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Remarkable Aerial Photograph of San Diego's Mission Bay

This 3 foot x 3 foot 1962 aerial photograph of coastal San Diego provides a comprehensive view of the mid-20th-century development of Mission Bay and its surrounding communities, including Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Crown Point, and parts of La Jolla and Clairemont.

While the photograph is not signed, it is very similar to the aerial photography work of Howard Rozelle, whose aerial photographs of San Diego from the late 1940s to the early 1960s are among the most important artifacts of the growth of San Diego in the 20 years following World War II.

The central feature is the recently dredged and modernized Mission Bay, prominently displaying the intricate network of artificial islands, coves, and inlets that were part of an ongoing transformation of the area into a major aquatic resort destination interspersed by parks and marinas. The dredging and shaping of the bay, evident in the photograph, aimed to create an ideal space for water sports, tourism, and recreational developments, which was just beginning to host hotels. Sea World would soon open here in 1964.

The foreshortening distortion, a common characteristic of aerial photography, is noticeable in the upper portion of the image, particularly around Point Loma and Coronado. This distortion compresses and exaggerates the distance between areas of the photograph, making Point Loma appear unusually close to Mission Bay. The effect is due to the angle and altitude of the aircraft from which the photograph was taken, causing distant objects to appear disproportionately larger (or compressed in the present case of Point Loma).

Dating the image

Several resort developments shown in Mission Bay help date the present image: Vacation Village (current day Paradise Point) appears freshly constructed, including its man-made pond. This island-themed resort opened to the public in July 1962 to much fanfare.  On the southern end of Mission Beach one can discern the expanding Bahia Hotel, the first commercial lessee on Mission Bay in the early 1950s, here shown as it appeared in the early 1960s. Several other freshly built early 1960s subdivisions can be seen in northeastern Pacific Beach near the 5 freeway. Notably absent in the image is the Pacific Tower highrise condo building, built in 1973 on the corner of Cass and Wilbur Streets. The complex's second tower was never built do to local outcry which lead to height limits on coastal-area development.

"False Bay"

Mission Bay in San Diego, originally named "False Bay" by early Spanish explorers like Sebastián Vizcaíno in 1602, was recognized as a shallow, marshy inlet that often confused sailors. It remained largely undeveloped for centuries, used by the Kumeyaay people and later by early settlers. In the mid-20th century, the bay underwent significant transformation  into a recreational hub for water sports, resorts, and tourism, culminating in the creation of SeaWorld in 1964. This redevelopment reflected San Diego’s broader post-World War II growth.

This photograph captures a pivotal moment in San Diego's post-WWII expansion, documenting both the growth of suburban communities and the ambitious development of Mission Bay as a premier coastal recreational area.