Gaslamp Quarter

The Welcome on 5th Street

One of the most rewarding aspects of penning an exploration and research blog is all the history one learns. John and Laureen are natural history buffs and we truly enjoy the knowledge gleaned from the research needed for the majority of our blogs.

For example, in this blog we really dug deep into why the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego is so popular. Sure, there are fine restaurants, plenty of bars and entertainment venues, historical landmarks, and dozens of hotels welcoming guests to the city. No matter the traveler's budget, there is something for everyone in the Gaslamp Quarter. But, this district is a very popular ‘hang-out’ for local San Diegans as well – why is that? Most cities have tourist areas which locals will avoid at all costs but not this locale. This 16 ½ square block area located in downtown, is just a few steps from the Convention Center, Petco Park and Horton Plaza, and is enjoyed by all.

Map of the Gaslamp Quarter in relation to the modern city of San Diego

It seems a magnet for all to come and enjoy the day and night life the Quarter offers. There is as much to do when the sun is up as  when it dips below the blue Pacific waters to the west.

Hop aboard for the Gaslamp Quarter

The only way to tell a tourist from a local is how they refer to the area. Even with the large ornate sign spanning 5th Street welcoming everyone to the Gaslamp Quarter, the locals call the area the Gaslamp District. That is referred to as a ‘shibboleth’ – a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people. In other words – the locals don’t want to be mistaken for tourists. Snobbery or local pride – perhaps a bit of both but whether you call it the Gaslamp Quarter or the Gaslamp District, the area is a must see.

The question both Laureen and John wanted to answer is what was the history of this beautiful and eclectic district, and how far back did that history stretch?

The answer was actually quite fascinating.

1880's style never gets old

It seems that San Diego faced an uncertain future after statehood was granted to California in 1850. The town was a small village near the border of Mexico and no matter what enterprising people dreamed of turning it into, never seemed to become a reality. In fact, William Heath Davis spent approximately $60,000 building a wharf in that same year, and had visions of San Diego becoming a close competitor in shipping with San Francisco. The problem was the wharf was rarely used for commercial purposes, and in 1853 a ship collided with the wharf. That damage was never repaired, and the broken wharf became known as 'Davis’ Folly.'

Things took a turn for the better when a developer from San Francisco named Alonzo Horton arrived in 1867, believing the city of San Diego was his to create.

The place Wyatt Earp called home while in San Diego

“I have been nearly all over the world and it seemed to me to be the best spot for building a city I ever saw,” he reportedly stated when looking over the raw sections of land bordering the San Diego Bay. He knew the city center itself had to be by the water – rather upsetting the citizens who lived in what would later become known as Old Town.

Horton paid $265 for 900 acres near the water's edge at an auction and soon his dream began to take shape. He referred to the area as New Town and started talking business owners into moving to this new location by the sea. His salesmanship was so good that on one day, the 24th of March 1869, he sold some $5,500 dollars worth of commercial and residential property. Quite a profit for one day’s selling by the man from San Francisco with dreams of creating a shining port city at the southernmost tip of California.

Beautiful architecture surrounds the Gaslamp Quarter 

The area boomed and soon the entire government business of running the city was relocated to the area, including moving the county courthouse in 1871.

But it was those 16 ½ original acres that became the most famous of the new downtown of San Diego and through the years, have prospered beyond Horton’s wildest dreams. Of course, with prosperity comes a certain element of not-so-good citizens – the town’s red light district (123 bordellos), gambling halls, sleazy bars (71), and the like grew up right beside the respectable businesses.

Historic Yuma Building - constructed 1882

In fact, the area south of Market Street became so well-known for low-lifes running the streets and the various businesses, that it was nicknamed the Stingaree--so called because a person could get stung easier in that section of town than while swimming in the San Diego Bay known for actual stingrays.

Even Wyatt Earp, of Tombstone fame, leased four gambling houses in the Stingaree area and made San Diego his home for years. The San Diego City Directory had him listed as a capitalist – nice way to say gambler – in 1887. He may have lived or kept visiting the city until 1896. Of course, his wife, Josie was beside him the entire time as they were inseparable after being together since the gunfight in Tombstone which made Wyatt Earp a household name.

Soon, the more reputable businesses moved farther north of Market Street so their customers and they would not have to socialize with the Stingaree folks.

The area had its ups and downs for decades and finally in 1970 the good citizens showed interest in preserving the history of the place. In 1976, the city adopted the Gaslamp Quarter Urban Design and Development Manual, detailing how to preserve the historical structures themselves from further decay. By 1982, the Quarter became a major focus of redevelopment and was listed as a national historic district.

A great venue destination for any traveler

The end result is fabulous and a great joy to visit any day of the year.

Lots of great restaurants are to be had in the Quarter

For more information:

Gaslamp Quarter - https://www.gaslamp.org/
Explore San Diego - https://www.sandiego.org/articles/downtown/historic-gaslamp-quarter.aspx

A Haunting Image

Every once in awhile, a photograph will really speak to a person. One such photo, showing a church with steeple pointing toward Heaven, sang to John. Having seen countless steeples, what was hauntingly unique about this particular one was where it happened to be located. In a seemingly pastoral setting, this church, along with its steeple, lies beneath the frigid waters of a lake.

Not a common site - even for such travelers as Laureen and John. So the research began with a look into a small valley where, once upon another time, there was a village which no longer exists. Now nothing but a lake, a reservoir, was to be found, where once people laughed, played, loved, prayed, lived and died.

The lake but there's no church steeple to be seen

Since John and Laureen spend countless hours researching various topics for this blog, this photograph definitely grabbed their attention. A lost city beneath the waters of a lake sounded like something only Hollywood would imagine for theaters.

But, it turns out that many villages and towns have been obliterated by flooding waters for eons around the world. Shi Cheng in China,Vi Larinho das Furnas in Portugal, and even St. Thomas, Nevada (USA), just to name a few.

These villages did not fall victim to God-like floods that swept Noah and his family into immortality, but rather to human hubris, building dams and diverting rivers for their own needs.

In the early 1980's, then-President Carlos Andres Perez of Venezuela wanted to build a large reservoir to plan for any future droughts, as well as provide for a planned hydroelectric plant. So, off he flew in a helicopter until he spied the beautiful valley in northwest Venezuela being fed by a couple of rivers. He decided immediately that was where his Uribante Reservoir would be located. Forward thinking by the president since this region had periodic droughts throughout its history. Only one dilemma - twelve hundred people lived in the valley in a village called Potosi.

The church seen by John in the photograph which started us on this journey, belonged to this very same town.

President Perez didn't see a problem here. He simply ordered the people relocated. It didn't matter that their families had lived there for generations. It was a peaceful existence for the people of Potosi with home-lined streets, parks and active businesses. But the government wanted the reservoir more than they cared about the people living in a small village in the middle of nowhere.

Potosi's streets lined with simple homes

Citizens of Potosi socializing in the main square

The church of the lake

So in 1985, with all the residents moved out of the valley, the flooding began behind the Uribante Reservoir dam. Within a blink of an eye the entire town of Posoti was lost and only remained a memory for those who had been citizens of the now-flooded valley.

But nature has a way of undoing some of human's best laid plans. Those droughts that President Perez dreaded, reappeared after 26 years and the waters receded from the reservoir. The first thing that showed on the surface of the reservoir was the steeple of the village church. It was though the heavens were showing who was stronger - divine power over human will.

The reemergence of the church of Potosi 

Then again, perhaps it was just a natural occurrence of a drought once again plaguing the area of where the peaceful village of Potosi once stood. Whatever the true cause - the city reemerged from its watery grave like a specter. 

By 2010 the water was mostly gone and what remained was a village that disappeared nearly three decades earlier.

The church, albeit without walls and roof, is still standing proudly among the remnants of what once was Potosi. This includes the towns graveyard with tombstones toppled as though the dead had tried to escape the impending flooding.

The church of Potosi as it looks now

The graveyard - do soaked spirits walk the valley now?

What remains of the village of Potosi after 26 years submerged

The area is now open to those who want to travel and see a once forgotten and lost town. As of now it doesn't appear people will return to live but just to visit and possibly reminisce of what happened to a city when the government decided it stood in the way of progress.

The Power of Reading

Hop on Board!

Being involved with social media, we understand the power of simply hitting a keyboard or sliding a finger across a screen to get what a person wants, be that a book, an appliance, some food, whatever. But this begs the question, what is best?

Not in the aspect of receiving what a person is looking for - that is not the question. The true question is when it comes to reading what is better - e-books or physical books?

For the fiscally prudent person, then the answer is really simple - an e-book edition of a novel is much cheaper than a hard copy (unless a person takes the liberty of visiting a public library, shopping on-line for used books, or borrowing one from a pal). But there is something about the physical act of holding a book in one's hands and turning each page one at a time that is truly special.

Brain research actually suggests that the physical act of turning a page allows the brain to wander a moment, and then it must refocus on the following page which causes synapses to start clicking between both halves of the brain. Whereas, with an e-book, it is one continuous page just rolling by and the brain does not have to stop and refocus, thus not allowing such muscle building synapses from occurring. The brain is must have exercise to stay in tip-top shape.

That's deep.

According to an international attorney and self-professed voracious reader, Rohit Shrivastava (2017) when asked if he would rather have an e-book or a physical book - " . . . there is one aspect where e-books cannot compare with a physical book. Physical books give you a sense of ownership and attachment. You make a connection with that book. This feeling is absent in the case of an e-book."

The good news, for those of us writers who still publish hard copies of books, is that the current trend shows that more and more people are turning off their Kindles and holding physical books in their hands.

An interesting article written by Colin Ainsworth of Mentalfloss.com (1/17/19) gave a rather clear and concise break down of what is going on with book reading. Physical books are back and growing stronger by the year.

It seems, according to the online newspaper, Quartz, that between the years of 2009 and 2015 independent bookstores have not only thrived, but grown in numbers - by as much as 35%. In the United Kingdom, those numbers are even stronger and since the advent of Amazon, independent bookstores have actually increased.

Publishers Weekly, the American standard for weekly news about all that is writing and reading, reported that print sales rose by almost 2% in 2017. When the results for 2018 are in, we at J and L suspect they will be even better.

That is good news for us writing and reading types. No more is the doom and gloom that people are too busy playing on their phones and not reading. Looks as though the trend is going the opposite direction.

Another online magazine, Vox, is suggesting that people are now going to book stores more than ever, for the experience of touching, seeing, and investigating books they may be interested in reading. Though social media still rears its head with people posing for selfies in the book aisles, at least it's a start.

Social media does allow smaller booksellers to tweet, Instagram, Facebook, and employ other avenues to connect with their customers and their potential new readers. It allows the book stores to reach out through the cosmos and slowly bring down to earth people who now feel the need to hold a book in their hands.

One book seller stated that she was finding more and more social media addicted souls were coming to her store to purchase books because they actually craved the physical contact of the book. The purchasers were a bit tired of everything being digitized and wanted to feel, look and smell a real book.

We like that and during a recent book signing at Barnes and Noble, felt that with the many people who stopped by to chit-chat or have John autograph his latest novel, Iquitos - The Past Will Kill - still enjoyed wandering the aisles. With the crowds going through the large store it was reassuring to think that bookstores are on their way up, and in fact the foot traffic that particular day seemed to reaffirm that belief.

John will be signing more copies of his books this coming Sunday, the 27th, at the Victorville Barnes and Noble. The book store ran out of some of his titles at the last signing and re-ordered. If anyone is nearby - please stop in and say hello to the author - no purchase necessary.

For a quick two and a half minute video in reference to the book signing please check out this link.
https://youtu.be/y3rf5JhIJ9g

Special thanks to Justin Barr who created the above video.

https://www.justinbarrphotography.com/