Probably no San Diego community has undergone a more dramatic transformation in the new millennium than Little Italy. Its modern history is a sort of American classic: founded and grown during the early decades of the 20th century by Italian immigrants in the fishing industry. Fallen on hard times due to the intrusion of Interstate 5 in the ‘70s, when 3,000 homes were razed, followed by the demise in the ‘80s of commercial fishing. Redeveloped beginning in the ‘90s.
When Little Italy hit rock bottom in the 1990s, the block that became LIND was seen by Centre City Development Corp. as an opportunity to launch the area’s revitalization in a big way. CCDC tore down neglected buildings, consolidated lots and began to plan for a major project.
Along with varied shapes and sizes, the six buildings make inventive use of standard materials. Quigley’s gray stucco three- and four-story Villa Maria, with its overhanging slanted roofs and pop-out balconies, is quite a contrast to McCormick’s tall, narrow, vine-covered lofts, made of concrete block, with a checkerboard back wall facing the development’s interior.
An essential goal, according to Poirier, was to create the kinds of “surprises” one finds in walkable cities like Venice or Florence, where wandering narrow streets reveals ancient wonders in nooks and crannies. At LIND, walkways pass among narrow and broad spaces, patios and modest entries, grassy areas, hedges that conceal pocket gardens for the rowhomes and a mini-forest of sycamores whose fallen leaves mark the arrival of autumn. The impact of two parking courts is softened by the landscape.
Happily, Little Italy retains its Italian essence, as evidenced by chimes that ring out hourly from the circa-1925 Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church on State Street, where a $2.5 million renovation includes new stained glass and restored frescos.
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