David Charles Collier, commonly known as D. C. Collier or as "Charlie" and sometimes given the honorary title of "Colonel", was an American real estate developer, civic leader, and philanthropist in San Diego, California, during the early years of the 20th century. [1] [2] He is best known as the organizer and director of San Diego's Panama–California Exposition (1915–16). He was also a prime developer of several areas of San Diego as well as La Mesa and Ramona. In his day he was described as "San Diego's foremost citizen." [3]
Collier was born on August 14, 1871, in Central City, Colorado. His parents were David Charles Collier, an attorney, judge, and journalist, and Martha Maria (Johnson) Collier. The younger David Charles Collier was generally called "Charlie". He moved to San Diego with his family in 1884, when he was 12 years old. He and his family often picnicked or camped on the beach in the then-undeveloped neighborhood of Ocean Beach. He attended Russ High School (now San Diego High School), and later worked as a janitor and a bookkeeper. At age 16, he bought property in Ocean Beach, at "Alligator Rock" (now Ocean Front St. at Bacon and Coronado streets), and built a hut there. He gradually expanded the hut into a large house with a bathing pool and a Japanese garden, where he lived for decades. [4] By age 20, he was working as a lawyer in his father's office.
He married Ella May Copley, the sister of Congressman Ira C. Copley, on January 1, 1896; they divorced in 1914. [5] They had two sons, David Copley Collier and Ira Clifton Collier. David became a military aviator and was killed in a crash during World War I. Ira moved to New York City and became a newspaperman. D. C. Collier married his second wife, Ruth E. Everson, on November 14, 1915. Following her death in 1916, he married Clytie B. Lyon on December 13, 1919. [6]
After his father's death in 1899 he went into law practice with Judge W. P. Andrews and later with Sam F. Smith. Many of his clients paid him in real estate instead of cash, often unloading undeveloped parcels that they considered worthless. [4] So he spent more and more of his time in real estate development under various names: Ralston Realty Company in 1904, Easton Collier Company in 1905, Western Investment Company in 1908, and D. C. Collier and Company in 1909. [6] He subdivided the land, put in utilities, planted trees, and sold lots in many neighborhoods including Ocean Beach, Point Loma, [7] Pacific Beach, University Heights, Normal Heights, North Park, East San Diego, and Encanto. He built a railroad line to Ocean Beach in 1909, greatly hastening development there, and is considered by some to be the "true father of Ocean Beach". [4]
He also bought property in Ramona including five gold mines, and built a country home there on a 240-acre ranch. [3] He also owned a home and poultry farm in La Mesa (then called La Mesa Springs), and built the city's first springhouse to bottle and sell water. [8]
As his business prospered he took a leading role in civic affairs, influencing the city's decision about where to purchase water, persuading Glenn H. Curtiss to bring his fledgling aviation company to North Island in Coronado, and helping the city of San Diego gain possession of its tidelands from the state. He served as president of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. He served on the staff of California governor James Gillett from 1907 to 1911. It was Gillett who gave him the courtesy title of "Colonel," which stuck with him for the rest of his life. [9] He was a flamboyant dresser and a conspicuous consumer, owning the first phonograph and the first automobile in San Diego. [6]
His philanthropy was generous and widespread, particularly involving the donation of land for public purposes. He built Ocean Beach Elementary School, a two-room schoolhouse, and donated 60 acres of land in Ocean Beach "for the children". Eventual uses of that land included three parks, all originally named Collier Park: William Cleator Park, Dusty Rhodes Park, and a neighborhood park still named for Collier. Other portions of the parcel became a junior high school (originally Collier Junior High, now Correia Middle School), a YMCA facility, a church, and Nimitz Boulevard. [4] He also contributed to the development of a park in La Mesa that still bears his name. He donated 10 acres of land in Ramona which became the first county park in San Diego County. [3]
When the city of San Diego began to consider holding an exposition to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal - and to highlight San Diego's position as the closest American port to that canal - Collier became the prime mover. He served as Director General of the Panama California Exposition from 1909 to 1912, and president of the Exposition from 1912 to 1914. Collier chose the central mesa of Balboa Park as the site, selected California Mission as the architectural style, and hired Bertram Goodhue to be the consulting architect. He also chose "human progress" to be the Exposition's cultural theme. [9] The theme exhibit, particularly focused on the anthropology of the Southwestern United States, later became the San Diego Museum of Man, of which he was a founder.
He served without pay, paid his own travel expenses to Sacramento and Washington to lobby for the Exposition, and donated $500,000 to the Exposition. By 1914 his business was suffering so badly that he had to resign as president and go back to practicing law and selling real estate. He remained active with the Exposition, serving as a public relations commissioner. As a trustee of the defunct Wonderland Amusement Park in Ocean Beach he arranged to sell its exotic animals to the fledgling San Diego Zoo.
He ran unsuccessfully for city council (1917) and for county supervisor (1932). He continued his development activities, particularly in Ocean Beach and Point Loma. Between 1918 and 1930 he took a variety of positions in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City, including several positions directing major expositions. In 1930 he resumed the practice of law in San Diego. He died of a heart attack on November 13, 1934; his estate proved to be close to bankruptcy. Since he was a Freemason, he was buried in a Masonic section of Mount Hope Cemetery.
A plaque honoring him was installed in the California Quadrangle area of Balboa Park in 1936 during the second San Diego exposition, the California Pacific International Exposition, which used the same Balboa Park site and many of the buildings from the first exposition. [6]
Collier Neighborhood Park in Ocean Beach, Collier Park in La Mesa, and Collier County Park in Ramona are all named for him. [10]
San Diego is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.3 million residents, it is the eighth-most populous city in the United States and the second-most populous in the state of California, after Los Angeles. San Diego is the seat of San Diego County, which has a population of nearly 3.3 million people. It is known for its mild year-round Mediterranean climate, extensive beaches and parks, long association with the United States Navy, and its recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center.
Mission Beach is a community built on a sandbar between the Pacific Ocean and Mission Bay. It is part of the city of San Diego, California.
The Panama–California Exposition was a world exposition held in San Diego, California, between January 1, 1915, and January 1, 1917. The exposition celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, and was meant to tout San Diego as the first United States port of call for ships traveling north after passing westward through the canal. The fair was held in San Diego's large urban Balboa Park. The park held a second Panama-California exposition in 1935.
Ocean Beach is a beachfront neighborhood in San Diego, California.
William H. Carlson was an American land developer and Independent politician from California. He served in the state legislature and served two terms as mayor of San Diego. He was the first developer of the San Diego neighborhood of Ocean Beach.
John Diedrich Spreckels, the son of German-American industrialist Claus Spreckels, founded a transportation and real estate empire in San Diego, California, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The entrepreneur's many business ventures included Hotel del Coronado and the San Diego and Arizona Railway, both of which are credited with helping San Diego develop into a major commercial center.
The history of San Diego began in the present state of California, when Europeans first began inhabiting the San Diego Bay region. As the first area of California in which Europeans settled, San Diego has been described as "the birthplace of California". Explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was the first European to discover San Diego Bay in 1542, roughly 200 years before other Europeans settled the area. Native Americans such as the Kumeyaay people had been living in the area for as long as 12,000 years prior to any European presence. A fort and mission were established in 1769, which gradually expanded into a settlement under first Spanish and then Mexican rule.
The California Pacific International Exposition was an exposition held in San Diego, California, during May 29, 1935–November 11, 1935 and February 12, 1936–September 9, 1936. The exposition was held in Balboa Park, San Diego's large central urban park, which had also been the site of the earlier Panama–California Exposition in 1915.
Golden Hill is a neighborhood in San Diego, California. It is located south of Balboa Park, north of Sherman Heights, Grant Hill and Stockton, and east of downtown.
The Cabrillo Bridge is a historic bridge in San Diego, California, providing pedestrian and light automotive access between Balboa Park and the Uptown area of San Diego. It was built for the Panama–California Exposition of 1915. The bridge was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and was named a Local Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1986.
The Spreckels Organ Pavilion is an outdoor venue that houses the open-air Spreckels Organ in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. With more than 5,000 pipes, the Spreckels Organ is the world's largest pipe organ in a fully outdoor venue. Constructed for the 1915 Panama–California Exposition, it is located at the corner of President's Way and Pan American Road East in the park.
The House of Charm is a historic museum building in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It was built for the 1915–16 Panama–California Exposition, and like most buildings from the exposition, it features Mission Revival architecture. It acquired its current name during the California Pacific International Exposition. It now houses the Mingei International Museum as well as rehearsal space for the Old Globe Theatre. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sunset Cliffs is an affluent coastal community in the Point Loma community of San Diego, California. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west, Ocean Beach to the north, Catalina Blvd. and Santa Barbara St. to the east, and Sunset Cliffs Natural Park to the south.
Balboa Park is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) historic urban cultural park in San Diego, California. Placed in reserve in 1835, the park's site is one of the oldest in the United States dedicated to public recreational use. The park hosts various museums, theaters, restaurants, and the San Diego Zoo. It is managed and maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of San Diego.
Lorie Zapf is an American politician in San Diego, California. She served as a San Diego City Council member representing City Council District 2. She was first elected to office in November 2010 serving District 6, but switched districts in 2014 due to redistricting. In 2018 Zapf lost a bid for reelection, becoming one of the first incumbent council members to lose a reelection campaign since 1992. She is a Republican, although city council positions are officially nonpartisan per California state law.
Richard Smith Requa was an American architect, largely known for his work in San Diego, California. Requa was the Master Architect for the California Pacific International Exposition held in Balboa Park in 1935–36. He improved and extended many of the already existing buildings from the earlier Panama–California Exposition, as well as creating new facilities including the Old Globe Theatre.
Wonderland was a beachfront amusement park in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego, California, from 1913 to 1916. It was the first amusement park in San Diego.
Alfred D. Robinson (1866–1942) and his wife Marion James Robinson (1873–1919) were wealthy residents of San Diego, California, known for their impact on gardening and the cultivation of flowers, particularly begonias. Their extensive home garden was used to propagate and develop more than 100 new varieties of ornamental flowers and was later opened to the public as Rosecroft Begonia Gardens. Rosecroft was the name of their estate in the Point Loma neighborhood of San Diego. The residence, built for them in 1912, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Fiesta del Pacifico was a civic festival held in San Diego, California, during the 1950s. The event was staged throughout the city for several weeks in the mid to late summer. It was intended to attract tourists and to highlight San Diego's Spanish and Mexican heritage.
The OB Rag was an underground newspaper published between 1970 and 1975 in the neighborhood of Ocean Beach, San Diego, California. The O in the title is also a peace symbol. Other San Diego underground newspapers that dealt with similar issues include San Diego Free Press and The San Diego Door.