5th Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego

Highlights of Fifth Avenue in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter

Fifth Avenue is the main thoroughfare in downtown San Diego. Set in the historic Gaslamp Quarter, the avenue offers visitors the chance to discover the city’s history and contemporary life through its restored heritage buildings, alfresco dining spots, hotels, shops, and nightlife entertainment. Learn more about the avenue’s history and architecture on a tour by the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation, or stop by the Davis-Horton House museum nearby.

Fifth Avenue is a great street to graze for food, whether you’re in search of fresh sushi or a juicy burger, wanting some pub grub at places like the Gaslamp Tavern Food Hall, or going for a hot fudge sundae at the Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop.

Fifth Avenue’s nightlife scene is packed with places to drink, dance and gather, like the Rustic Root rooftop bar that hosts Friday and Saturday night socials, or Onyx Room Nightclub with 3 dance floors to let loose on. For a grittier night out, head to Trailer Park After Dark, a retro dive bar serving beer, cocktails and comfort food.   

A brief history of Fifth Avenue

Fifth Avenue rose to prominence in 1867, when developer Alonzo Horton built a wharf at the end of it and started developing the area then known as New Town. The town’s streets were lined with gas lamps, and buildings in Victorian, Italian Renaissance, and Spanish Revival architecture styles went up along the avenue over the following decades.

The neighbourhood became notorious as a red-light district and a rather unsavoury place up until the 1970s when the buildings were under threat of being razed. Local groups united to help save the buildings and transform Fifth Avenue and the surrounding streets into the historic and vibrant downtown district now known as Gaslamp Quarter.

A large sign arching over Fifth Avenue now greets visitors to Gaslamp Quarter, and a wander down the avenue takes you past several notable buildings.

Among them is the twin-towered Louis Bank of Commerce Building built in a Baroque Revival style, famous for housing an oyster bar that was a favourite of Wild West lawman Wyatt Earp in the late 1800s and, later, a brothel. Other heritage buildings to look out for include the stately brick Yuma building, Old City Hall, and the Nesmith-Greeley building.

Good to know about Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter

Fifth Avenue is best navigated on foot, with its wide sidewalks and mild San Diego weather making it pleasant and easy to get around. If the daytime heat gets to be too much there are several outdoor cafes with umbrella-shaded tables to relax at between shopping sessions.

Fifth Avenue is busier at night, especially if there are crowds spilling out from an event at the nearby San Diego Convention Center or Petco Park, a sports and concert venue where the San Diego Padres baseball team play their home games.

The San Diego Red Trolley line offers a cheap and convenient way to get around downtown, while you could catch a Coaster train if you’re needing to get to downtown from Old Town or coastal communities like Oceanside or Solana Beach. A fun way to get around the Gaslamp Quarter is to hop aboard a pedicab and let your bike-riding guide pedal you up and down the avenue.