Courts of La Jolla

A guided walking tour of the commercial courts contributing to the business life of the village ending with a look/see visit to the 1920s residential court on Exchange Place recently renovated. We discuss architecture (Mid-Century and postmodern) and landscape (fountains, lily ponds, etc.) of the courts and how they contribute to the general ambiance of the village and point out some of the unique, off- the- beaten track, sorts of businesses that can be discovered within, ranging from antiquarian booksellers to unusual bead nooks. Although probably more than half of La Jolla’s businesses are located in these commercial courts and they contribute immensely to the pedestrian aspects of the village, we often overlook their importance and aesthetic contribution to the built environment. This is a tour to raise peoples’ awareness. We start at 850 Prospect, a low-slung, ranch style courtyard for small professional offices developed in the 1950s by owner Dr. John Lattimer and remarkable for its trademark concrete block identifying signage. Proceeding the court tour continues down Fay Avenue visiting Thompson Terrace and Fay Center, both Mid-Century developments, before stopping at the later interior court in the Merrill Lynch Building with its landscaping and glass elevator (Fay and Silverado). Next, the tour takes in Crosby Center on Herschel Avenue from the early 1960s (named in honor of bandleader Bob Crosby, crooner Bing’s brother) and proceeds down Herschel (Henry Hester’s El Patio) to Prospect and the International Shops court, also built in the ‘60s. Next stops, Dale Naegle’s Coast Walk on Prospect and Robert Stern’s Postmodern, multi level Prospect Point building and court at Prospect and Cave. End, a short jaunt up Exchange to the newly landscaped residential bungalow court and a wrap-up pointing out how all these courts were designed to create living and working spaces within an urban village through its growth and ever-changing history.