View of a large three-and-a-half-story colonial residence believed to be the Horace B. Day residence at 140 Walnut Street in Bankers Hill in about 1912. (Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

From the name Bankers Hill alone, you might expect to see bankers in three-piece suits moving through it.

But the story of the hill has more to do with early homes rising above downtown San Diego than finance.

Bankers Hill rises just above downtown San Diego, forming one of the city’s earliest residential slopes outside the original urban core. It didn’t develop from a single plan or subdivision map. Instead, it took shape slowly, as homes were added over time along the hillside above the city.

From top left: View of a woman on a footbridge across a canyon in about 1925. The bridge is called Spruce Street Bridge and is located near 1st Avenue and Spruce Street in Bankers Hill. The sign tells who designed and built it and the date. View of a cable-supported, wooden footbridge across a canyon in about 1925. Middle: View of the 1st Avenue Bridge at Bankers Hill with a man standing on the far side of the bridge. Only the right railing of the bridge is viewed, and the trees to the right below. The right: houses are seen in the background. (Photos and captions info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Expanding

In the late 19th century, as San Diego expanded outward from downtown, this slope between the city center and Balboa Park began to attract early residential construction. The appeal was practical as much as anything else — higher elevation meant cooler air, open views toward the bay, and a quieter setting just above the growing downtown below.

Development was gradual. Early homes went in as land was divided and access improved, creating a pattern that unfolded in layers rather than a single layout. Over time, those scattered builds began to define the neighborhood.

 Front and side of the Sefton home at the corner of 6th Avenue and Laure,l with palm trees and other trees growing around the home. The streets are not paved. This is a 3-story home near Balboa Park in Bankers Hill. (Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Better transportation

By the early 20th century, improved transportation strengthened that connection to downtown. Streetcar lines and better roads made it easier to move between the hill and the city center, reinforcing the area’s role as an early residential district close to civic and commercial life.

Architecturally, Bankers Hill reflects that long build-out. Early Victorian-style homes were later joined by Craftsman and revival-style residences as tastes shifted in the early 1900s. Because construction happened over decades, the neighborhood never settled into a single architectural identity. Instead, like so many other parts of San Diego, it accumulated layers.

From the left: View of the intersection of 4th Avenue and Date Street in 1934. Residences are seen on both sides of the street, and an antique store is on the right. Middle: View of Spruce Street Suspension Bridge in the 1920s. The bridge spans high above the canyon. At the right: Aerial view of San Diego with Elm Street seen to the south in foreground and 6th Avenue seen to the east with Balboa Park seen in the right upper corner in about 1915. Street on the west may be 1st Avenue running north and south, and street on top of the image to the north may be Laurel, as Cabrillo Bridge on Laurel is seen at upper right. (Photos and captions info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

The area also became home to members of San Diego’s early civic and professional community. Among those associated with the broader uptown residential district was Dr. Harry M. Wegeforth, founder of the San Diego Zoo, who lived in the region during the early 20th century.

His presence reflects a wider pattern of civic figures settling in the hillside neighborhoods above downtown and near Balboa Park.

From the top left: View of Henry Putman’s residence on Nutmeg between 3rd Avenue and 4th Avenue in Bankers Hill in about 1905. The building was later used for a clinic. Middle: Alling – Edward residence – Bankers Hill c. 1911. Far right: View of a residence at the southwest corner of 3rd Avenue and Nutmeg in Bankers Hill at 2670 3rd Avenue in about 1895. Bottom left: View of Stephens Clinic near 5th Avenue and Maple in Bankers Hill with proposed additions. The clinic is housed in a former residence. This residence was originally the Putnam residence. Middle: View of a large three-and-a-half-story colonial residence believed to be the Horace B. Day residence at 140 Walnut Street in Bankers Hill, in about 191. Right: View showing the rear of Gay residence (also known as Dare residence) and Arnold residence near 6th Avenue and Juniper in Bankers Hill. (Photos and captions info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Architect William Sterling Hebbard also played a role in shaping San Diego’s early residential architectural character; his influence is part of the broader design context of the period, even as individual attributions in Bankers Hill vary across surviving records.

As the city continued to grow, Bankers Hill kept changing with it. Unlike areas preserved under a single historic designation, it developed continuously through the mid-20th century and beyond. Some early homes were expanded or remodeled, while others were replaced as apartments and larger buildings began to fill in the hillside.

Today, that multilayered history is still visible. Older residences sit alongside mid-century construction and modern development, often within the same blocks. Its position between downtown San Diego and Balboa Park continues to define it.

Gilbert Waterman residence at 1st Avenue and Kalmia in Bankers Hill, also Long – Watermann House, Queen Anne Style, c. 1960.
(Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Bankers Hill is not the product of a single design moment. It is the result of steady, incremental growth—built piece by piece as the city expanded upward, and that history is still written into the slope above downtown.

Read more history stories here, and do you have a story to tell? Send an email to DebbieSklar@cox.net.

Sources:

San Diego Planning Department – Uptown Community Plan.
San Diego Historical Resources Board – historic context and preservation records.
San Diego History Center – archival photographs, neighborhood history, and regional documentation.
San Diego Reader – local historical and neighborhood reporting on San Diego districts, including Bankers Hill context.
San Diego Zoo – institutional history and founding of Dr. Harry M. Wegeforth.
Other various sources.