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© San Diego History Center
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ou may not remember when Fifth “Street” went south (as well as north) through the heart of Hillcrest. Note the bus turning left onto Fifth from University? That service began in the 1930s, and the rubber-wheeled people movers shared roads with trolleys until the end of Hillcrest’s streetcar era in 1949 (see pages 28–29). Today’s tree-lined Fifth “Avenue” is northbound-only on three well-traveled lanes. This circa 1946 view, a close up of the aerial photo inside the back cover, shows that much remains 65 years later. With the exception of California First (now Union) Bank Building’s completion in 1989 and another new structure to its west, plus the removal of a mixed-use storefront east of the Security Commercial & Savings Bank (now a parking lot and flower stand), University Avenue between Fourth and Sixth looks the same. Soon after this photo was taken, George Pernicano moved into town, built his namesake restaurant along Sixth and served San Diego’s first pizzas. After keeping it shuttered for decades, the Pernicano family is now looking for a developer. One dreamer has already visualized what the site could be (see page 63). Share your ideas in the next long-range plan for our community (see page 11).