19th-Century Manuscript Map of Bay Front Downtown San Diego
Shows a large section of the Downtown San Diego's embarcadero area north to present Banker's Hill neighborhood. The area shown is bounded on the south by Broadway (here D Street), on the north by Upas Street, on the west by San Diego Bay and on the east by Front Street.
Features noted:
- Route of the California Southern Railroad
- Several extinct street names: Atlantic (present Harbor Dr.), Arctic (present Pacific Highway), and California (present Kettner).
Interestingly, the present map shows numbered lots along the bay shore, with blue wash color covering part of these lots. At about the same time as this map the City of San Diego was establishing the boundary between the bay and the individual land owners. In later years the city benchmark for mean sea level was discovered to be off by about 6 feet:
The first attempt by the City of San Diego to establish the boundary between the bay and the upland owner was made by Jas. D. Schuyler, City Engineer, and G. H. Herrold his assistant in 1888 & 1889. In doing so a local bench mark for mean sea level was established at the corner of the old city hall at 3rd & D street. Some time later when the Coast and Geodetic Survey bench mark was established the City benchmark was found to be 6.01 feet above true mean sea level. - Brown & Pallamary, page 106.
California Southern Railroad
The latter half of the 19th century witnessed a period of rapid expansion and development in the American West. Infrastructure projects such as railroads were pivotal in spurring economic growth and attracting settlers. The California Southern Railroad (CSRR), a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe), played an interesting role in the early development of San Diego, particularly in the context of the region's speculative real estate boom in the 1880s. While the CSRR was initially spurred by San Diego-based businessmen seeking a transcontinental rail link for the city, the line would eventually mainly serve as the Santa Fe's entrance into the competitive California market.
Formally organized in 1880, the CSRR embarked on a plan to connect San Diego with points north, intending an eventual connection to the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad for a coveted transcontinental link. Beginning construction in 1881 in National City, just south of San Diego, the CSRR etched a path northwards, stretching to Oceanside before veering northeast through Temecula Canyon. It subsequently snaked its way through present-day Elsinore, Perris, and Riverside before connecting with the formidable Southern Pacific in Colton. The line was completed on November 9, 1885, through Cajon Pass to present-day Victorville and Barstow.
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