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Harbor Island Review
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Harbor Island
- Category: Neighborhoods/Streets
- Location: Point Loma
Fodor's Review:
Following the success of nearby Shelter Island -- created in 1950 out of material left behind from dredging a channel in San Diego Bay during the 1930s -- the U.S. Navy decided to use the residue that resulted from digging berths deep enough to accommodate aircraft carriers to build another recreational island. Thus in 1961 some 12 million cubic yards of sand and mud dredged from the bay were deposited adjacent to San Diego International Airport and became the 1 1/2-mi-long peninsula known as Harbor Island. Restaurants and high-rise hotels now line its inner shore. The bay shore has pathways, gardens, and picnic spots for sightseeing or working off the calories from the various indoor or outdoor food fests held here. On the west point, Tom Ham's Lighthouse restaurant has a U.S. Coast Guard-approved beacon shining from its tower.
Across from the western end of Harbor Island, at the mainland's Spanish Landing Park, a bronze plaque marks the arrival in 1769 of a party from Spain that headed north from San Diego to conquer California. The group combined the crews of two ships, the San Carlos and the San Antonio, and a contingent that came overland from Baja California. As part of a beautification program, the city has begun installing whimsical if sometimes monumental artworks in this park, which is less visited than many city parks and therefore a quiet enclave in which to spend a peaceful hour or two. If you're the hardy type, you can walk from here to the Embarcadero, and then into the heart of downtown.
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