Monthly Spotlight: El Cajon Boulevard

Every month we'll feature a "spotlight," a case study of a planning issue that could help inform our work together in the Black Horse Pike region. These spotlights are not meant to prescribe specific solutions for the Black Horse Pike region, but rather to help generate ideas and discussion. This month's spotlight is El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego, CA.

The history and evolution (and, therefore, the character) of El Cajon Boulevard is strikingly similar to that of Black Horse Pike. A major east/west route, El Cajon Boulevard evolved into an important auto-focused commercial corridor. By the 1940s, hotels, motels, gas stations, and auto-dealerships were the predominant business-types, and the architecture of buildings and signs were often whimsical and eye-catching. The construction of a major freeway and shopping malls in the 1960s and 1970s gradually drew business and customers away from El Cajon Boulevard. In response, in 1979 the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement District (BID) was formed, which evolved into the El Cajon Business Improvement Association.