LOL
Downtown entertainment centers:
– Fox Theater (now symphony hall)
– Spreckels Theater.
– now defunct California Theater (operated into the early 90’s – saw some GREAT bands there)
– Balboa Theater (now restored – saw Elvis Costello there earlier this year – operated from the 20’s till Horton Plaza was built – restored recently.)
– Civic Center
– Golden Hall
You’re right – there was no entertainment downtown. LOL.
Businesses downtown – until the 80’s most banks had their main offices in San Diego downtown.
Until Fashion Valley was built – department stores were downtown – Walker Scott was the “anchor” in the pre-mall days. To use a Philly reference – it was the Strawbridges of San Diego.
I remember as a child in the 60’s going downtown with my mom to go to the department stores, to go to shoe stores, to do banking… all the stuff that mom’s drag their kids along with them to do. But, you’re right – there was no business, no entertainment, no anything in downtown before Petco and the high rises.
As I mentioned – there was a flight from downtown to suburbia in the 60’s and 70’s – this happened everywhere across the country. And like the rest of the country – there was a gentrification in the 80’s and 90’s and people and businesses came back to downtown.
I will concede that not many people LIVED downtown in the early 80’s – I was one of the early adopters (moved to 8th and Beech in 82.) Between Horton Plaza (85) and Symphony Hall’s restoration (formerly the Fox theater) also in 85, downtown revived. By the time I left downtown (and San Diego) in 1990 – high rises were starting to happen, people were moving back. This was before Petco.
As someone who lived downtown in the era you said it offered nothing – I have to disagree with much of what you said.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have to go prep some more food.
