Bird Rock, San Diego

Coordinates: 32°48′40″N 117°16′0″W / 32.81111°N 117.26667°W / 32.81111; -117.26667

For the island in Tasmania, see Bird Rock (Tasmania).

Bird Rock is a seaside neighborhood within the larger community of La Jolla in San Diego, California. It lies on the Pacific Ocean at the southernmost end of La Jolla, just north of Pacific Beach. The mostly residential neighborhood includes homes for 1,400 to 1,500 families, with a commercial district along the main street, La Jolla Boulevard.[1] The shore is rocky and has no beach, but offshore reefs are used for surfing.[2]

History

The neighborhood is named for an offshore rock that was described as having the shape of a bird[3] and is often photographed with brown pelicans or other birds perching on it. The rock formerly included an arch with an opening under it, but the arch was eroded by wave action and finally collapsed in December 2010.[4]

The neighborhood was subdivided by pioneer developer Michael Francis Hall in 1906. He named it Bird Rock City by the Sea.[4]

During World War II the area housed a unit of the Coast Artillery called the Bird Rock Coastal Defense and Anti-Aircraft Training Center.[3] The area was thinly populated until a population explosion in the 1950s. Bird Rock Elementary School opened in 1951.[1]

In 2005 the community installed a controversial series of roundabouts along La Jolla Boulevard and narrowed the street from four lanes to two, in an attempt to reduce traffic speed and discourage cut-through driving while encouraging visits to local businesses.[5]

The area attracted unwanted attention in 2008, when local professional surfer Emery Kauanui died after an altercation with members of a local gang who called themselves the Bird Rock Bandits.[6][7]

The 26th season of MTV's The Real World was filmed in Bird Rock in 2011.[1]

Community associations

The La Jolla Community Planning Association advises the city on matters involving Bird Rock.

The Bird Rock Community Council is a local association aimed at maintaining and improving the quality of life in Bird Rock, maintaining a healthy business atmosphere along its main commercial street La Jolla Boulevard, and "honoring Bird Rock's history and preserving its unique identity within the community of La Jolla". It also maintains the Bird Rock Maintenance Assessment District.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hall, Matthew T. (July 14, 2011). "Bird Rock residents weary of MTV dispute". San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  2. ↑ "San Diego Surfing". Franko's San Diego Surfing. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 Fetzer, Leland (2005). San Diego County Place Names A to Z. San Diego: Sunbelt Publications, Inc. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-932653-73-4.
  4. 1 2 Schwab, Dave (December 22, 2010). "Iconic Bird Rock collapses". La Jolla Light. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  5. ↑ Steelle, Jeannette (August 24, 2005). "Bird Rock Renaissance". San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  6. ↑ Littlefield, Dana (May 16, 2008). "Investigator says Bird Rock group is gang". San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  7. ↑ Baker, Debbi; Susan Shroder (December 18, 2009). "3 Bird Rock Bandits back in County Jail". San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  8. ↑ "About the BRCC". Bird Rock Community Council. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
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