Historic Roseville, San Diego's First Waterfront Community

Louis Rose, Founder
of Point Loma in 1866.

Our Point Loma home, the "Slice of Heaven" sits in a part of San Diego that is on the La Playa Trail.  The Trail is the oldest European trail on the Pacific Coast and has been in continuous use since 1769.  Many historic markers are found along the Trail, including the Roseville La Playa marker located only a few blocks away, at the northeast corner of Rosecrans Street and Avenida de Portugal.  The Roseville La Playa marker was recently re-dedicated and recognized as the place where the community of Roseville began in 1869. 

Point Loma circa 1887

Point Loma was the first waterfront community in San Diego.  Before Louis Rose and his partner James Robinson began laying out the roads and building the town that would later bear Mr. Rose's name, the growing city of San Diego was located at the foot of Presidio Hill rather than along the city's beautiful bayfront and beaches.  

Tourists head out to the Point Loma
Lighthouse in the early 20th Century.

At that time, the Point was known primarily for the Lighthouse built in 1855 (only a few years after California became a state).  The Lighthouse is still an important part of the community's identity, and continues to be the most well known site on the peninsula.    

There are still a few homes in the oldest San Diego neighborhoods that have retained their original Spanish Colonial Revival character.  The style was all the rage after the Panama California Exposition in 1915.  Our Point Loma home is one of that small group that was built in and still retains its Spanish Colonial Revival style, which is characterized by smooth plaster (stucco) walls, low-pitched clay tile and flat roofs, small porches or balconies, wood casement or tall, double–hung windows, canvas awnings, and decorative iron trim.