College Area, San Diego | |
|---|---|
| College Area | |
 Campanile Drive | |
  College Area, San Diego Location within San Diego | |
| Coordinates:32°46′19″N117°04′08″W / 32.771831°N 117.068939°W /32.771831; -117.068939 | |
| Country |  United States of America |
| State |  California |
| County |  San Diego |
| City |  San Diego |
TheCollege Area is a residential community in the Mid-City region ofSan Diego, California, United States. It is dominated bySan Diego State University (SDSU), after which the area is named. Several neighborhoods in the College Area were developed in the 1930s, with others becoming established in the post-war period.[citation needed]
The College Area is bordered to the west byKensington andTalmadge and to the east by the city ofLa Mesa. It includes the neighborhoods of the Catoctin Area, Dennstedt Point, East Falls View Drive, Saranac-Mohawk, and anOrthodox Jewish neighborhood near Congregation Beth Jacob Orthodox Synagogue.
El Cajon Boulevard is a busy shopping district; additional retail establishments are at South Campus Plaza, a university housing and commercial complex on College Avenue. The region includesEast Campus Medical Center at UC San Diego Health, a 306-bed acute care facility, and the College-Rolando branch of theSan Diego Public Library.
On August 18, 1948, the "Campus Drive-In" movie theater with a capacity for 900 cars was built at the intersection of College Avenue andEl Cajon Boulevard. The opening night films wereGive My Regards to Broadway andThe Kansan. The final two features in 1983 wereThe Dark Crystal andDragonslayer.[1][2]
In 1961, snack-bar employee Tom O'Leary was convicted ofmanslaughter for stabbing a patron named Dennis O'Connor to death at the drive-in. The O'Connor family sued the company for wrongful death but did not prevail. The dead man's family became active in city politics and eventually his sisterMaureen O'Connor was electedmayor of San Diego in 1986.[1]
Threeneon drum majorettes wearingIndian headdresses from the Drive-In are preserved in theVons shopping center at this location and one large one is preserved in theCollege Grove Shopping Center further south on College Avenue inOak Park.[3][4]
On October 31, 2024, an urbanwildfire in a gorge along Montezuma Avenue damaged six homes and prompeted evacuations and school closings.[5]
The College Area lies on a plateau known as Montezuma Mesa which overlooksInterstate 8.[6] The neighborhood's borders are defined by Montezuma Road/Collwood Boulevard to the southwest, Interstate 8 to the north, 73rd Street to the east, and El Cajon Boulevard to the south. A large canyon opens up in the center of the SDSU campus known asAztec Bowl and descends toward Alvarado Creek in Mission Valley. Canyon Crest Drive snakes down through the canyon from 55th Street to College Avenue.
MTS (Metropolitan Transit System) operates theSan Diego Trolley[7] toSDSU Transit Center andUC San Diego Health East station, both of which are in the College Area. The trolley station at SDSU, as well as a bus plaza, make up the SDSU Transit Center. Transfers are made from the SDSU trolley subway station located at the Transit Center, underneath the bus plaza. Riders can go up to the bus plaza via elevator or stairs.
As of October 12, 2014, the SDSU Transit Center serves as the starting point for MTS Rapid Bus Route 215. A high-frequency, limited-stop service runs between San Diego State University and downtown San Diego via El Cajon Boulevard and Park Boulevard.
The College Area is home to one traditional elementary school, one private K-8 school, two alternative K-8 schools, and SDSU.
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| National | |
32°46′18.59″N117°4′8.18″W / 32.7718306°N 117.0689389°W /32.7718306; -117.0689389
