Mission Valley, San Diego, California: The central location of Mission Valley makes it a great place to live and work!

Mission Valley has been a significant part of San Diego ever since 1769, when the first California mission, Mission San Diego de Alcala, was located there. Even before that, though, the Kumeyaay Indians lived in the area for more than 10,000 years. Most of the area was dairy farms and other agricultural activites up until the end of World War II in 1945, when San Diego began expanding. The last farm closed in the early 1960s.

Mission Valley development began in earnest in 1953, when the first hotel was built in what is now Hotel Circle. That led to the City Council rezoning 90 acres of Mission Valley to allow development of San Diego's first regional mall, now known as Westfield Shoppingtown Mission Valley. Several other malls followed, and Mission Valley is now home to world-class shopping at several malls.

The construction of U.S. Highway 80, most of which is now Interstate 8, in the late 1950s and early 1960s brought further development to Mission Valley. Development of Mission Valley is not yet complete since a large sand and gravel quarry on the north side of Mission Valley recently closed and will be the site of the Quarry Falls mixed use development.

Some of the many amenities that Mission Valley has to offer include:

1. Qualcomm Stadium — Qualcomm is the home of the San Diego Chargers, the San Diego State University Aztecs, and the NCAA's Poinsettia Bowl and Holiday Bowl. Qualcomm has also hosted the Summer X Games, demolition derbies, monster trucks, motocross, soccer, high school football championship games, religious revivals, rock concerts, and American Idol auditions. 
2. Movie theaters — There is an AMC 18 theater complex in Fashion Valley mall, an AMC 20 in Mission Valley East mall, and an UltraStar 7 at Hazard Center, all in the western end of Mission Valley
3. Fine dining — There are so many places to eat out in Mission Valley that you might not get to all of them if you ate out every day for a year. Some of them are listed for you here, in alphabetical order:
   Albie's Beef Inn
   All American Grill
   Applebee's
   Baja Fresh
   Benihana of Tokyo
   Bennigan's
   Bing Crosby's
   Black Angus
   Bully's East
   California Pizza Kitchen
   Cheesecake Factory
   Chipotle
   Chevy's Fresh Mex
   Corner Bakery Cafe
   Dave and Buster's
   El Torito
   Fondue Fusion and Bistro
   Fuddrucker's
   Gordon Biersch
   Hooters
   Hunter Steakhouse
   IHOP
   IKEA Restaurant
   Island's
   Joe's Crab Shack
   King's Fish House
   Luna Grill
   Mimi's Cafe
   Nicolosi's
   NYPD Pizza
   Oggis Pizza
   Oki Ton Japanese Bistro
   On The Border
   Onami
   Osaka Japanese Food and Sushi
   Outback Steakhouse
   Pei Wei
   Pho Cali
   Pick Up Stix
   P.F. Chang's
   Quiznos
   Rubio's Baja Grill
   Ruby's Diner
   Sammy's Woodfired Pizza
   Sansai Japanese Grill
   Sardina's Italian
   Seau's The Restaurant
   Souplantation
   Subway
   Szechuan Mandarin
   Todai
   Uno Chicago Grill
4. Nighttime entertainment — There are countless bars and night clubs throughout Mission Valley, particularly at many of the hotels. Don't forget to go country dancing at In Cahoots.
5. Indoor fitness — There are many fitness choices throughout Mission Valley, including 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness, Frog's Fitness, Mission Valley YMCA, and Mission Valley Aquatics Center.
6. Outdoor fitness — If you're a golfer, you can enjoy the Riverwalk Golf Course, Tecolote Canyon Golf Course, and, for our many military personnel, the
   Admiral Baker Golf and Recreation Area. The many paths along the San Diego River which runs through Mission Valley provide great opportunities for biking, skateboarding, roller blading, walking, or jogging.
7. World-class shopping — Malls and shopping centers abound throughout Mission Valley. The largest include
   Fashion Valley
   Fenton Marketplace
   Friars Road Shopping Center
   Hazard Center
   Mission Valley East
   Mission Valley West
   Old Town
   Park Valley Center
   Rio Vista
8. A beautiful branch of the San Diego Library
9. San Diego Trolley — There are ten Trolley stations in Mission Valley, including two Transit Centers where you can catch busses and other rail transportation to other points throughout San Diego County and the world. From east to west, they are:
   Grantville
   Mission San Diego
   Qualcomm Stadium
   Fenton Parkway
   Rio Vista
   Mission Valley Center
   Hazard Center
   Fashion Valley Transit Center
   Morena/Linda Vista
   Old Town Transit Center

If you can't find things to do in Mission Valley, it might mean you're working too much! Take some time out to enjoy eveything that Mission Valley has to offer!

Try RusselRayPhotos.com for inexpensive, royalty-free photos.

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ActiveRain Symphony Station
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