Midway, San Diego facts for kids
The Midway area is a neighborhood in San Diego, California. It's sometimes called the North Bay area. You can find it at the northern end of the Point Loma peninsula. It's northwest of Downtown San Diego and west of Old Town. Many people think of it as part of Point Loma, but the city sees it as its own special area for planning.
Midway's borders are the San Diego River and Interstate 8 to the north. Interstate 5 is to the east. Laurel Street is to the south, and Lytton Street and the bluffs are to the west. This area is about 800 acres of mostly flat land. It has many shops and businesses, plus a few places where people live in apartments.
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History of Midway
How the River Shaped Midway
Long ago, the Midway area was part of the San Diego River delta. This was flat land between the hills of the San Diego Presidio and Point Loma. The San Diego River used to flow into either Mission Bay or through Midway into the San Diego Bay.
People worried that San Diego Bay might fill up with mud. So, in 1877, the city built a levee. This levee made the river flow only north of Point Loma. This helped dry out the marshy Midway area, making it ready for buildings.
Old Trails and Early Settlers
Rosecrans Street is a main road through Midway today. It follows an old path called the La Playa Trail. This trail is the oldest European trail in the Western United States. It connected settlements in Old Town and Mission San Diego to La Playa. La Playa was a beach in Point Loma where ships loaded and unloaded goods. A special marker on Rosecrans Street remembers this important trail.
Around 1850, a large piece of land in Midway was given to ten people who wanted to build there. They divided the land, hoping to develop it. Some street names along Pacific Highway, like Emory and Sutherland, remember these early investors. But the area was still wet, so not much was built until the 1930s.
Dutch Flats and Charles Lindbergh
In the early 1900s, central Midway was known as Dutch Flats. It still had a lot of standing water. Dutch Flats was also the name of a small dirt airstrip. The Ryan Aeronautical Company used this airstrip.
Dutch Flats became famous in 1927. Ryan built a special airplane for Charles Lindbergh. Lindbergh tested his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, at Dutch Flats. Then, he used it to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean! A post office in the area today has plaques that remember Dutch Flats and Lindbergh's flight.
Military and Airport Growth
In 1921, the Marine Advanced Expeditionary Base was built in Midway. This base is now the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. It helped the local economy grow. In 1928, San Diego opened its municipal airport, Lindbergh Field. It was built on land between Midway and San Diego Bay. Because of this, businesses related to airplanes have been important in Midway ever since.
During the 1940s, Midway grew very fast. Many factories for the war effort were built. A huge housing complex with about 4,000 homes was built for defense workers. Areas along Pacific Highway became wartime factories. Later, these places became a center for the city's aerospace industry.
Midway's Fun Spots and Modern Look
In the 1950s, Midway was a popular place for fun. It had drive-in restaurants like Oscar's, which was owned by the person who started the Jack in the Box chain. There were also two drive-in movie theaters and a bowling alley.
The only building left from that time is the Loma Theater on Rosecrans Street. It opened in 1944 as a big movie palace. It's now a bookstore, but you can still see its cool old style. From the 1960s until today, Midway changed from mostly factories to more shops and businesses. Now, it's known for large stores and busy roads.
Midway has two places listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One is the Mission Brewery, a five-story brick building from 1912. It was a brewery but is now used for offices and shops. The other is the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Historic District.
Geography of Midway
The Midway area is completely flat. It was mostly built on "fill" land. This means it was created by adding dirt and other materials to what used to be marshy areas and river mud. Today, almost nothing is left of the old wetlands. The Famosa Slough State Marine Conservation Area is a nature preserve nearby.
Most of Midway is used for shops or factories. But there are some places where people live. These include apartments for seniors, housing for Navy families, and other apartment buildings near the San Diego Trolley.
Culture and Entertainment
The Valley View Casino Center is a big place for fun in Midway. It used to be called the San Diego Sports Arena. The city owns it, and a private company runs it. It's a popular spot for concerts and traveling shows like ice shows and circuses. One of the biggest swap meets on the West Coast happens in its parking lot every week. The SOMA concert venue, another place for live music, is also in Midway.
Economy and Jobs
Today, Midway has many medium to large shopping centers. You can find stores like grocery stores, drugstores, and big discount stores there. There are still a few smaller industrial businesses, like boat repair shops and trucking companies. Many businesses related to the airport are also in Midway, such as long-term parking lots and car rental places.
A big employer in the area is the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific. It used to be called the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, or "SPAWAR." This is a major Navy command that helps get new technology for the Navy. It also has a research lab in Point Loma. The Navy has said it might want to move these facilities in the future.
Education in Midway
Midway has one public elementary school called Dewey Elementary. It's part of the San Diego Unified School District. There's also a Catholic elementary and middle school, St. Charles Boromeo Academy. For adults, there's a campus of the San Diego Community College District on Fordham Street.
Transportation and Roads
Midway is located near where Interstate 5 and Interstate 8 meet. The area has many multi-lane roads. These roads are the main ways to get in and out of the entire Point Loma peninsula. Rosecrans Street, Midway Drive, Sports Arena Boulevard, West Point Loma Boulevard, and Pacific Highway are the main streets.
Traffic in Midway is often very heavy, and roads can get crowded. Two intersections in Midway, Midway/Rosecrans and Sports Arena/Rosecrans, are known for having many accidents.
