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Old San Diego Police Headquarters
November/December 2024
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San Diego master architects Alberto Treganza and the Quayle Brothers designed this multifaceted complex in 1939. An architectural gem with a distinctive tower at Harbor Drive and Pacific Coast Highway, it blended five distinct styles reflecting San Diego’s heritage.
After the San Diego Police Department vacated the building in 1987, the site was left underutilized for years. No longer were officers delivering citizens to the small jail, zooming out of the courtyard on motorcycles, or finishing their crime reports in offices.
In 2000, the San Diego Unified Port District, which controls the land beneath the facility, proposed demolishing parts of the complex to build a parking structure for the adjacent Seaport Village. This would have destroyed about 40 percent of the site, including the garage and assembly building. Alongside community objections to the plan, SOHO placed the Old Police Headquarters on its Most Endangered List in 2001 and formed a coalition with the San Diego Police Historical Association to advocate for its preservation.
Despite the property's inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, the demolition threat persisted until community activists and SOHO, with great public support, successfully pushed for adaptive reuse. The result is a vibrant transformation and adaptation of the complex into a retail and dining destination, with over 30 shops, galleries, and a restored 8-cell jail block that displays historic photos and police memorabilia.
Back to San Diego Places Once on SOHO's Endangered List Now Flourish
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