National Register of Historic Places

San Diego Civic Center

San Diego, San Diego County, California
Listed
May 15, 1988
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
88000554

About this property

The San Diego County Administration Center is a historic Beaux-Arts/Spanish Revival–style building in San Diego, California. It houses the offices of the government of San Diego County. Due to its notable architecture and location fronting San Diego Bay, it is nicknamed the Jewel on the Bay. It was completed in 1938 and was primarily funded by the Works Progress Administration. Architects were Samuel Wood Hamill, William Templeton Johnson, Richard Requa and Louis John Gill. The building used innovative construction techniques to guard against earthquakes, and the project was considered to be "a prototype of American civic center architecture". The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 16, 1988.

Location

1600 Pacific Hwy.
San Diego, San Diego County, California
32.73133, -117.17177

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTLANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREARTENGINEERINGPOLITICS/GOVERNMENTARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Everything a full report reveals about San Diego Civic Center

This page lists San Diego Civic Center. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks and old features hidden in the landscape.
Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
The old books, county histories and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from first peoples to the present day.
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Nearby Historic Sites

Long-Waterman House
Industrial
0.4 mi
Moylan, Maj. Myles, House
Industrial
0.5 mi
Sweet, A. H., Residence and Adjacent Small House
Industrial
0.6 mi
Hawthorne Inn
Industrial
0.6 mi
PCF 816 (patrol craft fast)
Industrial
0.7 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of San Diego Dec 1846
1846Mexican-American War
1.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was San Diego Civic Center listed on the National Register?

San Diego Civic Center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 15, 1988.

What type of historic resource is San Diego Civic Center?

San Diego Civic Center is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for San Diego Civic Center?

The period of significance for San Diego Civic Center is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near San Diego Civic Center?

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