Loma Portal, San Diego facts for kids

Loma Portal is a cool neighborhood in Point Loma, a part of San Diego, California. Its name comes from the Latin word porta, which means "gate." This area is quite hilly and offers great views of San Diego Bay. It's located northwest of Rosecrans Street and northeast of Nimitz Boulevard.

What You'll Find in Loma Portal

Schools and Parks

Loma Portal is a great place for families. It has several schools, including Point Loma High School and Dana Middle School. You'll also find a few elementary schools here.

For outdoor fun, there's Plumosa Park. This park is about 1.4 acres and is a quiet spot to relax. The neighborhood also has the James Edgar and Jean Jessop Hervey Point Loma Branch Library. This library opened in 2003, giving the community a bigger and better place to read and learn.

Most of Loma Portal is made up of homes. However, there's also a busy area with shops and businesses on Voltaire Street.

The "Point Loma Pause"

Living in Loma Portal means you're very close to Lindbergh Field, which is an airport. Airplanes fly right over the neighborhood when they take off. Because of the loud airplane noise, people in Loma Portal sometimes experience what they call the "Point Loma Pause." This is when everyone stops talking for a moment until the plane passes by!

Holiday Spirit

Loma Portal is famous in San Diego for its amazing holiday decorations. During the Christmas season, certain blocks, especially on Garrison Street near Chatsworth, become super festive. People put up really fancy and detailed decorations.

Another special tradition happens every Christmas Eve near Plumosa Park. The whole neighborhood lights up with luminarias. These are paper lanterns with candles inside that create a beautiful, glowing display.

Unique Streets

Loma Portal has some interesting roads. Major streets like Rosecrans Street, Chatsworth Boulevard, and Catalina Boulevard run north and south. Many of the streets that run east and west are broken up. This is because the hills are very steep.

These east-west streets are part of something cool called the "alphabetical author streets." This special series of streets starts in the nearby Roseville area of Point Loma. Each street is named after a famous author, going in alphabetical order from Addison to Zola. There's even a second, smaller group of these streets named after authors from Alcott to Lytton.

Another unique thing about Loma Portal is its street lights. Instead of being on the sidewalks, many street lights are placed right in the middle of intersections. A book published in 2014, Reading Between the Lampposts, shares more details about the authors these streets are named after. It also talks about these unusual street lights.