San Diego Architecture from Mission to Modern: A Guide to the Buildings, Planning, People and Spaces That Shape the Region

Handy to have around. Certainly the most comprehensive (and only) guide to San Diego architecture that I've been able to find. Well organized with plenty of pictures and addresses. Also contains several mini-narratives of regional history.Sutro isn't biased towards one or more specific time periods as compared to other time periods. This suprised me, but I guess it reflects his attempt to be even handed (I also noted that the Publisher is supported by several developers). Whatever, Sutro's credentials are bonafide as a journalist, so I won't quibble.Still, it was a little bit shocking to hear him waxing enthusiasticly about some of the more recent condo developments downtown.Also, I saw an unaddressed picture of a Victorian in the Bankers Hill section of the book that has been moved to Golden Hill. I wasn't sure what was up with that.Perhaps the coolest part of this book is reading about the past (often bawdy) history of some of the buildings in Downtown and the East Village. For instance, they used to keep zoo animals in the basement of the Granger Building (5th and Broadway), and the Jerome's Furniture warehouse at fifteenth and Broadway was once a venue where people watched boxing and wrestling matches!Another highlight is his section on the East County region. I was fairly dissapointed with the coverage of areas like Del Mar and National City. All criticism aside, the subject matter, clear organization and over all usefulnesss make this book a "must have" for anyone interested in the subject.

This book has been a great find. It is well organized with buildings grouped in sections based on their neighborhood or community location--39 different divisions. Each section provides a building-coded map and a brief but good overview of the area. The biggest plus--a photo for EACH building, unfortunately not always a feature of architectural guidebooks.

This is a fine book -- I already took two of the walking tours and it was very enjoyable to see new places in neighborhoods I thought I knew so well. The author really did his homework, and it shows in the introductions to each area--good, clear writing is so rare these days. Plus the color photographs are excellent and there is one for every listing!