Neighborhood, City of San Diego
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 92037, 92038, 92039, 92092, 92093
Most
prestigious neighborhood in San Diego County and, among the rich, famed
throughout the world. Not the wealthiest neighborhood since it has many
apartments and small beach homes, but in views and design and money some of La
Jolla’s streets will rival the best in the nation. Also called the “Jewel by
the Sea.” Pronounced La Hoy Ya. www.mccormacks.com
Located on
the Pacific. Many of the homes command great views. Home to a University of
California and its Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the Salk Institute and other
research-medical facilities. The university enrolls 23,000, covers 1,200 acres
and continues to expand, especially in medical research and bioengineering.
Brainy,
intellectual, interested in the arts. In large measure, a university village.
Nobel winners. A favorite stop for authors promoting their books.
So
distinct is La Jolla, so wide its fame, that it is frequently spoken of as a
city. La Jolla does have an informal “town” council but it's a neighborhood of
the City of San Diego, population 30,332. Many retirees, about one-fourth over
age 65.
Of La
Jolla's 15,292 housing units, 8,451 are single-family homes and 6,841 are
condos or apartments. (SANDAG 2006).
Borders
are defined as Turquoise Street on the south, Pacific on the west, the
university on the north and Interstate 5 on the east. www.mccormacks.com
These are
the borders that city hall and many Realtors and traditionalists follow. But
not everyone agrees with them.
The
university straddles Interstate 5. UC Medical Center lies east of freeway. It
seems arbitrary to say the west side of UC is in La Jolla and the east in
something else.
Hotels, a
shopping center, high-rise office and research buildings and apartment
complexes have been built east of Interstate 5. Many people and firms in this
sector claim La Jolla as their address. Many La Jolla residents dine and shop
here, especially at the University Towne Centre, a mall with a Macys and a
Nordstrom.
City hall
places this section, which has a skyline rivaling downtown San Diego, in
University Heights.
Getting back
to La Jolla proper, along most of its shore, La Jolla is flat. This portion of
the town includes small homes, apartment complexes and vacation rentals. And
many stores, shops, boutiques, restaurants, delis, coffee shops, banks and
service firms. The heart of the shopping strip is Prospect Street. www.mccormacks.com
Just in
from the shore, La Jolla rises sharply into hills and bluffs, split by ravines,
hence the views. Some homes, gorgeous creatures, sit on bluffs high over the
Pacific.
Many of
the view homes, however, fall into the category of upscale attractive but not
opulent. If the lot has a view, the home usually is oriented toward the
Pacific, either with balconies or porches in the front or decks at the rear.
Occasionally
legal fights break out when views get blocked and every few years, during
winter rains, one or several homes will slide down a hill.
At the top
of the hill or mesa, the land levels out and away from the ocean La Jolla
presents residential streets with tract homes, very well maintained, but not overwhelming,
three and four bedrooms, often one story. No views.
About one
in five residential units was built before 1950. About seven in 10 were built
between 1950 and 1980. La Jolla is still building but it doesn’t have much land
left. In the 1990s, the town added about 3,000 residents. www.mccormacks.com
Low crime.
Zero homicides in 2005, 2004 and 2003, two in 2002, zero in 2001 and 2000. La Jolla Village, a commercial-hotel
section just west of Interstate 5, is broken out separately in crime reports.
Zero homicides in 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, one in 2000. See Crime.
Local
elementary schools, which include transfers from other neighborhoods, post
scores in the 80th and 90th percentiles on statewide rankings. School district
and university have opened a charter school at university. See Schools.
In 2002,
La Jolla High School won permission from the school district to pretty much run
itself as the faculty sees fit. This was interpreted to mean more emphasis on
academics. The school usually hits the 97th and 98th percentiles in its
rankings, the top 3 percent in the state.
La Jolla
High and Muirlands Middle schools field special science programs that have won
honors in state and national contests.
San Diego
residents have approved a $1.5 billion bond to renovate or improve just about
all the school facilities in the city, including La Jolla's. www.mccormacks.com
La Jolla
also has about a dozen private schools, a few of them with enrollments over
500.
Beaches
accessible. In evening, residents and visitors stroll a beach promenade and
watch the sun make a golden departure. Traffic congestion a problem along the
shore, especially on weekends and during tourist season.
Four large
parks inland and parks along the beaches. Underwater park — 17 parks
total, plus tot lot. Whale and dolphin watching. Museums. YMCA with pool. The
university and all it offers: dance, exhibits, talks, etc. In 1994, the
university opened a large sports complex that does double duty as a concert
hall. Famous playhouse (founded with help of the late Gregory Peck) is noted
for its quality productions. Concerts in the park and at Sherwood Auditorium;
first-class artists. La Jolla Festival of Arts. Ordinary and fine dining.
Regional
mall just east of La Jolla includes an ice skating rink. Two golf courses. In
2006, the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club hosted the Davis Cup Playoffs.
About 8 to
12 miles to the downtown but many residents work at the university or locally
in banks and finance firms near the university or in the medical research,
high-tech industries of the Sorrento Valley just north of the university. The
university alone employs 22,000 and has an annual payroll of $660 million. www.mccormacks.com
Summing up
La Jolla. From its inception in the 1800s, it always has attracted the rich and
the cultured. Now its residents are mostly college-educated professionals,
interested in the arts and what's going on the in world, traveled and active.
They read. They support the schools. They have opinions. Yes, the town has its
couch potatoes and dullards but in proportion fewer than in other towns.
La Jolla
has “society.” It presents its debutantes in an annual ball often held in the
Hotel Coronado. It has clubs and social groups. If you want to get active in a
group, you usually can.
The
university supports the arts and, through its extension division, offers classes
to the public. The shops are many and diverse. Many of the jobs pay big bucks.
• San
Diego Chamber of Commerce (619) 544-1300.
• La Jolla
“polar bears” greet New Year's Day with a dip in the Pacific. www.mccormacks.com
• Snorkle
with sharks. One of the excursions sponsored by Scripps naturalists. Leopard
sharks who supposedly prefer not to dine on humans.
• Thank
you, Jane: Jane Cameron lived in La Jolla where she owned shops and land. She
was an avid reader and fond of her branch library, the Riford, in the
downtown. When she died at age 94,
she left $3.2 million to the Riford. Money is being used to expand library and
add to its collection.
These
kinds of donations happen regularly in town. In 2006, Ellen Revelle donated $1
million to the Music Society, the group that sponsors many concerts.
• Charter
school with high-tech curriculum opened in 2005. Called High Tech Middle Media
Arts.
•
Controversies. Tall cross atop Mt. Soledad, the high point of La Jolla. Some
argue that the cross mixes religion with politics and want it removed. Others
defend and note that the base of the cross has evolved into a tribute to those
who served in the military. Many people have inserted into the base photos of
deceased veterans. www.mccormacks.com
In 2006, Congress and President Bush
stepped into the fight and bought the land but the courts may have final
say.
About 100
seals loll on the beach and foul the children's ocean pool, a favorite with
kids and parents. Some people say, out with the seals. Others, out with the
kids. Another job for the courts.
When the
seals deliver pups, the crowds gather and cheer on the moms.
Community
web site: www.lajollabythesea.com
