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San Diego Waterfront in the 1880s

Spreckels's Wharf, Defunct Street Names (Arctic Street!), Santa Fe Railroad, and More

Two manuscript maps showing the late 19th-century configuration of the wharves along part of the San Diego waterfront at what is now the Embarcadero in downtown. Taken together the maps depict the San Diego Bay waterfront area between present-day Broadway Pier, south to the foot of Union Street, encompassing the current location of the USS Midway and Seaport Village.

San Diego in the late 19th century was characterized by rapid urban expansion and a real estate boom that would inevitably bust, but not before profoundly transforming the city's waterfront. The two maps, designed to connect at a right angle, offer a detailed view of this prime section of San Diego's waterfront. They detail a myriad of features: from streets bearing names that have long since vanished—like Atlantic Street which is now N. Harbor Drive or Arctic Street, today's Kettner Blvd.—to the path of the Santa Fe Railroad, a crucial transportation connection for the city. Privately-owned wharves, including Jorres', Spreckels', and the Santa Fe's are prominently labeled, underscoring their significance in San Diego's maritime and economic landscape.

John D. Spreckels and San Diego Transportation Development

These maps reflect the influence of John D. Spreckels on San Diego. A prominent businessman and entrepreneur, Spreckels was a key figure in San Diego during the late 19th century. Beyond the eponymous Spreckels Wharf depicted on one of the present maps, he played a transformative role in the city's development, particularly through investments in transportation, real estate, and utilities. His influence and endeavors, which include the establishment of the San Diego Electric Railway and numerous other infrastructural projects, were pivotal in shaping San Diego's urban and maritime landscape.

San Diego Waterfront from the Foot of Broadway to Seaport Village : What is Looked Like in the 1880s

These maps were made for an unidentified legal case (they are labeled Map exhibit No. 2 and Map Exhibit No. 3, respectively), perhaps stemming from the spectacular real estate boom of the 1880s. The two sheets overlap and connect at Carlson and Higgins Wharf, and together show the waterfront area roughly south of Broadway (here D street), following the contour of the waterfront around the area of present-day Seaport Village, as far as the foot of Union Street. The map identifies the following streets, including several now defunct street names, several wharves, the route of the Santa Fe Railroad, and other landmarks:

• Jorres' Wharf
• Spreckles [i.e. Spreckels] Wharf
• Santa Fe Wharf
• Santa Fe Railroad to wharf
• Carlson and Higgins' Wharf
• Street Car Railroad to Coronado Ferry
• D. Street (present-day Broadway)
• Atlantic Street (present-day N. Harbor Drive)
• California Street (present-day Pacific Highway)
• Arctic Street (present-day Kettner Blvd.)
• India Street
• H Street (present-day Market Street)

Glenn S. Dumke's description of San Diego after the bust of the 1880's real estate boom gives a flavor for the time period:

As in other sections of the southland, the boom was on the wane by the end of 1887, and promoters and local businessmen were forced to gloss over the effects of the collapse... Despite the crumbling of the rococo and gingerbread, the boom left a substantial edifice in San Diego... "a blessing in disguise"... The Sun listed improvements that had been acquired; they included the construction of railways ($350,000 in motor railways alone), hotels, cable roads, three schools, a public library, a new opera house, dam and flume improvement, fifteen business blocks, several churches, and the Spreckels Wharf and coal bunkers. All of the main business streets had been paved, a million dollars in gold had been extracted from near-by mines, water had been made available at very low rates.... - The Boom of the Eighties in Southern California, pages 141-142.

Summary

These manuscript maps stand as cartographic snapshots of a interesting moment in San Diego's history, portraying the waterfront's evolution during a period of economic fervor, ambition, and eventual rebirth.