“America’s Finest City” was not always so fine. Take a look into the history of San Diego; the dirty deeds of downtown’s former red-light district reveal this neighborhood as a place with a less than sparkling past.
The 1880s marked the beginning of San Diego’s urban history when a swarm of settlers took residence in the downtown area. Among the influx was a large population of gamblers and prostitutes who were quick to capitalize on the city’s growing economic potential. Sporadically conducting raids of newly established gambling halls and brothels, city officials were often accused of having little motivation to shut down or deliberately challenge San Diego’s newly formed “restricted” quarter, an area surrounding Third and Island avenues. It was assumed illegal acts could be contained but not eradicated. These leniencies became profitable, and the market for men with betting lust or a desire for cheap sex flourished in a red-light district that became known as the Stingaree.
Although never officially settled, it could be suggested that the Stingaree acquired its name from the venomous whip-tailed fish, or stingarees, that were prevalent along San Diego’s waterfront at the time. The potential of being stung by sinful conquests was no doubt amusing to the district’s frequenters.
Prostitution and gambling establishments prospered throughout the early 20th century in downtown San Diego. Reputable businesses could be seen moving north of Market Street, while seedier establishments found homes in these newly vacated spots around 1900. However, in 1912, law enforcement found reason to reclaim downtown. When San Diego was announced as the host of the Panama-California Exposition of 1915, the city was urged to save face and clean up its criminal streets. Officials raided several brothels and arrested 138 women, many of whom fled town. More than a dozen buildings and prostitution houses were condemned and, after extensive efforts, the Stingaree district was effectively shut down.
Unfortunately for San Diego’s moral authority, it was soon realized downtown’s crooked quarters could not easily be made straight. In response to the post-World War I Prohibition, many vice-lovers began to open prostitution cribs tied into newly formed speakeasies. This rebellion snowballed through World War II and into the 1970s when shady establishments were rolling into a variation of the old Stingaree district.
On April 2, 1978, Leigh Fenly of The San Diego Union Tribune published an article titled “Downtown is Really Swinging 8212; From Past to Future.” Through this article, Fenly painted a picture of downtown as a broken metropolis, overcome by prostitutes and vagrants in the night.
“It is here 8212; among the massage parlors, the porn shops, the dirty movies, the sterile concrete and deteriorating plaster 8212; that people … live,” Fenly wrote.
Downtown seemed to be in a state of disrepair and, to make matters worse, was burdened with a painfully high unemployment rate of 30 percent and a crime rate 50 percent higher than the rest of San Diego.
The future of downtown looked bleak. However, seven years after Fenly’s article went to print, the district changed course. The whimsical architecture of the Horton Plaza shopping center was revealed, and downtown experienced its first push toward the vibrant cultural center it is today.
Now, the streets are lined with swanky bars and notable restaurants. Although it still boasts a pervasive homeless population and the occasional porn shop, downtown is only a shadow of its former self.
