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1903 Map of La Jolla

Name: 1903 Topographic Map of La Jolla
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1940
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1940

About this map

Camp Kearney stands as a central military landmark on this early 20th-century landscape, positioned north of the winding San Diego River. This survey, based on work from the start of the century with 1930s cultural updates, captures the coastal development stretching from Delmar down to the early residential grids of Pacific Beach and La Jolla. The coastal geography is defined by prominent landmarks like Soledad Mt. and the complex tidal inlets of Mission Bay, while the Southern California Ry provides the primary transit link through Soledad Valley.

Inland, the map reveals a rugged network of drainages including Los Penasquitos Canyon and San Clemente Canyon, cutting through the mesa lands. Small, early settlements like Sorrento, Lindavista, and Merton are dispersed along the railway and canyon floors. Notable features such as Murray Reservoir and the historic Old Town district illustrate the evolving water management and settlement patterns of the San Diego area during this formative era.