Want to rediscover the 60's and 70's? Take a walk down Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. OB as it is called by the locals, is a throwback to the days of hippies, peace marches and and free love. It is also the home of young families, seniors, businessmen and students. It's an eclectic community full of just about something for everyone. I recently took a large group of women there (along with my wandering partner Fran)for a morning tour of the area. Patty, from Urban Safaris, led us on a 1 1/2 hour walk around the area, giving us lots of history and interesting human interest stories along the way.
OB was the Haight Ashbury of San Diego in the 1960's and early 1970's. Peace marches and war protests were common in OB. It's a community that strives to keep it's uniqueness by doing their best to keep out chain markets, restaurants or coffee shops. They've been successful up until recently, when the first Starbucks opened in OB. Try as they did, the residents were unable to keep Starbucks from entering the area. OB takes pride in the many family owned businesses in the area, like the owners of Azucar. The owners of the store are Cuban immigrants who have succeeded in expanding a Cuban coffee and pastry shop. The neighborhood loves the store and the family that runs it. Customers know the owners, their children and take pride in knowing many of the people they do business with.
OB was one of the first communities to have a food pantry. The OB food pantry opened in the mid 1960's. Food was brought from nearby farms, and offered to those that couldn't afford it. They were way ahead of the times on this one, and many other community issues.
OB was developed between 1907-1930. You can walk the area and know exactly when homes were built. It's right there on the sidewalk. Each land owner was required to inscribe the year the house was built on the sidewalk in front. Most houses were built in the 1920's and 1930's. Many were small bungalows built in a cluster, which was the style at the time.
OB residents call themselves Obeachians. They have a large homeless population due to the beach setting, lots of surfers, many young families with children that enjoy the beach scene, and quite a few seniors. Everyone lives in peace (for the most part), and most want to keep OB just the way it is. That's hard to do, as real estate has skyrocketd in the area, and developers want to build bigger and better houses and buildings. They protest anything that looks like progress, but unfortunately for them, the big developers usually get their way.
Our group was so big we could not have lunch at one restaurant, so a few of us went to Hodad's, the rest went to South Beach Bar and Grill. The food was delicious at both. I went to Hodad's. It's a landmark in OB, and became even more popular after Guy Fieri from Diners Drive Ins and Dives, visited a few years ago, and raved about the food. We waited in line with all the locals, and were lucky enough to get a nice booth. Food was great, servers were great, and except for the loud music, I loved it all. South Beach Bar and Grill is best known for the fish tacos. Everyone who ate there enjoyed their food.
It was another great day with a super fun group of women. OB is definitely worth another trip. They have lots of little antiques and collectible stores which would be fun to browse, and a morning coffee and pastry at Azucar would be fantastic. Next time you're looking for a something fun and different to do, try Ocean Beach.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Rediscovering Ocean Beach
Want to rediscover the 60's and 70's? Take a walk down Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. OB as it is called by the locals, is a throwback to the days of hippies, peace marches and and free love. It is also the home of young families, seniors, businessmen and students. It's an eclectic community full of just about something for everyone. I recently took a large group of women there (along with my wandering partner Fran)for a morning tour of the area. Patty, from Urban Safaris, led us on a 1 1/2 hour walk around the area, giving us lots of history and interesting human interest stories along the way.
OB was the Haight Ashbury of San Diego in the 1960's and early 1970's. Peace marches and war protests were common in OB. It's a community that strives to keep it's uniqueness by doing their best to keep out chain markets, restaurants or coffee shops. They've been successful up until recently, when the first Starbucks opened in OB. Try as they did, the residents were unable to keep Starbucks from entering the area. OB takes pride in the many family owned businesses in the area, like the owners of Azucar. The owners of the store are Cuban immigrants who have succeeded in expanding a Cuban coffee and pastry shop. The neighborhood loves the store and the family that runs it. Customers know the owners, their children and take pride in knowing many of the people they do business with.
OB was one of the first communities to have a food pantry. The OB food pantry opened in the mid 1960's. Food was brought from nearby farms, and offered to those that couldn't afford it. They were way ahead of the times on this one, and many other community issues.
OB was developed between 1907-1930. You can walk the area and know exactly when homes were built. It's right there on the sidewalk. Each land owner was required to inscribe the year the house was built on the sidewalk in front. Most houses were built in the 1920's and 1930's. Many were small bungalows built in a cluster, which was the style at the time.
OB residents call themselves Obeachians. They have a large homeless population due to the beach setting, lots of surfers, many young families with children that enjoy the beach scene, and quite a few seniors. Everyone lives in peace (for the most part), and most want to keep OB just the way it is. That's hard to do, as real estate has skyrocketd in the area, and developers want to build bigger and better houses and buildings. They protest anything that looks like progress, but unfortunately for them, the big developers usually get their way.
Our group was so big we could not have lunch at one restaurant, so a few of us went to Hodad's, the rest went to South Beach Bar and Grill. The food was delicious at both. I went to Hodad's. It's a landmark in OB, and became even more popular after Guy Fieri from Diners Drive Ins and Dives, visited a few years ago, and raved about the food. We waited in line with all the locals, and were lucky enough to get a nice booth. Food was great, servers were great, and except for the loud music, I loved it all. South Beach Bar and Grill is best known for the fish tacos. Everyone who ate there enjoyed their food.
It was another great day with a super fun group of women. OB is definitely worth another trip. They have lots of little antiques and collectible stores which would be fun to browse, and a morning coffee and pastry at Azucar would be fantastic. Next time you're looking for a something fun and different to do, try Ocean Beach.
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