Panoramic view of La Jolla from the Torrey Pines cliffs

Beach Panorama - La Jolla, California (2008)

La Jolla (pronounced /ləˈhɔɪ.ə/ lə-HOY-ə) is a wealthy^[1] seaside resort community, occupying seven miles of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean in Southern California. Although within the city limits of San Diego, California, La Jolla retains its own small-town atmosphere and its own civic pride.^{[citation needed]} Home to roughly 42,808^[2] residents, La Jolla is defined on three sides^{[citation needed]} by its rugged coastline of ocean bluffs and beaches, backed by steep canyons and hillsides culminating at Mount Soledad.^[3] Located twelve miles north of Downtown San Diego, and 40 miles south of Orange County California,^[4][5] La Jolla is probably best known for its beautiful weather year round with an average daily temperature of 70.5 °F (21.4 °C)^[6][7][8] making this area a tourist hotspot. In addition, La Jolla is well known for its elite shopping and dining, with upscale boutiques, import shops, and gourmet restaurants lining Prospect Street.^[3][9][10]

La Jolla is home to the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), the Salk Institute, and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, the ethnic/racial makeup of La Jolla is 82.5 percent white, 0.8 percent black, 0.2 percent American Indian, 11.2 percent Asian, 0.1 percent Pacific Islander, 2.0 percent some other race, and 3.1 percent two or more races. Latinos, who may be of any race, form 7.2 percent of La Jolla's population.

Contents 1 Identity 1.1 Community groups 2 Neighborhoods 3 Education 3.1 University of California, San Diego 3.2 Other schools 4 Landscape 4.1 Beaches 4.2 Mount Soledad 4.3 Development 5 Religious institutions 6 Attractions and activities 7 History 7.1 Antisemitism 7.2 Timeline 8 Notable residents 8.1 Arts and entertainment 8.1.1 Beauty pageant winners 8.1.2 Actors 8.1.3 Film and television executives 8.1.4 Literature 8.1.5 Music 8.1.6 Visual and performance art 8.2 Business and finance 8.3 Crime 8.4 Government and politics 8.5 Science and technology 8.6 Sports 8.7 Academia 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Identity

The origin of the name "La Jolla" is obscure (see below). The U.S. Postal Service has given La Jolla the ZIP code 92037, rather than 921—as in the rest of the city of San Diego, and has designated "La Jolla" as the only acceptable place name for use in mailing addresses for the ZIP Codes covering the area. This - along with the fact that La Jolla has had its own unique local phone book since 1937, the La Jolla Blue Book,^[11] - can give the impression that La Jolla is a separate incorporated city, even though it is part of the City of San Diego.

The community's border starts at Pacific Beach to the south and extends along the Pacific Ocean shore north to include Torrey Pines State Reserve ending at Del Mar, California. Along the way La Jolla encompasses neighborhoods^[12] like Bird Rock, Windansea Beach, the original or "old" village of La Jolla, La Jolla Shores, La Jolla Farms, Torrey Pines, Mount Soledad and La Jolla Village. The City of San Diego defines La Jolla's eastern boundary as former Highway US 101, which is now Gilman Drive, with the exception of some of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). ^[13]

Black's Beach was named for the Black family who had a horse farm over-looking the beach. They sold the land, and then it was subdivided into La Jolla farms lots. The Farm's residents retained Mr. Black’s private road to the beach. Because it was private, whoever surfed there had it all to themselves, which is almost unheard of now.^[14]

[edit] Community groups

La Jolla has several community groups which work to unify the voice of the community. The La Jolla Community Planning Association advises the City Council, Planning Commission, City Planning Department as well as other Governmental agency as appropriate in the initial preparation, adoption of, implementation of, or amendment to the General or Community Plan as it pertains to the La Jolla area.^[15] The non-profit La Jolla Town Council^[16] represents the interests of the La Jolla businesses that belong to the Council.

Service clubs in La Jolla include Kiwanis, Rotary, and the La Jolla Woman's Club.

[edit] Neighborhoods

• La Jolla Farms - the homes on top of the cliffs above Black's Beach and adjacent to the western boundary of the UCSD campus.
• La Jolla Shores - the residential area and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus along La Jolla Shores beach and east up the hillside. Also includes a small business district of shops and restaurants along Avenida de la Playa.
• La Jolla Heights - the homes on the hills overlooking La Jolla Shores. No businesses.
• Hidden Valley - lower portion of Mount Soledad on the northern slopes. No businesses.
• Country Club - lower Mount Soledad on the north-west side, including the La Jolla Country Club golf course.
• Village - a.k.a. Village of La Jolla (not to be confused with La Jolla Village) the "downtown" business district area, including most of La Jolla's shops and restaurants, and the immediately surrounding residential areas.
• Beach-Barber Tract - the coastal section from Windansea Beach to the Village. A few shops and restaurants, mostly on La Jolla Blvd.
• Lower Hermosa - coastal strip south of Beach-Barber Tract. No businesses.
• Bird Rock - southern/coastal La Jolla, and the lower slopes of Mt Soledad in the area. Shops and restaurants along La Jolla Blvd.
• Muirlands - relatively large area on western middle slope of Mt. Soledad. No businesses.
• La Jolla Mesa - A strip on the lower southern side of Mt. Soledad, bordering Pacific Beach.
• La Jolla Alta - The neighborhood east of La Jolla Mesa.
• Soledad South - Southeastern slopes of Mount Soledad, all the way up to the top, east of La Jolla Alta.
• Muirlands West - The neighborhood between Muirlands to the south, and Country Club - to the north.
• Upper Hermosa - North of Bird Rock, east of La Jolla Blvd.
• La Jolla Village - (not to be confused with the Village of La Jolla) - north-east La Jolla, east of La Jolla Heights, north and west of I-5, and south of UCSD. This neighborhood's namesake, The La Jolla Village Square shopping and residential mall, including La Jolla's two movie theatres, is located here.

It should be noted that The Village (of La Jolla) and La Jolla Village are not at all the same; they are distinct neighborhoods within La Jolla.

[edit] Education

[edit] University of California, San Diego

The University of California, San Diego is the center of higher education in La Jolla. The campus's original name was UC La Jolla before it was changed to UC San Diego. UCSD includes the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the San Diego Supercomputer Center.

[edit] Other schools

National University is also headquartered in La Jolla, though its San Diego campuses are located elsewhere in the city and county. Among the several research institutes near UCSD and in the nearby Torrey Pines Science Park are The Scripps Research Institute, the Burnham Institute (formerly called the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation) and the Salk Institute.

La Jolla is part of the San Diego City Schools. Public schools include La Jolla High School, La Jolla Elementary, which was the first public school, built in 1896 with the first classes in the Heald Store at the corner of Herschel Avenue and Wall Street but then moved to its present location on Girard Avenue, Torrey Pines Elementary, and Bird Rock Elementary, as well as The Preuss School UCSD, a public charter school. The community's prep schools are The Bishop's School, which was the first private school opened in 1909, The Children's School, Integral Elementary School of La Jolla, Delphi Academy, All Hallows Academy, The Gillispie School, and the Evans School. La Jolla Country Day School is located in the nearby community of University City.

[edit] Landscape

La Jolla, like most of Southern California, is an area of great natural beauty with a mixture of geology - sandy beaches and rocky shorelines good for a variety of outdoor activities. The area has a number of public beaches, parks, as well as shopping areas.

[edit] Beaches

The most compelling geographical highlight of La Jolla is its ocean front, with alternating rugged and sandy coast line and wild seal congregations. Popular sandy beaches, dotting the coastline from the south to the north, are:

• Children's Pool Beach
• La Jolla Cove
• La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club
• La Jolla Shores
• Scripps
• Black's Beach (a de facto nude beach leading up to Torrey Pines State Reserve)
• Windansea Beach
• Wipeout Beach

[edit] Mount Soledad

Mount Soledad is covered with the narrow roads that follow its contours and hundreds of homes overlooking the ocean on its slopes. It is the home of the large concrete Mount Soledad Easter Cross built in 1954, later designated a Korean War Memorial, that became the center of a controversy over the display of religious symbols on government property.

[edit] Development

The landscape of La Jolla today is shaped by its development. With palm-lined streets, large estate homes in masterplanned and gated developments, La Jolla has become one of the most expensive neighborhoods in San Diego, boasting some of the county's wealthiest people.

[edit] Religious institutions

• All Hallows Church^[17]
• Assembly of God^[17]
• Christian Science Church^[17]
• Congregational Church (the first church built, which burned down in 1915 and was re-built in 1916 on 1216 Cave Street)^[17]
• First Baptist Church
• La Jolla Lutheran Church^[17]
• La Jolla Presbyterian Church^[17]
• La Jolla Religious Society of Friends^[17]
• La Jolla United Methodist Church^[17]
• Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic church^[17]
• Prince Chapel By The Sea AMC^[17]
• St. James By-The-Sea Episcopal^[17]
• St. John Church of God in Christ^[17]
• Torrey Pines Christian Church^[17]
• University Lutheran Church^[17]
• Congregation Beth El^[17]
• Congregation Adat Yeshurun^[17]
• Chabad Jewish Center of La Jolla

[edit] Attractions and activities

La Jolla is also the location of Torrey Pines Golf Course, made famous by the PGA Tour's Buick Invitational held each January or February. In 2008, Torrey Pines also hosted the 2008 U.S. Open which was played on the south course. Down the steep cliffs from the Salk Institute and the Torrey Pines Golf Course is the famous de facto nude beach, Black's Beach.

Downtown La Jolla is noted for its jewelry stores, upmarket restaurants and hotels. Prospect Street and Girard Avenue also have several famous boutiques and restaurants (including local favorites, such as the Girard Gourmet and Harry's Coffee Shop). Also every Sunday at La Jolla Elementary School there is a Farmers Market from 9 AM to 1 PM featuring in season fruits and vegetables as well as jewelry, clothes, and music. Notable for its architectural and historical presence is the La Valencia Hotel, which used to welcome movie stars on retreat from Hollywood during the silent film era.

A notable architectural and cultural landmark is the La Jolla branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, founded in 1941, located just above the waterfront in what was originally the 1915 residence of philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps. The La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art is now known world wide and by art enthusiast as one of the finest contemporary museums in the world. The permanent collection has over 3,500 American and European works of art; paintings, works on paper, sculptures, photographic art, design objects and video works. Everything is made after 1950. ^[17]

Skimboarding and surfing are very popular at many of La Jolla's beaches including Windansea Beach. The location is mentioned in the legendary Beach Boys song, 'Surfin' USA,' in the final verse with the line "All over La Jolla...". La Jolla Shores is a family beach with a play area for kids and fire pits for bonfires. It is one of the calmer beaches in La Jolla. Ocean swimming and snorkeling at La Jolla Cove are very popular year round. For many years, La Jolla has been the host of a rough water swim at La Jolla Cove.^[18] Seals and sea lions can be seen at Children's Pool Beach.

Spectacular views of the ocean and much of San Diego can be seen from the Mount Soledad Memorial Park at the top of Mount Soledad.

[edit] History

The La Jolla area was known as “La Jolla Park” at least as early as 1886. The origin of the name is obscure. Promoters of La Jolla claim it is from the Spanish “la joya”, meaning the jewel. Although disputed by scholars, this is the popularly accepted origin of the name and has given rise to the nickname "Jewel City".^[19][20] A more likely though less glamorous theory is that “La Jolla” is a corruption of the Native American word “Woholle”, meaning hole in the mountain, referring to the caves in the north-facing cliffs next to La Jolla Cove Park.^[21] The main cave is accessible today via tunnels built by Professor Gustav Shultz in 1902.^[22]

[edit] Antisemitism

From its beginnings to the early 1960s, La Jolla was marketed by developers as a bastion of isolation and exclusivity. Antisemitic housing practices began in 1926 with the development of La Jolla Shores. In La Jolla Shores and La Jolla Hermosa, only people with pure Caucasian blood could own property, and housing notices included racist comments against Jews and other minority groups. Housing restrictions were thought to be enough to keep "undesirable" ethnic groups from living in La Jolla, until the 1948 Supreme Court case Shelley v. Kraemer prohibited such restrictive covenants. After that ruling, real estate companies used less obvious tactics to keep Jews out of La Jolla. Real estate agents would be fired if they sold a house to Jewish clients. There were no for-sale signs put up on properties, requiring the prospective buyer to go to a real estate office to find out what was available. If a real estate agent suspected that a potential home buyer was a Jew, they would demand higher down payments and display green cards on their dashboards marked with the Star of David to warn the seller. The sellers would also send codes to their real estate agents: if their porch lights were on during the day, they did not want Jewish buyers.^[23]

By 1962, however, La Jolla, and the non-restrictive La Jolla Scenic Heights in particular, had a substantial Jewish population due to talk of establishing UCSD in the area. The university would bring many Jewish professors, who would need to live in nearby areas such as La Jolla. In the words of UCSD patriarch Roger Revelle, "You can't have a university without having Jewish professors. The Real Estate Broker's Association and their supporters in La Jolla had to make up their minds whether they wanted a university or an anti-Semitic covenant. You couldn't have both."^[24] Today, there are three large synagogues in La Jolla, and over 60 percent of San Diego Jews live in La Jolla or farther north. Due to UCSD, La Jolla now boasts a large and thriving Jewish population.^[25]

[edit] Timeline

Some significant events in La Jolla's history:^[26]

• 1893 - the La Jolla Park Hotel opened
• 1909 - The Bishop's School founded
• 1911 - electricity came to La Jolla with 4 customers
• 1912 - the first motion picture in town was shown
• 1913 - the Orient Theater opened on Girard and Wall
• 1922 - the first La Jolla Light newspaper was printed
• 1926 - La Valencia Hotel opened and La Jolla Country Day started
• 1944 - First stop sign was put on Girard and Torrey Pines Road

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] Arts and entertainment

[edit] Beauty pageant winners

• Carrie Prejean- Former Miss California 2009 & Miss USA 2009 First Runner-Up

[edit] Actors

• Gregory Peck 1916-2003 - Film actor.
• Robin Wright Penn - Film and television actress, attended La Jolla High School.
• Autumn Reeser - Television actress (The O.C.), born in La Jolla and lived there until age 17.
• Cliff Robertson - Film actor.
• Raquel Welch - Film and television actress.
• Danica McKellar - Television actress (The Wonder Years) born in La Jolla.

[edit] Film and television executives

• Donald De Line - Studio executive and film producer (Pretty Woman — 1990) at Walt Disney Productions and its Touchstone Pictures division since 1985, native La Jollan.
• Jeff Kleeman - Former MGM production executive, native La Jollan.
• Sunmin Park - Film producer of The Others, attended La Jolla High School.
• Conrad Riggs - Executive producer of Survivor and The Apprentice, attended La Jolla High School.
• Gore Verbinski - Director of Pirates of the Caribbean, native La Jollan.

[edit] Literature

• Raymond Chandler, an early influential noir novelist, moved to La Jolla late in his career, staying until his death 13 years later, having uttered the bleak aphorism about then-stuffy La Jolla, "A nice place — for old people and their parents."
• Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), a children's author and long-time resident of La Jolla who died there in 1991.^[11] The Geisel Library at the University of California, San Diego, is named for him.
  • Audrey Geisel - His widow
• Anne Rice - Novelist and author of Interview with the Vampire, moved to La Jolla from New Orleans in March 2005.^[27]

[edit] Music

• Pierre Bouvier - Lead singer of the band Simple Plan, has a house in La Jolla.
• Robin Crosby - Rock musician who played electric guitar for the metal band Ratt, attended high school in La Jolla.
• Warren DeMartini - Rock musician who plays electric guitar for the metal band Ratt, attended high school in La Jolla.
• Michael Franks - Musician.
• Sam Hinton - American folk singer and marine biologist.

[edit] Visual and performance art

• Armi Kuusela - Winner of the first Miss Universe beauty pageant in 1952.
  • Albert Norman Williams, her second husband, retired State Department officer and diplomat
• Richard Allen Morris - Painter who has lived in La Jolla for over twenty years.
• Rey Mysterio - World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler.

[edit] Business and finance

• Margaret Anne Cargill, philanthropist, an heir to Minneapolis-based grain-trading conglomerate Cargill, and member of the Forbes 400.^{[28][29][30][31][32]}
• Deepak Chopra ran his Center for Well Being in La Jolla until recently.
• David C. Copley, owner of the San Diego Union-Tribune and member of the Forbes 400.
• Benjamin Graham, noted economist and value investor lived in La Jolla at the end of his life.
• Trip Hawkins, founder of Electronic Arts is a La Jolla native.
• The Hearst family of Hearst Newspapers fame.
• Irwin Mark Jacobs - Electrical engineer; Cofounder and former chairman of the board of Qualcomm, and his wife, Joan.
• Ted Waitt, founder of Gateway, Inc., built an estate on top of Mount Soledad where he lives with his family.

[edit] Crime

• Jerry Dominelli and Nancy Hoover lived in La Jolla and headquartered their Ponzi scheme, J. David, in La Jolla. Both were convicted and served time in prison. The collapse of J. David caused serious financial losses to many wealthy and powerful San Diegans, and also led to the conviction (later reversed) of Mayor Roger Hedgecock.^[33]
• Ivan Boesky - Financier convicted of insider trading who lived in La Jolla for several years.
• Andrew Cunanan - Infamous spree killer of Gianni Versace and three others, graduated from The Bishop's School in 1987.
• David Hall, Governor of Oklahoma from 1971-1975, moved to La Jolla after serving 19 months in Federal prison for racketeering and extortion, and went on to become a successful sales executive.
• Allen Glick - owner of the Stardust and Fremont hotels, Las Vegas.

[edit] Government and politics

• George Gigov - high-ranking United Nations diplomat, retired admiral (US Navy), and a former Boeing executive.
• John McCain - United States Senator from Arizona, 2008 Presidential nominee of the Republican Party, owns a home in La Jolla with his wife, Cindy McCain.^[34]
• Mitt Romney - former governor of Massachusetts and candidate for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination, has a $12 million La Jolla vacation home.^[35]

[edit] Science and technology

• Geoffrey Burbidge and Margaret Burbidge, astronomers holding positions at UCSD after many years, reside near La Jolla Shores.
• Francis Crick, Nobel prize in medicine winner for his work to identify the essential structure of DNA, was a long-time resident of La Jolla.
• Clive Granger, 2003 Nobel Prize in economics winner, lives in La Jolla.
• Kary Mullis, a Nobel Prize in Chemistry-winning biochemist and surfer from La Jolla, invented the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method of DNA analysis.
• Walter Munk, oceanographer, lives in La Jolla.
• Carl Rogers, psychologist and researcher on psychotherapy.
• Ellen Browning Scripps, philanthropist, founder of Scripps Institute of Oceanography and Scripps College, member of the Forbes 400.
• Jacob Bronowski, was a British mathematician and biologist of Polish-Jewish origin. He is best remembered as the presenter and writer of the 1973 BBC television documentary series, The Ascent of Man.
• Benjamin Elazari Volcani, discovered life in the Dead Sea and pioneered biological silicon research at The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. He and his wife, Eleanor Susan Brownell Anthony "Toni" Solomons Jackson Volcani, lived in La Jolla.

[edit] Sports

• Buzzie Bavasi - Former Major League Baseball executive who lived in La Jolla from 1968 until his death in 2008.
• Rolf Benirschke - Former placekicker for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League, attended high school in La Jolla.
• Dick Enberg - Sportscaster for NBC Sports.
• Doug Flutie - Former quarterback for the San Diego Chargers.
• Eddie Mathews - Hall of Fame MLB player who died in La Jolla.
• Rey Mysterio - Professional WWE wrestling champion
• Joel Skinner - Former manager and current third base coach of Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians, born in La Jolla.
• Alexandra Stevenson - Women's Tennis Association professional tennis player and 1999 semifinalist at The Wimbledon Championships, born in La Jolla.

[edit] Academia

• Martin Bunzl, Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University
• Deborah Hertz, Herman Wouk Chair in Modern Jewish Studies at the University of California, San Diego

[edit] See also

• San Diego Historical Landmarks in La Jolla, California

[edit] References

• Schaelchlin, Patricia A. (1988) La Jolla: The Story of a Community, 1897–1987. San Diego: Friends of the La Jolla Library. ISBN 0967584701

[edit] External links

• La Jolla Blue Book Community Directory
• SANDAG population and housing estimates (PDF)
• La Jolla Town Council
• La Jolla Shores Association - serving the La Jolla Shores community
• La Jolla High School Home Page
• La Jolla Elementary School
• La Jolla Neighborhood Guide

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Coordinates: 32°50′24″N 117°16′37″W / 32.84°N 117.27694°W / 32.84; -117.27694