In La Jolla’s early days, dirt paths were the only way to get around. You walked them by foot carrying a small lantern at night to find your way.
Legend has it that star pines were planted as guideposts along the paths leading further from the beach so you wouldn’t get lost if visiting someone who lived a bit up the hill. But most of the paths led back and forth to La Jolla Cove from Prospect Street and the immediate environs of the village.
Surprisingly, some very interesting remnants of these early paths from the 1880s and ’90s remain today, with a few still functioning as they did then to provide access to the Cove and the beach. The dirt has been replaced by concrete stairs in most cases and they are no longer called paths, but identified as pedestrian walkways by the City of San Diego as the public proprietor.
“La Jolla has more of these than any other area because of particular typography,” said Leslie Henegar, who oversees their protection and operation for the city. “They are an important aspect of the community and we wouldn’t want to lose them.”
Ironically, one of the early access paths appears to be threatened. It was identified on the Terrace Subdivision map recorded by the County of San Diego in 1895 and connected Jenner (then Franklyn) Street with Ocean before turning to the beach. The path, now paved, is behind the Grande Colonial Hotel and, if the hotel’s expansion goes forward, a large part of it might disappear, leaving an 1888 redwood cottage and its owners without street access except for steep stairs from Coast Boulevard South.
“It would be the worst,” said Barbara Baxter, who bought the cottage with her husband, Robert Hunter, and wasn’t exactly planning that her next purchase might have to be a helicopter.
With the present state of affairs, Baxter is forming a group to bring more public awareness to La Jolla walkways, some hardly known and lost to posterity.
Meanwhile, one of the best-maintained remaining walkways leading from Prospect to the Cove and Scripps Park is on the right side of La Valencia, where an old concrete staircase and sloping pavement passes through lush landscape and under flower-bedecked terraces connecting the street and the sea.
Another pleasant stair access is Ocean Lane connecting Prospect and Coast Boulevard South, which passes by the historic La Jolla Cove Cottages and one of the prettiest snow bushes in town.
Although these passages are used daily by the public, development over the years has caused many of the old dirt paths leading to and from the beach to be blocked for public access. Walk along some of Prospect and you will also notice some iron gates and signs that say “no access.” Another at 1298 Prospect near Coast Walk Complex is open but has a notice in the sidewalk: “Private Property Right to Pass by Permission and Subject to Control of Owner Section 1008 California Civil Code.”
Perhaps, La Jolla’s most used public access path governed by a similar private property right is The Arcade, the historic building bordered by shops that allows foot traffic to pass between Girard and Prospect streets. It was designed in the 1920s by architect Herbert Palmer, and its Mission-style architecture with large bells at either end has become a landmark. Owner Palmer Hughes has done considerable work on the property recently and leased to some new shops to make the pass-through even more pleasant.
While most walkways are in the village, a number are scattered in outlying residential areas. A pedestrian path connects Virginia Way and Olivet at the end of East Ivanhoe. In the 6000 block of Camino de la Costa you can walk up to join Avenida Cresta, while from the 5800 block there is pedestrian access all the way up to La Jolla Boulevard.
Know more secret pedestrian paths? If so, please contact [email protected].
” “Reflections” is a monthly column written for La Jolla Village News by the La Jolla Historical Society’s historian Carol Olten. The Society, dedicated to the preservation of La Jolla heritage, is located at 7846 Eads Ave. and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.