Little Italy is a neighborhood in Downtown San Diego, California, originally a predominately Italian and Portuguese fishing neighborhood. It has since been gentrified and is now a popular neighborhood full of Italian restaurants and grocery stores, home design stores, art galleries, and residential units. Little Italy is one of the more active downtown neighborhoods, with frequent festivals and events, including a weekly farmers market known as the Mercato (the Market, in Italian). The neighborhood has low crime rates compared with other areas in Downtown San Diego. It is maintained by the Little Italy Neighborhood Association, which looks after trash collection, decorations, and special events.
Geography
Little Italy is located in the northwest end of Downtown, a few blocks from the Embarcadero. It is located north of Columbia, south of Middletown, southeast of Core, southwest of Bankers Hill/Park West, and west of Cortez Hill. The neighborhood is located on the side of a hill, with a significant rise in elevation as one approaches Interstate 5. West Laurel Street borders the district to the north, West Ash Street to the south, Interstate 5 and Front Street to the east, and the San Diego Bay and Pacific Highway to the west.
Tuna Industry
From the 19th century through the 1970s, Italian-Americans, chiefly from the Italian Riviera and Sicily, led the enterprise to build the boats that founded the American tuna fishing fleet and canning industry based in San Diego, the “tuna capital” of the American West Coast. The first large tuna cannery, the Pacific Tuna Canning Company, was founded in 1911. By the mid-1930s, the canneries employed more than 1,000 people. Due to rising costs and foreign competition, the last canneries closed in the early 1980s.
Development
There are multiple public improvements and high-rise and mid-rise buildings under construction or approved and scheduled for construction. The northern part of Little Italy is less densely populated than the southern part of Little Italy, mainly made up of high-rise and mid-rise buildings. Some older buildings have been renovated for new uses; newer buildings aim to duplicate the feel of the original establishments. India Street’s main street features public art and plazas, street trees, galleries, antique stores, and numerous restaurants with outside eating areas. EZ San Diego Junk Removal
Attractions
- The Embarcadero is located at N Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA
- Maritime Museum of San Diego is located at 1492 N Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA
- Balboa Park
- Broadway Pier is located at 1000 The, San Diego, CA
Check out other neighborhoods like Mira Mesa