Places & Experiences
Rady Shell
First opened in the Summer of 2021, The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park is an architectural wonder on the edge of San Diego Bay. The Rady Shell is a state of the art concert venue that elevates the experience of live music while also serving as a public center for all of San Diego. Made possible by an agreement between the San Diego Symphony and the Unified Port of San Diego, the Embarcadero Marina Park South site provides the community with a venue where culture and nature intersect, where music and a restored park are combined to give San Diegans a unique gathering place.
Children's Park
Renovation Project
Recently completed, the $9 million urban park project revitalized the 1.4-acre area built in 1995. New trees were planted and sidewalks were updated to be more consistent with the Downtown Streetscape Manual. The project also includes the additions of a children’s play area, a walkway through the Civic Pond, a vendor building, adult exercise equipment, a picnic area, an off-leash dog run, and a lawn area with access to a public restroom staffed by an attendant. An art piece highlighting the urban-forest theme has been created for the project by artist Miki Iwasaki.
The New Children's Museum
The New Children's Museum's interactive art installations and hands-on art programming provide creative and educational experiences for children and families. The institution works with artists to reimagine our spaces so that there is always something “new” to discover. The facility is a multi-level 50,000 square-foot building that includes a series of transparent, flexible spaces which visibly expose the building’s construction and design. Designed by visionary and award-winning architect Rob Wellington Quigley, the dynamic space is one of the first green museums in California.
Embarcadero
The Embarcadero is a waterfront area located along the east side of San Diego Bay. The Embarcadero is a beautiful boardwalk that links to restaurants, shops, and public spaces often activated. Managed by the Port of San Diego, the Embarcadero has seen an increase of public-private partnerships to develop waterside F&B options for the public to enjoy.
Carnitas' Snack Shack
Established in 2011, Carnitas’ Snack Shack is San Diego’s original pork house offering a wide variety of indulgent food, local craft beer, and specialty cocktails. Situated on the Embarcadero waterfront, the “Snack Shack,” as its affectionately called, offers thoughtfully-sourced, pork-centric American cuisine to complement our panoramic views of the San Diego harbor.
Herb & Wood
The Herb & Wood located in the Little Italy neighborhood has become a dining destination that has helped to propel San Diego’s culinary reputation. By focusing on rustic, wood-fired dishes, Chef Malarkey’s menu elevates humble ingredients such as carrots, beets, and chicken, incorporating Mediterranean flavors and a California ethos of seasonality and sustainability.
Downtown San Diego Partnership
The Downtown San Diego Partnership is a nonprofit organization that serves as the principal voice and driving force behind the economic prosperity and cultural vitality of Downtown San Diego. It also serves as the managing organization for several special districts including the Property and Business Improvement District, otherwise known as the Clean & Safe program, that provides essential public services in the 275 blocks of Downtown. The organization’s nearly 300 members, representing a variety of business sectors including real estate, technology, banking, law, defense, insurance, communications, energy, and tourism are committed to nurturing a Downtown that benefits the entire San Diego region.
East Village
East Village is Downtown San Diego's largest neighborhood. Encompassing 130 blocks, East Village is bursting with life via its rooftop bars, cafes, boutique shops, galleries, live music venues, luxury hotels and restaurants.
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The revitalization of this once-neglected warehouse district in Downtown San Diego was fueled primarily by the building of PETCO Park, the San Diego Padres' state-of-the-art baseball stadium that opened in April 2004. Today, the neighborhood is a cultural hub for eating, drinking, listening and enjoying all that East Village has to offer.
Makers Quarter
Since 2013, the neighborhood has evolved from a collection of storage warehouses and parking lots into a burgeoning district defined day to day by the businesses and residents within. Its become a place for artists and innovators. Unique to the evolution of this part of East Village in Downtown San Diego, the community was invited to help shape its’ future, through an extensive series of activations and experiments, known as tactical urbanism.
Merian Public Plaza
The Merian Public Plaza is an example of a public space developed through an amenity incentive program for more density. This area includes amphitheater-style design provides versatility for the space.
Fault Line Park
This park in downtown San Diego’s East Village neighborhood owes its existence to an earthquake fault line. Through visionary deal making, a transfer of development rights on what is unbuildable land created the financing for this 1.5 acre park. Jointly designed with the adjacent high rise residential project, the park and private landscapes form a seamless environment offering a variety of recreation opportunities for everyone.
Modbom x Papalo
Overlooking Faultline Park, Modbom + Papalo is an artist-driven coffee bar, cocktails, and Sonoran BBQ experience. Sonoran dishes are a Mexican-style cuisine popular in San Diego. The cooking is known for its hearty simplicity as well as fresh, quality ingredients without a lot of fuss or fanciness.
Gaslamp Quarter
The Gaslamp Quarter is a historic 16.5-block neighborhood in downtown San Diego. It's known for its many entertainment venues, nightlife, and historical places. Investments have been made to improve the pedestrian experience including on-street dinning, street closures, and vision work on a "Gaslamp Promenade" concept.
Horton Project
Since 1870, Horton Plaza has served as a central gathering place. And today, the iconic site has been reimagined as a fully integrated and growth-ready campus. This is the largest reuse development project in the country spanning seven city blocks.
Bay City Brewing
Located in the heart of East Village just blocks from the historic Gaslamp Corner, Bay City Brewery offers the rooftop bar experience that is ironically San Diego.
Civic Core
The Civic Core contains San Diego’s central government, financial and corporate businesses. Civic Center Plaza is a key neighborhood feature that is surrounded by the Civic Theater and city offices. Benches, picnic tables, large trees, and landscaping around the perimeter help create a welcome gathering space for civic events and provide space for nearby employees to enjoy a relaxing break outdoors.
Waterside Park
San Diego Waterfront Park is a 12-acre open space park surrounding the San Diego County Administration Center. It sits across North Harbor Drive from sparkling San Diego Bay, and runs from Grape Street to Ash Street. The park offers a water park, picnic areas, and ample green space to activate for large events.
Little Italy
Little Italy is known as a pedestrian-friendly community that boasts rich culture and history. New Italian-American and non-Italian business owners have helped attract some of the finest retail and residential developments in the region along its main commercial corridor, India Street. In addition, the Little Italy community serves as a model for downtown neighborhoods and urban planning both locally and nationally.
Little Italy Food Hall
Piazza della Famiglia is 10,000 square-foot pedestrian open space that open in 2018. It was part of a larger masterplan for a mixed-use project including 125 apartment units and over 16,000 square feet of retail and restaurants on the ground level surrounding the Piazza. Part of this project was partnership with a restaurant group to build in the Little Italy Food Hall.
