Pacific Beach is a neighborhood of San Diego, bounded by La Jolla to the north, Mission Beach to the south, Interstate 5 to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. While largely populated by surfers and college students, the population is becoming more professional and affluent due to rising property and rental costs. "PB" as it is known as by local residents is also home to one of San Diego's larger nightlife areas, with dozens of bars and eateries lining main east-west street Garnet and north-south street Mission.
A golden beach in Pacific Beach stretches for miles from the Mission Bay jetty to the cliffs of La Jolla. A sidewalk, the boardwalk, running along the beach, is typically crowded with pedestrians, cyclists, rollerbladers, and shoppers. The beach scene revolves around Crystal Pier, which is at the west end of Garnet Street.
Unlike many other areas of southern California, alcohol is permitted only on the sand part of the beach in Pacific Beach noon to 8:00 p.m., which naturally makes it a popular spot for parties on the weekends.
The primary north-south street running parallel to the beach is Mission Boulevard, with the streets named after late 19th federal officials, then incrementing in alphabetical order as they move further from the coast. Bayard, Cass, Dawes, Everts, Fanuel, Gresham, Haines, Ingraham, Jewell, Kendall, Lamont, Morrell, Noyes, Olney, Pendelton.
Pacific Beach was developed during the boom years of 1886–1888 by D. C. Reed, A. G. Gassen, Charles W. Pauley, R. A. Thomas, and O. S. Hubbell. It was Hubbell who "leared away the grainfields, pitched a tent, mapped out the lots, hired an auctioneer and started to work". To attract people, they built the Race Track and San Diego College of Letters, neither of which survive today. A railway also connected Pacific Beach with downtown San Diego, and was later extended to La Jolla.
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