La Jolla, San Diego, California
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One of the beaches at La Jolla Cove |
La Jolla (
pronounced ) is a
seaside resort community of 42,808
residents within the city of
San Diego,
California. La Jolla borders
Pacific Beach to the south and extends north to
Torrey Pines State Reserve and
Del Mar, California. Along the way it encompasses neighborhoods like Bird Rock,
Windansea, The Village of La Jolla (including "downtown La Jolla"), La Jolla Shores, La Jolla Farms, Torrey Pines,
Mount Soledad and La Jolla Village (including La Jolla Village Square).
Interstate 5 forms La Jolla's man-made border to the east, with the minor exception of some
University of California, San Diego and commercial property east of I-5 and north of La Jolla Village Drive also considered by those who live and work there to be part of La Jolla.
The
U.S. Postal Service has designated "La Jolla" as the only acceptable place name for use in mailing addresses in
ZIP Codes 92037, 92038, 92039, 92092 and 92093, even though such addresses lie within the San Diego city limits.[
1] This reinforces the false perception that La Jolla is a separate city.
* See also
ZIP Codes only loosely tied to citiesLa Jolla residents and business owners often refer to the "city", "village", or "town" of La Jolla. This, along with the U.S. Postal Service policy described above, sometimes causes visitors and even many locals into believing that La Jolla is actually a separate incorporated city, but politically it is simply a community within the San Diego city limits.
La Jolla has several community groups which work to unify the voice of the community. Among these groups is the non-profit La Jolla Town Council organization which represents the interests of the La Jolla businesses that belong to the Council.
Additionally, a group that calls itself
Independent La Jolla[
2] was formed in
2004 to advocate for the
secession of La Jolla from San Diego.
With its palm-lined streets, large estate homes, and Mediterranean climate and atmosphere, La Jolla is reminiscent of a southern European village with touches of
Beverly Hills along the upscale retail shops on Prospect Street. Much of La Jolla's natural charm stems from the presence of the ocean and
Mount Soledad. Narrow curvy roads follow the contours of Soledad and hundreds of homes overlooking the ocean are nestled on the slopes. The sandy beaches, dotting the coastline extend from the south to the north, are Windansea Beach, La Jolla Cove, La Jolla Beach and Tennis property, La Jolla Shores, Scripps, and
Black's Beach (leading up to
Torrey Pines State Reserve).
The
University of California, San Diego (including the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the
San Diego Supercomputer Center) is the center of higher education in La Jolla.
National University is also headquartered in La Jolla. 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. The town's
prep schools are
La Jolla Country Day School,
The Bishop's School, and
The Preuss School UCSD. The public high school, La Jolla High School, is in the
San Diego City Schools district. It is home to several famous alumni, including
Gregory Peck and
Raquel Welch.
Theodor Geisel, also known as
Dr. Seuss, was a resident of La Jolla at the time of his death in
1991. Unlike many
celebrities, his address and phone number used to be listed in the local phone book. In fact, the
main library at the University of California, San Diego, is dedicated to him.
Raymond Chandler, an early influential noir novelist, moved to La Jolla late in his career. He died there 13 years later, but not before delivering a bleak aphorism about then-stuffy La Jolla, "A nice place -- for old people and their parents."
The title article in
Tom Wolfe's
The Pump House Gang is about a group of surfers from
Windansea Beach in La Jolla who "attended the
Watts riots as if it were the
Rose Bowl game in
Pasadena." (see [
3] for an excerpt)
Novelist Anne Rice moved from New Orleans to La Jolla in 2005.
La Jolla is also the location of
Torrey Pines Golf Course, made famous by the
PGA TOUR Buick Invitational held there each February (in 2005, the competition was held in January). Down the steep cliffs from the Salk Institute and the Torrey Pines Golf Course is the famous
de facto nude beach,
Black's Beach.
Walking along the beach at all times (but especially at sunset) is popular recreation. Those ambling along may be able to glimpse the "
Green Flash."
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). 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.
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Seals at the Children's Pool |
In recent years,
harbor seals have taken over the Children's Beach, a quaint man-made cove near downtown. The seals are protected animals under federal law, so removing them has become a difficult and controversial issue. As of now, the beach is open; the rope is down. However, harassment of the animals is prohibited; swimming is allowed but not recommended.
Skimboarding and
Surfing are very popular at many of La Jolla's world-famous beaches including Windansea and the People's Wall.
The
USS La Jolla, a
nuclear submarine, is named in its honor.
The area was known as
La Jolla Park at least as early as
1886. The origin of the name is obscure. It is pronounced "Lah HOY-Ya," not "Lah Ho-Ya" as it should be in
Spanish. Some say it is a corruption of
ahoy, called out by sailors seeking the attention of people on the shore. The people of La Jolla claim it is a misspelling of
La Joya, meaning "The Jewel" in Spanish. Perhaps the most-likely, although least-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. Most of these have since either collapsed due to ongoing erosion, or have been intentionally destroyed by local authorities to prevent the drownings that were once frequent occurrences.
*Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as the beloved
Dr. Seuss, called La Jolla home until his death in 1991 (see Literary La Jolla above).
*Actors
Gregory Peck,
Cliff Robertson and
Raquel Welch have also called La Jolla home, as have musician
Michael Franks and the
Hearst family.
*Sportscaster
Dick Enberg lives in La Jolla.
*
Rolf Benirschke, an NFL
placekicker, attended
high school in La Jolla.
*NFL quarterback
Doug Flutie makes his home in La Jolla.
*Novelist
Anne Rice, author of
Interview With the Vampire, moved to La Jolla from the
New Orleans area in March 2005.
["Anne Rice's rebirth", San Diego Union-Tribune, November 3, 2005.]*Rock guitarists
Robin Crosby and
Warren DeMartini of the metal band
Ratt attended high school in La Jolla
*Until recently,
Deepak Chopra ran his Center for Well Being in La Jolla.
*
Kary Mullis, a
biochemist and
surfer from La Jolla, invented
PCR (polymerase chain reaction) a very important procedure employed in
genetic engineering and
forensic science, for which he won the
Nobel Prize.
*
Armi Kuusela, winner of the first
Miss Universe beauty pageant, back in 1952, lives in La Jolla with her husband, Albert Williams.
*Many of the
Forbes 400 Richest Americans live in La Jolla, including
Irwin and Joan Jacobs,
Margaret Anne Cargill,
David C. Copley, and
Audrey Geisel (the widow of Theodore Geisel/Dr. Seuss)
*
Ellen Browning Scripps, philanthropist, founder of
Scripps Institute of Oceanography and
Scripps College*
Carl Rogers, eminent American psychologist
*
San Diego Community Profile: La Jolla*
SANDAG population and housing estimates (PDF)
*
La Jolla Light Newspaper*
La Jolla Town Council*
La Jolla Shores Association - serving the La Jolla Shores community*
La Jolla Cove Paintings*
La Jolla High School Home Page
