Victorian brick storefronts under cast iron balconies, and the Hilton exterior Veronica Mars used as the Neptune Grand.
What Gaslamp Quarter looks like
runs the length of the district as its main commercial street, lined with two to four storey brick buildings from the 1880s and 1890s. Cast iron storefronts and wrought iron balconies run along the block, with painted wall signs above some of the ground floor windows. Glass office towers rise directly behind the block on the cross streets.
The , at 835 to 837 Fifth Avenue, is a four storey Baroque Revival building from 1887 with twin corner towers. Its granite facade was cut on the East Coast and shipped around Cape Horn.
The Backesto Building at 614 Fifth Avenue dates from 1873. The at 526 Market Street is red brick with arched window surrounds and a wrought iron balcony over the sidewalk.
The stands at 868 Fourth Avenue, a Spanish Colonial Revival movie palace from 1924 with ground floor storefronts under its marquee and offices above. It reopened as a performing arts venue in 2008.
Fifth Avenue's sidewalks are brick, lit by globe streetlamps. An arched sign reading Gaslamp Quarter spans the street, lit at night, with the trolley line running beneath it. Restaurant patios and string lights fill the block after dark.
Shot in Gaslamp Quarter
A historical marker on the Manila Cafe building's storefront on Fifth Avenue names it as a backdrop for two films shot in the neighborhood. The 's exterior, at 401 K Street, stood in for the fictional Neptune Grand hotel across several seasons of the series Veronica Mars.
In God We Tru$t, 1980
A historical marker mounted at the storefront names the building as a filming backdrop for two productions shot in San Diego. In God We Tru$t (1980) was directed by Marty Feldman, who also starred in it. Writer's Block, starring Morgan Fairchild, used the same storefront.
What Gaslamp Quarter can double for
Pioneer Square in Seattle, Washington
Pioneer Square's commercial blocks were rebuilt in brick and terracotta after an 1889 fire, at a similar two to four storey scale to Fifth Avenue. Cast iron storefronts and ornate cornices give it the same texture. Pioneer Square's ironwork pergola and totem pole need cropping out of a wide shot, and its streets are flatter and wider than Fifth Avenue's narrower blocks. Try searching cast iron storefronts now.
Larimer Square's block of Victorian storefronts is strung with string lighting overhead year round, giving it the same lit commercial block character as Fifth Avenue after dark. The Square runs only one block, and Denver's modern high rises are visible above the roofline in a wide establishing shot. Try searching Victorian storefronts string lighting now.
Deadwood, South Dakota
Deadwood's Main Street has brick commercial buildings from the same 1880s rebuilding period, at a smaller, mostly two storey scale with fewer cast iron survivals than Fifth Avenue. Deadwood's Main Street is narrower and lined with casino signage today, so a period shot needs tighter framing to avoid the modern storefronts. Try searching 1880s Main Street now.
