FEATURED URM HISTORIC BUILDING:
OLD CITY HALL
By: Mehdi Shadyab, P.E., J.D.
| Old City Hall is a historic building located at 664
Fifth Avenue in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter, at the corner of ‘G’ Street
and 5th Avenue, Downtown San Diego. This building is listed as a
historic
building number [46] on the Gaslamp Quarter Historic Buildings registry. |
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This Florentine-Italianate architectural style building was originally
a two-story brick building constructed in 1874. Thirteen years later,
in 1887, two more stories were added. Upon the completion of the
upper levels, the Public Library moved-in and occupied the third
floor. In 1891, the City of San Diego purchased the building from
Ralph Granger and the City of San Diego Government offices were moved
into the building. |
| The Police Department occupied the first
floor and the Council Chambers occupied the fourth floor. The first
San Diego
Mayor having an office in this building was Edwin Capp. Mayor Capp
was involved in a scandal over profit-making on the purchase of a
smallpox vaccine which was intended for public use. Mayor Louise
Wilde began his services in this building in 1917. Mayor Wilde is
best known for donating the Horton Plaza fountain to the City in
1910. Mayor Wilde’s own home and the U.S. Grant Hotel that
he also owned were located on ‘D’ Street, which he renamed
to Broadway. The City Hall housed the City of San Diego Government
offices for 35 years.
Today, The Old City Hall is owned privately and is used as a mixed-occupancy;
restaurant/bar on the first floor, retail on second floor, and
live/work loft units on the third and fourth floors. In 1995, this
unreinforced masonry (URM) building underwent major structural
renovation and was completely retrofitted according to the seismic
regulations of the then applicable building code and the City of
San Diego
URM Ordinance.
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