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Free Traveling Guides » States » California » San Diego
Horton Plaza
The popular Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego is a five-level outdoor shopping mall and it famous for its bright colors, architecture and spatial rhythms. Horton Plaza is spread across six and a half city blocks and is next to the historic Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego. The Plaza is currently anchored by Nordstrom, Mervyn’s and Macy’s.
Before Horton Plaza became a shopping center, it was in fact an actual plaza with a grassy area surrounded by flowers and plants. The plaza was named after Alonzo Horton who was responsible for the location of downtown San Diego. In the 1960s and 1970s, the plaza was a major public transit center with most buses entering the downtown area having a stop at the Horton Plaza. However, by the 1960s, Horton Plaza was completely run down and was home to a sizeable homeless population.
Today, the Horton Plaza has more than 130 specialty shops which include art galleries, clothing, fun shops for kids, a bookstore and shoe stores. The Plaza also has a 14-screen cinema with three large department stores, number of restaurants and eateries.
The Horton Plaza attracts as many visitors as Sea World and the San Diego Zoo because of its unique features. The Plaza is a maze of rambling paths, piazzas, towers, greenery, fountains and sculptures.
When initial plans for the original plaza were made, it was greeted with a lot of skepticism. However, the City still went ahead and got a local architectural firm to redesign the run down plaza. The Horton Plaza was inspired by European shopping streets and districts like Athens’ Plaka and London’s Portobello Road. It was designed to work as an amusement park for the shoppers. The architects made sure that the included certain elements of San Diego’s history in the Horton Plaza. The ornate lamps in the Plaza are replicas of the original gas lamps used in San Diego at the turn of the century. The Jessop’s Clock in the Plaza was built in 1907 and has been part of San Diego’s history for nearly a hundred year. The redesigned Plaza was opened in 1985 and it paved way for the redevelopment of the Gaslamp Quarter.
The Horton Plaza has parking space which is free with validation for the first three hours and thereafter it is $1 per half-hour. The parking levels in the Plaza are confusing and losing your car is just part of the experience of visiting the Horton Plaza.
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