Hillcrest is home to over 200 restaurants, and has something for everyone. The neighborhood has blossomed into a hip community, which includes its unique dining experience.
It has a high population density compared to many other neighborhoods in San Diego, and the housing options include older homes mixed with newer, upscale apartments and condominiums. Today, Hillcrest is known for its tolerant, diverse, and locally-owned businesses, including two major hospitals, and many eclectic cafes, bars, spas, boutiques, largely gay and lesbian-owned. Photo Credit: TripSavvy Business, Culture & Demographics The LGBT Community Center, generally known today as “the Center” moved its facility to Hillcrest, the Hillcrest Business Association was formed, the HBA hosted the first CityFest, and the Hillcrest lighted sign, as it stands today, was reconstructed. The 80s, which begat the HiV and AIDS epidemic, was a Renaissance for the city. In 1974, 200 LGBTQ people and their allies marched through the streets of downtown for the first time to protest San Diego’s refusal of a parade permit, and in 1975, the first city-permitted Gay Pride Parade was held. During the 1970s, gays and lesbians began to establish residences, businesses, and organizations in this location. The birth of the modern gay rights movement in 1969 resulted in a new era in Hillcrest history. Since World War II, over 135 gay bars have opened and operated in San Diego, offering not only a place that has built lasting friendships and fostered activism, but a safe haven for LBGTQ people who have been on the receiving end of bigotry and hate, even in the historically-tolerant state of California. Avoiding physical clashes with those outside of the gay community was important to the fledgling gay movement.” This reduced street activity meant less opportunity for anti-gay confrontations.
“One of the main reasons for the scarcity of pedestrian and street traffic in Hillcrest as compared to downtown, was the fact that such a high percentage of the population was so elderly. Being “out of the way” of other popular San Diego neighborhoods, allowed for affordable rent-space, and very unique social scene.Īccording to SOMEONE Michael Dillinger, there’s a surprisingly simple reason why gays and lesbians first colonized Hillcrest. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Hillcrest transformed from a postwar, near-wasteland of single family homes, to a safe haven for gay and lesbian San Diegans escaping hostility in other neighborhoods.
0 kommentar(er)
