO tenants who had been living there had to go elsewhere - but where? SRO hotels in downtown San Diego by this time were becoming scarce. The loss of this hotel certainly fed into what would become San Diego's growing homelessness crisis.
The site is is now part of the Edward J Schwartz courthouse complex located in downtown San Diego on Broadway, bounded by Union Street on the east and State Street on the west. E Street used to define the block's southern approach, however that section of street no longer exists as it is now a pedestrian zone.
Part of the design includes a large plaza area that is supposed to mimic some aspect of San Diego's arid terrain. However the designer used a harsh off-white layer of tiny rocks to coat the plaza. It makes for a shoe-dirtying experience, but it is nice to have an open space in the area.