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1953 Map of Point Loma

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Point Loma
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1955
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1955

About this map

San Diego and Coronado are depicted here during a period of massive mid-century naval and aviation expansion. The landscape is defined by the heavy footprint of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and the San Diego Naval Air Station, which occupies a significant portion of the northern shore of San Diego Bay. To the west, the peninsula of Fort Rosecrans Military Reservation stands as a sentinel over the entrance to the harbor at Ballast Point.

Urban life thrives just beyond the fences of these federal installations, from the residential grids of Ocean Beach and Hillcrest to the cultural center of Balboa Park, where the Zoological Garden is established. Transportation networks like the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe and the Montgomery Freeway connect these districts. Along the coast, Shelter Island and the Silver Strand highlight the integration of leisure and defense that characterizes this coastal city.