Mission Hills is a diverse, low-key community of approximately 30,186 residents. It is one of the city’s finest Historic Architecture Districts and was the home of Kate Sessions, the Mother of Balboa Park. Amidst the established residential neighborhoods you can find a major university, large shopping centers, hotels, and the Chargers football stadium. It is a lovely quiet area to raise children, with easy access to all the attractions and activities offered by the city.
Location
Mission Hills is a central San Diego neighborhood, nestled east of Washington Street. As you head west on Washington Street, Hillcrest turns into Mission Hills. It is located above Old Town on the rolling hills that overlook the harbor, convenient to all areas of central San Diego. It is literally the center of town, where all roads in San Diego lead.
Mission Hills is in close proximity to Downtown and bordered by Freeways 8, 5 and 163. San Diego lies 137 miles south of Los Angeles and 458 miles south of San Francisco, and 265 miles southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Geography
Mission Hills has a rustic canyon landscape, with roads rising steeply, many of them dissected by canyons. The surrounding terrain includes the magnificent Pacific Ocean and its beaches, the desert, mountains and the San Diego River.
Jobs
The San Diego economy is supported by the primary sectors of military/defense, manufacturing, tourism, agriculture and high technology. San Diego is developing as one of the great technology regions of this century, and has been named one of six centers of technological innovation.
Some of the major employers in the area are: 32nd Street Naval Station, Goodrich Aerospace, Kaiser Permanente, Kyocera Wireless Corp., National Steel and Shipbuilding, Palomar Medical Center, San Diego Community College, San Diego Medical Center, Sea World, and Scripps Research Institute.
Educational, health and social services provide 20.5% of the employment, professional, scientific, management, administrative services provide15.0%, manufacturing provides10.6%, arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services provide10.5%, and retail trade provides10.3%.
The unemployment level is 4.4% and the average time to travel to work is 24 minutes.
Housing
Mission Hills has everything from moderate bungalow cottages to magnificent estates and one-of-a kind homes. Housing styles include Spanish Revival, Northern European Tudor, Italian Renaissance and Mission-style homes. Some of the Mission Hills homes have canyon views, while others overlook the entire bay and downtown.
Mission Hills is known for its grand homes with manicured lawns and winding hilltop streets. The houses here have very high property values. Homes range in price from $170,000 to $3,195,000, and are not necessarily clustered by price. Attached homes average $229,900 to $360,000 and detached single homes average $569,000 to $748,000.
Recreation
San Diego has many beautiful parks to enjoy. In the Mission Hills area is Heritage Park with its magnificently restored Victorian houses. On the hillside overlooking Old Town, is Presidio Park where Father Junipero Serra founded the first of California's Spanish missions in 1769. Presidio Park is a delight to visit with its old trees and expanse of lawns. The Presidio itself is on the site of one of the original Missions. Mission Bay Park, the largest man-made aquatic park in the nation, offers a wide range of recreational activities, both water and land. San Diego also offers over 35,000 acres of regional parks, urban canyons and slopes, for outdoor enjoyment.
There are numerous recreation centers throughout San Diego offering a wide variety of recreation facilities and activities, and of course, the city’s extraordinary 70 miles of beautiful beaches. The beaches provide year-round outdoor water recreation, including surfing, boating, sailing and swimming. There are also cruises and whale watching tours.
San Diego is a haven for golfers. The County offers over 90 golf courses, and the city offers over 20, both private and public courses, providing challenges and fun for each and every golfing style. Torrey Pines, Balboa Park and Mission Bay are the three top-notch courses operated by the city’s Park and Recreation Department.
Special Attractions/Events
Mission Hills has something for everyone. The area abounds with gourmet restaurants, shopping, and nightlife. Small cafes and specialty shops line the streets and offer unique goods.
Hotel Circle is an area with hotels, restaurants and recreational facilities, and Fashion Valley is an upscale shopping center with high-end department stores. There is also Mission Valley Center, a more mainstream mall with stores, a 20-screen movie theater and dozens of family-oriented eateries.
Beyond the malls, there is Qualcomm Stadium, home to the San Diego Chargers NFL Football Team. There are activities here from auto racing in the parking lot to bowl games on the gridiron. Nearby is Mission San Diego De Alcala, the site to which Father Serra's mission was relocated early in its history. There are more great shops and excellent restaurants in Bazaar Del Mundo. Mexican cuisine is the specialty in Old Town and most of the stores sell one-of-a-kind items and exotic imports. For some culture, there is an assortment of art galleries around the Plaza, and all along San Diego Avenue.
Balboa Park with its zoo and museums is nearby, on the borders of Hillcrest and Bankers Hill. Mission Hills Nursery is the well-loved center of the neighborhood. Kate Sessions, the landscaper for Balboa Park, began the Nursery over a century ago. You can visit West Lewis Village and the bustle of Washington and Goldfinch Streets. Every Friday during the summer concerts are held in Pioneer Park. Other community activities include a music and arts festival, a street fair for local artisans, church and civic events.
Interesting Facts/Historic Buildings and Places
The Mission Hills area was home to many of San Diego's pioneers. Many of the homes are historical. In North Mission Hills is the 5,533-square-foot former estate of the late C. Arnholdt Smith, a San Diego financier. The estate has spectacular views of San Diego Bay, the ocean and the evening lights.
Mission Hills Schools are within the San Diego City school district, ranking in the top 70th percentile in California.
Captain Henry Johnston used the area he called Inspiration Point to guide his ship, the SS Orizaba, into San Diego harbor. He bought the land, and his daughter built the first house in Mission Hills naming it Villa Orizaba. More homes were built soon after, and the area became a high-end neighborhood.
In 1903 Kate Sessions began buying up land in Mission Hills because of its good soil, moist sea breezes and because it was rather secluded. In 1907 Kate and Alice Rainford began circulating a petition asking property owners to support extending the electric trolley car line from First Avenue and Washington to Lewis Street. The city widened the necessary roads in 1908 and they began extending the trolley line. By 1909 you could get from Market Street in downtown to Lewis and Stephens Streets.
Mission Hills was officially born January 20, 1908, when subdivision map #1115 was filed at the County Recorder's Office. A group of investors, knowing that development followed the trolley tracks bought a tract of land north of Johnston Heights. One of the investors, George Marston, named the subdivision "Mission Hills".
The Old Town State Historical Park includes 19th century homes and businesses giving a glimpse into colonial life in San Diego. You can find the old adobe ranch homes, schoolhouse and graveyard spread among the occupied areas of the neighborhood. Kit Carson was among the first pioneers to raise the American flag here in 1846.
There are rumors of ghost sightings in the area, especially at the old Whaley House Museum on San Diego Avenue.
The museums in Presidio Park and at the current Mission site, the Basilica San Diego de Alcala in Mission Valley both have excellent exhibits about the area's early history.
Mission Hills is the birthplace of Bobby Jenks, a major league baseball player for the Chicago White Sox, and Bob Burns, a PGA Tour Golf player.
- NUMBER1EXPERTS™ 
