For all our travels there are still places I hesitate to go. Shopping malls, with their dreadful combination of crowds and consumerism, generally top that list. Westfield Horton Plaza in San Diego is an exception.
Covering six and one half blocks and seven stories of the city’s historic Gas Lamp District, Horton is remarkable for its complete lack of in-your face store fronts. We toured a large section of the complex and still can’t tell you what shops are there; our attention instead riveted to the twisting and elaborately colored architecture of the place.
Said to be influenced by southern Mediterranean market places, we found Horton to be more akin to an open air funhouse with its odd angles and 50-odd hues of paint. But the design is not all whimsy. Local elements are also incorporated into the Alice in Wonderland structure to help integrate it with its historic surroundings. And yet there is a playful aspect here too. Knowledgeable visitors can try to identify such “Easter Eggs” as replica ornate gas lamps patterned after those that give this section of San Diego its name or identify the city’s original Jessop’s Clock; a century old historic landmark that now ticks off time at the center of this remarkable shopping plaza.
Everywhere Once 
A great place to shop, so unusual and the colors – wow!!!
LikeLike
Definitely my kind of mall – no shops and interesting achitecture. I have found that when I walk into a mall I automatically forget what city I’m in. That could be good because I could step into a Michigan mall and pretend I am anywhere else in the US.
LikeLike
I love SHOPPING! I think i Was born to shop – and Yep I could easily spend a week just looking through each shop at that mall. It looks stunning 🙂
LikeLike
In these pictures it looks cool, but what about when the hordes of shoppers arrive?
LikeLike
Very cool!!
LikeLike
I share your dislike of malls. But this one sounds like so much fun! We will be spending summer 2014 in Calufornia so maybe we will visit this mall.
LikeLike
Oops- California!!
LikeLike
This brings back memories! I thought I recognized it from the first photo but it’s been over 12 years since I have been there I thought I was going crazy. I am far from a mall shopper but this one was so cool. (I lived in San Diego from 1995-2000)
LikeLike
Oooh! I love the Gaslamp Quarter!
LikeLike