Old Map of Coronado, California by USGS, 1967 – San Diego, Point Loma & Silver Strand

Titled “Point Loma Quadrangle,” this US Geological Survey map presents the coastal heart of San Diego County with the exacting clarity for which the USGS is renowned. Surveyed in 1967 and published with a 1970 imprint, it captures a pivotal moment in the region’s modern development, when postwar growth, military infrastructure, and coastal recreation were reshaping Southern California. At the 1:24,000 scale, the map offers an intimate view of Coronado, San Diego, Point Loma, the Silver Strand, and the waters of San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Its disciplined grid, fine contouring, and crisp symbology make it both a scientific document and a richly layered portrait of a changing metropolitan shoreline.

The US Geological Survey brought to this map nearly a century of cartographic authority. Founded in 1879, the USGS became the national standard-bearer for topographic mapping, producing sheets vital to engineers, planners, soldiers, scientists, and explorers. In the “Point Loma Quadrangle,” that institutional precision is immediately visible: roads, railways, shoreline forms, urban blocks, military reservations, and elevation contours are harmonized into a clean, legible composition. Blue tones define ocean, bay, and coastal waters, while red highlights built-up areas and transport corridors, giving the map a vivid mid-century visual language. It is practical, but also elegant—the kind of government cartography whose beauty lies in restraint, accuracy, and the quiet confidence of measured detail.

Geographically, the map is dominated by the meeting of land and water: the Pacific Ocean to the west, San Diego Bay curving inland, and the long, narrow Silver Strand tying Coronado to the mainland. Point Loma itself appears as a commanding coastal promontory, historically important for navigation, defense, and the entrance to one of the finest natural harbors on the Pacific coast. Across the bay, San Diego’s urban fabric spreads inland in orderly neighborhoods and transportation lines, while Coronado’s distinctive island-like setting is shown with beaches, waterfront areas, and the presence of naval installations. The resulting view is one of maritime geography at its most strategic and visually compelling.

The military dimension of the landscape is especially significant. San Diego’s identity in the twentieth century was deeply shaped by the United States Navy, and this quadrangle records that relationship in spatial form. The Naval Air Station at Coronado, coastal defense areas, and associated infrastructure reveal how geography, harbor access, and open water combined to make the region indispensable to national defense. Yet the map also balances this strategic landscape with civic and recreational San Diego: parks, residential districts, beaches, roads, and rail lines share the sheet with military sites. This juxtaposition gives the map unusual historical richness, showing a city where everyday coastal life and naval power existed side by side.

As a record of the late 1960s coastline, the “Point Loma Quadrangle” is particularly evocative. It preserves San Diego and Coronado before later decades of intensified urbanization, waterfront redevelopment, expanded transportation networks, and environmental transformation. The contours and land-use patterns allow the viewer to read the natural framework beneath the modern city: bluffs, lowlands, beaches, bayside flats, and the slender geometry of the Silver Strand. For collectors drawn to coastal California, military history, urban planning, or the aesthetics of American topographic mapping, this sheet offers an unusually complete portrait. It is at once a navigational instrument, a planning document, and a finely composed historical snapshot of one of the West Coast’s most iconic harbor landscapes.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Coronado
• San Diego
• Silver Strand
• Point Loma
• Naval Air Station
• South Bay
• Pacific Ocean
• California coastline
• Various parks and recreational areas
• Residential neighborhoods
• Major roads and railway lines
• Beaches and waterfront areas

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map of the Point Loma Quadrangle.
• Dated 1967, with a 1970 imprint.
• Published by the US Geological Survey, known for detailed and precise topographical mapping.
• Uses a clear color scheme, with shades of blue for water bodies and vibrant reds for populated areas.
• Displays detailed elevation contours, land use patterns, and transportation networks.
• Shows the area before substantial later urban development, offering insight into regional planning and environmental change.
• Features a highly organized grid system typical of USGS mapping standards, supporting clarity and precision.

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