Carlsbad Time Lines
Q3 2024 Carlsbad, California, Historical Society
President's Letter
Summer is coming to an end, and with it a reduction in the tourists in downtown. Parking is always impacted around Magee Park due to the call of the beach. We hope that you will take the time now that our streets start to empty to visit our Museum. The number of visitors continues to grow even with the limited summer parking.Professional Tour Guides are taking notice of our museum, and bring groups through on the weekends.
We want to thank Bup Kentner, for his donation of a J. Morton Paterson painting that hung for years in his families' Twin Inns Restaurant. IT’s such a whimsical piece of art, I’m sure you’ll enjoy viewing it.
Plans are in the works for our annual meeting and election. If you have an interest in volunteering for a board seat please send us an email.
We welcome our new docent Ryan Newell. He is a graduate of Cal State San Marcos (BA in history), and is beginning an MA in history.
We’ve got a new banner displayed on the porch!
SUE
History of Carlsbad Business Park
Excerpt from Windows on the Past
“The sixties was a decade when Carlsbad planned for the future. No longer concerned with only organizing the basic services that a city must have, the city government could focus attention on constructing civic buildings and programs. The city worked towards finding ways to increase sources of tax revenue. The construction of light industry and residential and commercial development added tax money to the city budget. This in turn helped to finance new city programs. As the city began a series of land annexations, Carlsbad’s geographical borders expanded, thus increasing the size and economic viability of the city. Planning for the future, Carlsbad defined a series of goals, which included finding ways to improve existing problems; formulating a general plan for future growth; constructing adequate civic buildings to service the growing community; and establishing a secure financial tax base.
A series of land annexations during the sixties increased Carlsbad’s area from 7.5 square miles to 11.3 square miles. The 1952 Incorporation boundaries marked Carlsbad’s eastern most border as El Camino Real and set the southern border just south of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Annexation of various strips of land surrounding the city established new northern, eastern and southern borders. One strip, annexed in 1963, ran east from Palomar Airport for two miles and incorporated the future Carlsbad Raceway. The industrial, commercial, and residential growth potential resulting from these land annexations provided Carlsbad with a secure financial future.”
The Carlsbad City Council set aside a region for industry when it approved its General Plan in 1974. The idea was that the proximity of Palomar Airport, as well as the residential housing available along the coast, would encourage companies to locate their buildings in the area. Another thought was that it would be “strategically” located between San Diego (Sorrento Valley) and Orange County (Irvine). The selected area was around 3300 acres.
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, on February 21, 1988, by Kevin Brass, the City did not give any tax breaks, and imposed a 35 foot height restriction on the buildings. Builders were also assessed a fee to help pay for roads, bridges, sewers and all other necessary facilities.
Growth was slow, and was complicated in 1986 by the adoption of a Growth-Management Plan. Two slow-growth ballot measures were passed, forcing the City Council to cap the population growth in the city. The construction of public facilities is tied to the growth of the city, so infrastructure spending also slowed down. However, Palomar Airport continued to grow, and Palomar Airport Road was turned into a large primary “artery” of the city.
There have been a number of companies that have chosen Carlsbad as the site of their headquarters.
For example, Viasat, and three golf equipment manufacturers: Taylormade, Callaway and Cobra. Carlsbad also got Legoland to open its park near the industrial area. Another company that built nearby is the Gemological Institute of America.
However, over the years, the occupation rate in this industrial “campus” has not been good. Driving around Faraday Street and the surroundings, one can see many “for rent” signs. Companies come and go. There are ideas about what is lacking, for example not enough restaurants and hotels. But both of those have been built and the problem persists. It could be that Carlsbad lacks educational institutions of importance. For example, Sorrento Valley and Torrey Pines industrial areas benefit from the proximity of the University of California, San Diego State and the University of San Diego. Perhaps Cal State San Marcos will benefit the inland areas, for industrial growth, more than the coastal area.
Carlsbad Village Plaza Project Advances
Citizens addressing City Council
After a second special meeting held on Wednesday, July 17, where about one hundred citizens expressed their concerns and disappointment, the Planning Commision, in a vote of 5 to 2 recommended the Village Plaza Project proceed as originally presented.
The City prepared a detailed handout of all the information on both the project and the pertinent laws. The developer and its lawyers were present. No lawyers for the citizens group opposing the project were seen.
Some complaints were voiced over the safety of the development, regarding adequate police and fire-fighting capabilities. It is expected that as the City grows, so do the services that the City provides.
One question that was not addressed by the City is why another more suitable location was not proposed. The California law that promotes the building of more housing, particularly low income housing, allows for the “relaxation” of the zoning density law and the maximum height law. However, it is not clear if this is supposed to be a last resort, after all other options have been exhausted.
New Carlsbad Mineral Springs Hotel Takes Shape
In May 2018, there was a ceremony to kick-off the start of construction of a new “Carlsbad Mineral Springs Health Resort” to be built next to the original Frazier’s Well, and near where the original hotel was built by the town founders. This land had been donated by Kay Christiansen to the Carlsbad Historical Society, but was sold to the current owner of Alt Karlsbad, Ludvik Grigoras and associates.
Artistic depiction of proposed hotel
The original three story wooden Hotel burnt down shortly after the first Carlsbad Land and Water Company business failed. It is reported that an electric fire caused it, although it would have been powered by batteries or a generator, because electricity had not come here yet.
The new resort will consist of 18 luxury suites and 9 wellness condominiums. It will have a rooftop deck and spa, and a large underground parking garage.
The owner and developer of the project is Bill Davidson, of Beach Village Life 1 LLC, and it is being built by Level 3 Construction, of Vista, California.
Picture of the new hotel a few weeks ago. The construction of the concrete underground parking took over a year.
SANDAG Considering Trenching Train Tracks
Would Carlsbad be a city without the train? Will Carlsbad end up looking like Solana Beach, with a trenched track that splits the City in two? Will a trenched track make it easier to get around downtown, and eliminate noise and pedestrian casualties? All of these are considerations for a proposal to trench the train tracks running through downtown.
The City has allocated 5.2 Million dollars for “preliminary studies and design work”. Through a newly approved agreement, SANDAG (San Diego Association of Governments) will work on getting more funding for the project. There is some confusion (misinformation) in the discussions about the need for the trench in order to facilitate the dual-tracking of the railroad. However, two parallel rails do not need to be trenched.
Perhaps 5.2 Million would be better spent asking the citizens of our town what they think. The power of SANDAG to decide what our town will become seems unfair.
Vocal opposition and organization to stop Growth and Development is nothing new in Carlsbad. A short list would include incorporation efforts, purchase of Hosp Grove, No Growth moratorium, the fight to keep Big Box Stores out of town, pro and con opinions regarding the building of Price Club/Costco, and Legoland, and “No on A” are just a few. Currently an organized opposition to the destruction of Poinsettia Plaza is underway.
Civic activism often leads to Carlsbad putting controversial items up for a vote. Growth for growth's sake may not be a good idea anymore. Quality of life is equally important.
Trench in Solana Beach - Do we want this?
Excerpt from Windows on the Past
“ In 1881, Robert Kelly gave the California Southern Railway permission to lay a rail line through his Rancho Agua Hedionda property. Before this time, those who arrived or departed or simply passed through Rancho Agua Hedionda had to do so on foot, by horse, ox cart or wagon. John Kelly's narrative,” Life on a San Diego Rancho,” detailed his family’s 1868 trip to their Los Kiotes homestead by wagon from San Diego. He said that it took a full day to travel from San Diego to Carlsbad. The ox cart that was carrying the household goods took two days to travel the same distance. The travel time involved before the arrival of trains was dependent on the road conditions or what was hauled in wagons or by herding.
Rail service provided new opportunities for those who were already living in the area. Train travel meant they could go to and from San Diego in a matter of hours, no longer making it an all day journey. It gave them greater accessibility to the outside world and opened up a wealth of opportunities: easier travel, an influx of new people and new forms of employment. People could easily move to Carlsbad to engage in businesses other than ranching. They could undertake enterprises such as commercial farming that depended on getting crops to market before they spoiled.“
New Donation of Twin Inns Painting
Thanks to Bud Kentner for his donation of a painting that hung for many years in the lobby of the Twin Inns. It was done by a known painter named J. Morton Patterson in 1935. The painting is now shown in the Twin Inns room of the Shipley-Magee House.
Painting by J.Morton Patterson
Left side of the lobby shows the painting
From John Kelly’s Book Life on a San Diego County Ranch (~1925)
“In the old days of which I write, mares were never broken in the saddle. Only the horse's geldings were used for saddling, and anyone who considered themselves a cowboy was seen riding a mare was an invitation to jokes and ridicule from every group of cowboys who could find. It was considered permissible for an old man, who did not claim to be a rough rider, or a child who was just learning to ride, was seen riding a gentle mare.
The result of this was that the mares grew wild and vicious, and their offspring were taught all the savagery, cruelty and evil with which these mothers were familiar. So when they were old enough to be marked and separated from their mothers, they had already absorbed so much evil as their skins could contain.”
Ask Your Friends!
The Carlsbad Historical Society is a nonprofit service-based volunteer organization. We depend on the support and generosity of people like YOU! Consider becoming a member. We have many options with individual membership for only $25 annually. Membership signup is available online. By supporting the Carlsbad Historical Society through membership, and or volunteerism, you can be part of preserving, promoting and sharing Carlsbad’s history for generations to come!
New Members
Sean Sweeney - Life Member
Amy Davis - LIfe Member
Helen Mahoney
August 10 - Visit by the San Diego Professional Tour Guide Association
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Carlsbad Historical Society
258 Beech Ave. Carlsbad CA 92008
(442) 500-4471
www.carlsbadhistoricalsociety.com
*Open Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 3 pm
*Private Tours by appointment
*School, Scouts and Families welcome
