Officially subdivided on August 6, 1888, University Heights is one of San Diego’s oldest neighborhoods and home to the former Mission Cliff Gardens, Bentley’s Ostrich Farm, San Diego Silk Mill, Adams Avenue Carbarn, the first reservoir for the city’s municipal water system, and the San Diego Normal School, forerunner to San Diego State University.

Celebrate National Preservation Month by learning more about our historic community, founded in 1888. Take a guided or self-guided walking tour, have your home's historic architecture evaluated, buy an ostrich house plaque, learn more about John Spreckels, or just read about the early history of University Heights!

At 135 years old, University Heights is one of San Diego’s oldest neighborhoods and home to the former Mission Cliff Gardens, Bentley’s Ostrich Farm, San Diego Silk Mill, Adams Avenue Carbarn, the first reservoir for the city’s municipal water system, and the San Diego Normal School, forerunner to San Diego State University.

Founded in 1897, San Diego State University (SDSU) is celebrating 125 years of history this year, which includes its first campus in University Heights in 1898. This final post focuses on the Normal School from 1921 to 1931.

Student sports were in their infancy in 1900 at San Diego Normal School but the college we know today as San Diego State University was eager to launch competitive sports. From its campus on Park Blvd. in University Heights, the one-year-old school was ready for football.

This week, a plaque gifted by the University Heights Historical Society to the San Diego Unified School District, was installed on the Teachers Training Annex 1 commemorating its status as a national landmark.

On June 21, 1900, the San Diego Normal School in University Heights (now San Diego State University) held its first commencement ceremonies. Twenty-six students graduated including 23 women and 3 men.

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the University Heights Historical Society honors Dr. Sue Earnest, distinguished Normal School graduate.

Like everyone, the pandemic has required that we be a little more creative in finding safe ways to educate the public about our community's significant history. With your support, we would like to raise $600 to design and print some new self-guided walking tours of University Heights.

Join Kristin Harms with the University Heights Historical Society for a live, virtual walking tour via Zoom of the early history of University Heights from the comfort and safety of your own home!

Since 1997, the University Heights Historical Society has worked to preserve the architectural, cultural, and historic resources in University Heights through research, education, and advocacy.

Did you know that San Diego State University had it’s beginnings in University Heights? The San Diego Normal School was built in 1898 on Normal Street in University Heights to increase the certification of teachers. The school moved to Montezuma Mesa in 1931 and was renamed San Diego State University in the early 1970s. Take our free, self-guided walking tour to learn more.

As one of San Diego’s oldest neighborhoods, University Heights has many historical landmarks. One of the most significant is the site of the Normal School, which was built in 1898 and was the forerunner to San Diego State University.