History
How Hillcrest became Hillcrest
A streetcar suburb on the mesa, a neon sign, a rainbow flag, and more than a century of neighbors building the place block by block.
1907
A streetcar suburb is platted
Developers lay out Hillcrest on the mesa north of downtown and market it as San Diego's first suburb, reachable by the Fourth and Fifth Avenue streetcar lines. The name comes from its position on the crest of the hill above Mission Valley.
1920s
Craftsman blocks and a business district
Bungalows and Spanish Revival courts fill the side streets while University Avenue becomes a working main street of grocers, pharmacies and theaters serving the growing mesa neighborhoods.
1940
The Hillcrest sign goes up
The neon Hillcrest sign is raised over University Avenue at Fifth, giving the district the landmark it is still known by. It has been rebuilt and relit several times since, most recently as a community-funded restoration.
1970s
The LGBTQ+ heart of San Diego
As downtown bars close and rents stay low, Hillcrest becomes the center of San Diego's gay and lesbian community. Community centers, bookstores, clinics and the first Pride marches take root along University Avenue.
1980s–90s
Organizing and rebuilding
The neighborhood answers the AIDS crisis with clinics, hospices and volunteer networks. Business associations reinvest in the commercial strip, and the Sunday Farmers Market begins on Normal Street.
2012
The Pride Flag at University & Normal
A 65-foot flagpole flying a large rainbow flag is dedicated at University Avenue and Normal Street, creating the plaza that now anchors the neighborhood's gatherings and vigils.
Today
Dense, walkable, and still changing
Hillcrest mixes century-old bungalows with new mixed-use housing, and remains one of San Diego's most walkable districts — restaurants, clinics, independent shops and Balboa Park all within a few blocks.
From the archives
Old Hillcrest on film
Two clips from the News 8 archive, shot in the Hillcrest of an earlier era.
Hillcrest, as told in 1994
A News 8 feature on the neighborhood's history — the streetcar days, the sign, and the community that rebuilt University Avenue.
Courtesy CBS 8 / News 8 San Diego
Hob Nob Hill, 1981
The Unknown Eater visits the Hillcrest diner that opened in 1944 as the Juniper Grill — breakfast for $3.95.
Courtesy CBS 8 / News 8 San Diego
From the archives
Hillcrest in old photographs
These photographs are held by the San Diego History Center, published in its Photographic Essay of Hillcrest. Reproduced here with credit; each photo links to the original scan.
1904Before Hillcrest had a nameEarly development on the mesa, three years before William Whitson bought forty acres between First and Sixth and created Hillcrest.San Diego History Center, photo 668 — view original scan 
1909Florence School portraitThe whole staff and student body assembled for a class portrait.San Diego History Center, photo 48 — view original scan 
1920sFifth and UniversityThe intersection when two banks anchored the corners of the business district.San Diego History Center, photo Sensor 8-205 — view original scan 
1926The streetcar stopA San Diego Electric Railway stop at Cleveland and University.San Diego History Center, photo 14017 — view original scan 
1928Hillcrest from the airAn aerial view of the neighborhood with Balboa Park in the upper right.San Diego History Center, photo 20253-A-31 — view original scan 
1938The Fox Egyptian TheatreThe theatre on Park near University, later the Park Theater.San Diego History Center, photo 18018-15 — view original scan 
1939Fifth and University at nightThe heart of the district around the time the neon Hillcrest sign went up.San Diego History Center, photo Sensor 11-161 — view original scan 
1962Stan's Burger BarStan's Burger Bar and Burnett's Furniture anchoring the corners at 8th and University.San Diego History Center, photo OP 16446-3 — view original scan
Have a correction, a photo, or a story from your family's years in Hillcrest? We'd like to add it — send it in and we'll credit you.