Unbeknownst to many, this coastal high rise defined the coast of San Diego as we know it today…
After WWII, the population of San Diego’s coastal communities grew 5x which was elevated in the late 50’s/early 60’s when a blonde bombshell named Marilyn Monroe introduced the world to the iconic Hotel Del Coronado in the feature film “Some Like It Hot”. Not long after this, San Diegan’s were introduced to a new attraction in Mission Bay named, Sea World and then the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It was obvious, San Diego needed a way to facilitate the emerging tourism industry.
Immediately, beach residents began to rebel against a wave of unbridled development occurring at the coast and support of a coastal height restriction began. The initial petition effort was unsuccessful, and a 12 story hotel on the bluff was built, known today as the Capri by the Sea. In direct response to the construction of Capri by the Sea, the Citizen Initiative was approved by more than 60 percent of city voters in 1972, which restricted the height of all buildings west of I-5 to 30 feet. It withstood a battery of legal challenges and was finally put into effect in 1976 and is still in force today. Now, the plan is hailed for preserving dramatic views and easy access to San Diego’s beaches. Miami’s skyscraper-dotted coastline is often cited as a cautionary tale of what might have been.
What does all this mean? Buying a unit in Capri by the Sea places you into one of the only beachfront high rises to ever be built in San Diego County. Schedule a viewing, I’ll take you up to the roof and show you a one of a kind perspective of San Diego’s coastline.
