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1904 Map of San Diego

Name: 1904 Topographic Map of San Diego
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1941
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1941

About this map

San Diego Bay dominates this coastal survey, serving as the focal point for a region rapidly expanding its maritime and aviation infrastructure. The map reveals a significant military footprint, with the U.S. Naval Air Station and U.S. Naval Training Station establishing the city's identity as a Pacific naval hub. Early aviation history is prominently marked at Lindbergh Airport and Rockwell Field on North Island, while the urban grid of San Diego begins to spill into the canyons and valleys to the east.

Southward expansion follows the Southern Pacific Railroad through National City and Chula Vista toward the United States Mexico Boundary Line. The landscape transitions from the developed Pueblo Lands of San Diego to large agricultural tracts like Rancho de la Nacion and the rugged Otay Mesa. From the heights of Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument to the riverbanks of the Tia Juana River, this map documents the early 20th-century evolution of a vital border and coastal gateway.