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Members of the Skyline-Paradise Hills Planning Group and area residents are looking to create a new district to honor the site of the former Douglas Hotel in downtown.
The Douglas Hotel, known as the “Harlem of the West,” hosted stars such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and the Mills Brothers, according to The San Diego History Center. The hotel also served as a haven for the African-American community during the era of segregation.
The hotel, located at Second Avenue and Market Street, opened in 1924 and had its heyday in the 1930s and 1940s. According to historical accounts, it was the only large hotel to provide accommodations to Black visitors during segregation. The hotel was demolished in 1985 to make way for a commercial and residential development.
Twenty years later, the city of San Diego honored the site with a small bronze plaque.
Now, residents and planning group volunteers may soon ask the city to do more and form a district to honor the site for the importance the hotel and other businesses had on San Diego’s Black community, and to turn the corridor into a bastion for community-serving projects, youth development, churches and food production sites using a sustainable building strategy.
In a draft letter of support from the Skyline-Paradise Hills Planning Group, obtained by Times of San Diego, community members hope the city will consider formally recognizing the legacy Douglas Hotel and the importance it and the area had for the community, and push for more equitable development and planning for the community.
“The Douglas District concept is a community-rooted planning and development vision focused on honoring local history, strengthening Southeast San Diego’s cultural identity, expanding green and food-producing infrastructure, supporting youth and workforce development, and creating opportunities for corridor-based economic revitalization,” reads the planning group’s draft letter.
Councilmember Henry Foster’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the group’s letter. The planning group will meet in August to vote on the letter of support.
