The San Diego Traveler

Happy Tavern Day

by Carole A. Lane on March 4th, 2008

As today is Tavern Day, it seems a good time to reminisce about the history of San Diego’s taverns.

The Stingaree District (now known as the Gaslamp) was at one time filled with taverns, gambling halls, and brothels. It was a dangerous place, where crime was rampant, and venturing out after dark meant taking your life into your hands.

If you came to the Stingaree in the 1800’s, you’d find gamblers, gunmen, drug dealers, prostitutes, speculators, townspeople and tourists. At least one of these people was famous far beyond the town, or even the state. His name was Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp.

Not long after surviving the Gunfight at the OK Corral, Wyatt Earp arrived in the Stingaree, along with his wife, Josie.

According to the San Diego Historical Society,

“Wyatt and Josie Earp moved often. Between 1885 and 1887, they arrived in booming San Diego, where Wyatt gambled and invested heavily in real estate and saloons in the Stingaree district, now the Gaslamp Quarter. They lived here on and off for several years. Earp owned or leased four saloons and gambling halls in San Diego. The most famous was the Oyster Bar located in the Louis Bank Building at 837 5th Avenue. He refereed at local prize fights. During the heyday of San Diego’s boom, Earp won a trotting horse named Otto Rex. He and Josie began to travel the racehorse circuit. They left San Diego in the early 1890s.”

The character of the Stingaree remained for decades after the initial cleanup of 1916, and through many subsequent efforts. Poverty and vice continued to dominate the region until the redevelopment in the 1980’s finally made the difference.

Today the Gaslamp is a thriving party district, thanks in no small part to the wonderful restaurants and shops, and yes, especially the bars.

Happy Tavern Day, San Diego. Why not head down to your favorite tavern and raise a glass to the Stingaree?

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POSTED IN: Famous San Diegans, History