traveldk.com

An eight-block area that overlaps part of the Gaslamp Quarter designates the former center of San Diego’s Asian community. The Chinese came to San Diego following the California Gold Rush and took up fishing and construction work; others ran opium dens and gambling halls. Filipinos and Japanese soon followed. This is the home of Chinese New Year celebrations, a farmers’ market, and an Asian bazaar. Pick up a walking-tour map at the Chinese Historical Museum (see San Diego Chinese Historical Museum), and look out for the Asian architectural flourishes on the buildings you pass by.

Formerly a Victorian village that fell into neglect but survived as a warehouse district and artist colony, this is downtown’s newest redeveloped area. Petco Park, the 2004 state-of-the-art baseball stadium and home to the San Diego Padres (see San Diego Padres), is the neighborhood’s latest focal point. Check out the 1909 Western Metal Supply building: architects incorporated the vintage building into the stadium’s structure. A new Children’s Museum of San Diego, a new main library, shops, restaurants, artists’ lofts, and 4,000 new dwellings are currently under construction.

One of the more recent neighborhoods to undergo revitalization is also one of San Diego’s oldest. Genoese fishing families were the first Italians to settle along the waterfront in the 1860s. Along with Portuguese immigrants, they founded San Diego’s prosperous tuna industry. Little Italy, sometimes also known as Middletown, has now become a fashionable address. While retaining its Bohemian character, Italian restaurants, antique and design stores, and hip cafés distinguish its streets.

Planner Max Schmidt used the idea of functional public art to create this 1/4-mile (0.4-km) promenade along Harbor Drive. Described as a “serape” of colors, textures, and water-works, the grassy promenade celebrates San Diego’s multi-cultural heritage. Granite stones in the sidewalk bear quotes by civil-rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King.

A satellite location of the museum in La Jolla (see La Jolla), galleries here present rotating exhibits from emerging and established contemporary artists, as well as selected pieces from the museum’s permanent collection. Marking the entrance is the 18-ft (5.4-m) Hammering Man at 3,110,527 , a steel and aluminum sculpture by Jonathan Borofsky. The museum also hosts lectures, workshops, and family activities, including the popular “Thursday Night Thing,” where the public can meet and mingle with local artists.

This whimsical Queen Anne home features a variety of architectural elements, including gables, relief work, and a Baroque tower. Outstanding stained-glass windows depict Shakespeare, Mozart, Beethoven, and St. Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. Redwood and walnut paneling lines ornate Victorian-era interiors. Operated by the San Diego Historical Society, docents give tours.