Audrey Geisel University House
The Audrey Geisel University House is a 1951 Pueblo Revival building in La Jolla, designed by William Lumpkins, a noted Pueblo Revival architect. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
City guide
architecture in San Diego.
37 buildings worth a detour, each with what to look for. Open them on the map, or walk them with the iPhone app, which collects each one you photograph.
Landmarks
The buildings that define the city's architecture.
Balboa Park Club
The Balboa Park Club was built in 1915 in the Pueblo Revival style, designed by Isaac Rapp, one of the founders of the Pueblo/Santa Fe Revival style.
Photo: Roman Eugeniusz , CC BY-SA 3.0
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Landmark
Balboa Theatre
The Balboa Theatre is a historic theatre in downtown San Diego, completed in 1924. It has a long performance history and stands with an ornate facade on a Gaslamp Quarter street, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon , CC BY-SA 3.0
California Quadrangle
The California Quadrangle is a Spanish Colonial Revival entrance quadrangle in Balboa Park, designed by Bertram Goodhue. It forms a prominent facade at the park's entrance and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Antoine Taveneaux , CC BY-SA 3.0
Casa de Estudillo
Casa de Estudillo is an early adobe residence in Old Town San Diego dating to 1827, built in the Spanish Colonial style. It is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a California Historical Landmark, a San Diego Historic Landmark, and a National Register of Historic Places listed place.
Photo: Mike Fitzpatrick from Annapolis, Maryland, USA , CC BY 2.0
Congregational Church of La Jolla
The Congregational Church of La Jolla was built in 1916 in the Mission Revival style, designed by Carleton Winslow, a notable San Diego architect.
Photo: JiriMatejicek , CC BY-SA 4.0
El Cortez Apartment Hotel
The El Cortez Apartment Hotel is a 1927 Spanish Colonial Revival high-rise hotel in downtown San Diego, designed by the firm Walker & Eisen. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has a landmark presence on the downtown skyline.
Photo: Los Angeles , CC BY-SA 3.0
Fire Station Engine Company 13
Fire Station Engine Company 13 in La Jolla was built in 1936 to a design by Harold Abrams in the Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles. It is listed as a San Diego Historic Landmark, a memorable example of a historic civic building type.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon , CC BY-SA 3.0
Ford Building
The Ford Building is a Moderne-style exhibition building in downtown San Diego, designed by Walter Dorwin Teague, a notable industrial designer. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is distinguished by its rounded Moderne form.
George W. Marston House
The George W. Marston House is a National Register of Historic Places listed house museum near Balboa Park, designed by architect Irving Gill.
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Dananderson assumed (based on copyright claims). , CC BY-SA 3.0
Horton Grand Hotel
The Horton Grand Hotel is a Renaissance Revival hotel in San Diego's Gaslamp district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon , CC BY-SA 3.0
Hotel del Coronado
The Hotel del Coronado is an iconic seaside Victorian resort designed by Reid & Reid, with grounds work by Katherine Olivia Sessions. It is a prominent beachfront landmark and one of the best-known hotels of its era, recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a California Historical Landmark, and a National Register of Historic Places listed place.
Photo: Armandoartist , CC BY-SA 4.0
Jacob Weinberger United States Courthouse
The Jacob Weinberger United States Courthouse is a Neoclassical federal courthouse in downtown San Diego, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: General Services Administration , Public domain
Ken Cinema
Ken Cinema is a 1947 movie theater in the Streamline Moderne style, designed by S. Charles Lee, a prolific theater architect.
Photo: Visitor7 , CC BY-SA 3.0
Lafayette Hotel & Suites in San Diego
The Lafayette Hotel & Suites is a 1946 hotel built in the Colonial Revival style, presenting a landmark street-facing facade. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Dave Andrew , CC BY-SA 3.0
Mission Brewery
Mission Brewery is a historic brewery building in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Bruce Roberson , CC BY-SA 3.0
Mission San Diego de Alcalá
Mission San Diego de Alcalá was founded in 1769 as the first mission in Alta California, built in the Spanish colonial Mission architectural tradition. It is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a California Historical Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
One America Plaza
One America Plaza is a prominent downtown San Diego skyscraper completed in 1991, designed by Helmut Jahn, a major architect known for his distinctive tower designs.
Photo: Nehrams2020 , CC BY-SA 3.0
Pythias Lodge Building
The Pythias Lodge Building is a Beaux-Arts fraternal lodge building in downtown San Diego, completed in 1911. It is listed as both a San Diego Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.
San Diego Armed Services YMCA
The San Diego Armed Services YMCA is a Renaissance Revival building in downtown San Diego, completed in 1924 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Jeffrey Beall , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
San Diego Convention Center
The San Diego Convention Center is a large, distinctive waterfront civic structure completed in 1989 and designed by Arthur Erickson, a significant architect.
Photo: BrokenSphere , CC BY-SA 3.0
San Diego County Administration Center
The San Diego County Administration Center is a Beaux-Arts civic building completed in 1938 on the San Diego waterfront. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is known for its prominent tower and facade visible from the street.
Photo: Adbar , CC BY-SA 3.0
San Diego Museum of Art
The San Diego Museum of Art opened in 1926 in Balboa Park, designed by William Templeton Johnson in the Spanish Colonial Revival style that defines the park's architecture.
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/97964364@N00/ , CC BY 2.0
Landmark
San Diego Trust and Savings Bank Building
The San Diego Trust and Savings Bank Building is a prominent downtown bank building completed in 1928, designed by William Templeton Johnson, a significant local architect. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Jeffrey Beall , CC BY-SA 3.0
Santa Fe Depot
The Santa Fe Depot is a Spanish Colonial Revival train depot in downtown San Diego, designed by Arthur Brown, Jr. and completed in 1915. Its domed form has made it a prominent downtown landmark facade, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Doug Letterman , CC BY 2.0
Spreckels Theater
The Spreckels Theater is a 1912 baroque-style theatre in downtown San Diego, designed by Harrison Albright. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has maintained an ongoing performance history since it opened.
Photo: Allan Ferguson , CC BY 2.0
St. Paul's Cathedral
St. Paul's Cathedral in Balboa Park was completed in 1951 in the Gothic Revival style, designed by Philip H. Frohman, known for his work on the National Cathedral.
Photo: Slforsburg at English Wikipedia , CC BY 3.0
U.S. Grant Hotel
The U.S. Grant Hotel is a Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts hotel in downtown San Diego, designed by Harrison Albright and completed in 1910. Named as a grand downtown hotel with a historic pedigree, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Villa Montezuma
Villa Montezuma is an ornate Queen Anne style Victorian house, now known as a house museum, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: H. G. Hanekamp , Public domain
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Whaley House
The Whaley House was built in 1857 in the Greek Revival style and operates today as a historic house museum with a retellable history.
Photo: Joe Mabel , CC BY-SA 3.0
Hidden gems
Fine buildings that fewer people seek out.
Case Study House No. 23C
Case Study House No. 23C was part of the Case Study House Program, a notable mid-century experimental housing initiative, and stands in La Jolla as an example of modern architecture. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Coulter House
The Coulter House was designed by Carleton Winslow, a notable San Diego architect, in the American colonial architecture style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Bruce Roberson , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
John R. and Florence Porterfield Beardsley House
The John R. and Florence Porterfield Beardsley House was designed by Cliff May, a significant architect known for the California ranch house. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a notable architect-designed residence.
Photo: Bruce Roberson , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
La Jolla Recreational Center
The La Jolla Recreational Center was designed in 1915 by Irving Gill, a major early-modern San Diego architect. It is listed as a San Diego Historic Landmark.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon , CC BY-SA 3.0
Martha Kinsey House
The Martha Kinsey House in La Jolla was designed by Lilian Jeannette Rice, a notable pioneering woman architect, in a modern architecture style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Landmark
Old Scripps Building
The Old Scripps Building in La Jolla was designed by Irving Gill in 1909. It is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.