[eburress]

Originally Posted by mongoXZ

Oh and a true story I want to tell everyone here since we're on the subject of Horton Plaza. I want to note what kind of impression outsiders get when they see it as it is.

I love entertaining out-of-town visitors and lately I've been doing that a lot. When I take them out I usually show them our downtown first. If there's time (like a few extra days) I show them the beach towns (Coronado, PB, La Jolla) and when they have a full week that's when our zoos and Seaworld come into play. When I drive to downtown I usually park at the very top level of the Horton Plaza Garage because there's always space available even during the busy times. I walk them down through the little mall and down the escalator into 4th Ave (yeah, I got it down to a T).

Last month my wife had a childhood friend from New York/ Jersey for a wedding. We took her thru the usual path to the Gaslamp. Mind you, this guest lives in Jersey City, commutes to Manhattan via subway and has been working as some kind of fashion manager at the original Saks 5th Ave for 20 years. The moment she set foot into Horton Plaza I saw her look up at all the signs in the sky and in her funny Fran Drescher-like accent she uttered "Guys, I'm gonna move here."

I asked her why do you say that? And she said "Look at this crazy place! I love it!"

Don't destroy Horton Plaza!

That was my first impression too. I really loved Horton Plaza's "craziness" and will be sad to see it go.