An age-defying gem in Downtown San Diego (Facebook)
Gaslamp, History

Did You Know…

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

…that out of the 90-plus surviving historic buildings found within The Gaslamp Quarter, the oldest is the Davis-Horton House at 410 Island Ave.?

The saltbox-style home was shipped from Maine in prefabricated fashion and erected here in 1850. It predates other Gaslamp structures that many assume are the oldest, such as the ornate Baroque Revival Louis Bank of Commerce (built in 1887) at 835 Fifth Ave., or the famous Horton Grand Hotel (built in 1886) at 311 Island Ave.

The house is named jointly after two of San Diego’s earliest movers and shakers: William Heath Davis, known as the founder of downtown San Diego when the area was called New Town, and 19th Century real estate developer Alonzo Horton, whom historians refer to as “the father of San Diego.” Horton actually lived in the house for a period of time during his mid-adult life.

Today the dwelling serves as a museum worth visiting. It belongs to the City of San Diego after moving through a series of private owners. Each room in the house reflects its various uses over the years, from a pre-Civil War officer’s barracks, then a county hospital, and different private residences.