East Village

The East Village is the largest of the neighborhoods in Downtown San Diego.  It is directly east of the Gaslamp Quarter and is one of the major redevelopment areas too.  The East Village was the area where the warehouses and vacant lots were.  It was also an area full of dive bars and drug addicts.  In the 1990's the redevelopment of the East Village began which drew a community of artists to the area.  It was also a good area for Social Services for San Diego to be.  With the addition of Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres Baseball Team and the Convention Center the area really started to change for the better.  In 2005, residental homes were completed and for the first time ever people could live in the East Village.
Petco Park was designed to have the look and feel of Wrigley Field in Chicago, home fo the Cubs.  It does have the look and feel of an urban park.  When we use to live here we attended several ballgames when the Padres played at Jack Murphy stadium.  It was inexpensive to go to the games, $4.00, and easy access to the park and free parking.  We attended a Padres game at Petco Park in 2004 but it was a little more expensive.  We paid $30 at seat and had to park in the Gaslamp Quarter, for a price.  We had a great time at the park.  They do have all the regular baseball park foods but also have several gourmet restaurants and stands too.  One small problem at Petco park was they did not build a parking lot.  A huge parking garage across the street by the Convention Center was built but if you parked there you still could not get to the park because of the Red Trolley Line tracks.  In 2007 a Pedestrian bridge began construction.  It cost $26.7 million to build and 4 years to complete.  It opened last Spring 2011.  In comparison, the Coronado Bridge that links downtown San Diego to Coronado Island cost $26 million and 2 years to complete.  Just goes to show what a difference a few decades can make.  Going to a game is a lot of fun and after the game you can stroll to the Gaslamp Quarter for dinner of nightlife fun.  The East Village is a fun place to be.