Historically, San Diego’s cultural scene has languished in the shadows cast by those in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The go-go ’90s, though, brought new blood and money into the city, and arts organizations felt the impact. The biggest winner was the San Diego Symphony, which in 2002 received the largest single donation to a symphony anywhere, ever — $120 million. More recently, individual donors have lavished big bucks on other groups: The Old Globe Theatre received $20-million and $10-million gifts, while the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego was bestowed with a $3-million donation.
Thankfully, San Diego’s orgy of development over the past decade has included more than just luxury condos and hotels. The NTC Promenade in Point Loma consists of 26 historic buildings on 28 bayfront acres. It’s the remnants of a huge Navy base transformed into a flagship hub of creative activity, housing museums and galleries, educational facilities, and arts groups. The Birch North Park Theatre, is a 1928 vaudeville and movie house resurrected to its original glory. It’s now the home base for Lyric Opera San Diego, and plays host to numerous other groups throughout the year.
The Balboa Theatre is another gilded beauty given a new lease on life. Built in 1924, the Balboa sat empty and decaying for years, barely avoiding the wrecking ball several times. This Gaslamp Quarter icon reopened in 2008 and is once again presenting music, dance, theater, and films. Sushi Performance & Visual Art was homeless for several years but is now settled into a cool industrial space in the East Village. Since 1980, Sushi has been presenting brave, fierce, brazen, and provocative works of art, dance, and performance. If any group in the city deserves the mantle of “cutting edge,” this is the one.
Finding Out What’s On
For a rundown of the week’s performances, gallery openings, and other events, check the listings in the free, weekly alternative publications San Diego CityBeat (www.sdcitybeat.com), published on Wednesday, and the San Diego Weekly Reader (www.sdreader.com), which comes out on Thursday. The San Diego Union-Tribune’s entertainment section, “Night and Day,” also appears on Thursday (www.signonsandiego.com). For what’s happening at the gay clubs, get the weekly San Diego Gay & Lesbian Times (www.gaylesbiantimes.com).
The local convention and visitors bureau’s Art + Sol campaign provides a calendar of events covering the performing and visual arts, and more; visit www.sandiegoartandsol.com. The San Diego Performing Arts League produces the performing arts guide What’s Playing? every 2 months; you can pick one up at the ARTS TIX booth in Horton Plaza, or check the schedule online.
Bars, Cocktail Lounges & Dance Clubs
Downtown is the busiest place for nightlife — you’ll find something going on nightly. The best nights are Thursday through Saturday, when the 20-somethings pour in and dance clubs spring into action. Most clubs discount or waive cover charges if you go before 10pm; dining at nightspots that offer food service is another way to avoid lines and covers. Keep in mind that many clubs have “city style” dress codes — no tank tops, sports jerseys, tennis shoes, and the like.
suds city: Grab a Great Brew in SD
With more than 30 breweries in town, it’s no wonder Men’s Journal declared San Diego to be America’s number one beer city. Here is just a small sampling of the places a serious beer drinker is guaranteed to love.
San Diego’s most acclaimed brewery is headquartered in far-flung Escondido, but elegant Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens is worth the drive. Pizza Port Brewing Company has three locations. Kids can get in on the action with Pizza Port’s house-made root beer. At Pacific Beach AleHouse you can watch a Pacific sunset from the rooftop deck while you sip on a Pacific Sunset IPA. In Normal Heights, one of the city’s great beer bars, Blind Lady Ale House is making a foray into brewing. Downtown, hops are brewing at Karl Strauss Brewery & Grill and The Beer Company
A variety of multiscreen complexes around the city show first-run films; for showtimes. In the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter, you’ll find the Gaslamp 15, 701 Fifth Ave., featuring 15 screens and stadium seating; and the Horton Plaza 14, on the top level of the mall. The AMC chain operates swarming complexes in both the Mission Valley and Fashion Valley shopping centers; both have free parking, but popular films sell out early on weekends. The other Mission Valley movieplex is the UltraStar at the Hazard Center, 7510 Hazard Center Dr.
Another unique venue is located behind a hair salon in Mission Hills. Cinema Under the Stars is an intimate, outdoor movie-going experience that usually runs from spring through fall (Thurs-Sun), featuring both classic and new releases. Patrons can lounge in zero-gravity chairs or sit at cafe tables; get your tickets early — these shows sell out.
Casinos
San Diego County has 18 Native American tribes — more than any other county in the nation. More than half of them operate casinos in east and north San Diego County; Valley View Casino, is the most recent to unveil a stylish hotel to go along with its gaming. The Convention & Visitors Bureau has comprehensive listings and discount coupons on its website.
San Diego’s top three attractions — the San Diego Zoo, Zoo Safari Park, and SeaWorld — all keep extended summer hours; SeaWorld caps off its “Summer Nights” at 9:30pm with a fireworks display that’s visible from anywhere around Mission Bay.
In Balboa Park, Starlight Theatre presents Broadway musicals in the Starlight Bowl from June through September. What’s unusual, though, is that the venue is under the flight path to Lindbergh Field, and when planes pass overhead, singers stop in midnote and wait for the roar to cease. You have to see it to believe it.
