NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY
The Arcade Building on Girard Avenue: A La Jolla Landmark Hiding in Plain Sight
Designed by La Jolla architect Herbert Palmer and completed around 1928, the Arcade Building was built as a pedestrian passage between Girard Avenue and Drury Lane. Nearly a century later, it is still one of the Village's quiet architectural gems.
Some buildings announce themselves. The Arcade does the opposite — it invites you to walk through it.
Designed by noted La Jolla architect Herbert Palmer and completed around 1928, the Arcade Building was conceived as a pedestrian passage connecting Girard Avenue with Drury Lane. Nearly a century ago, pedestrians used the passage to reach the nearby San Diego Electric Railway terminus, browsing the small shops tucked beneath its Mission-style arches along the way.
A century of tenants
Over the decades, the Arcade has been home to everything from the Manhattan Cafe and the Model Grocery and Meat Market to so many real estate offices that it eventually earned the nickname "Realtors Row." That last chapter is one we happen to feel some kinship with.
The Arcade today
Today the Arcade remains part of the fabric of La Jolla Village, with its distinctive architecture, the beautiful Leopard Shark Mandala mural by Melanie Sojourner-Truth Atesalp, and new businesses like Cala La Jolla Café continuing the building''s tradition as a neighborhood gathering place.
Watch the tour
Join me for a quick look at the history behind a La Jolla landmark you may have walked past hundreds of times without knowing its story.
Filmed on Girard Avenue in The Village of La Jolla.
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