William Heath Davis House

The William Heath Davis House is located in the historic Gaslamp District of San Diego, California. The house is significant for several reasons, including being the former home of William Heath Davis, the man responsible for the development of San Diego. Heath had a desire to build a town by the San Diego Bay and used pre-fabricated housing to accomplish this. The home was also home to Alonzo Horton, the man credited for being the founder of the city. Horton bought half of the home, arriving in San Diego also with a desire to start a town near the bay. Davis' attempt to build San Diego had failed, but Horton had marketing skills that Davis lacked and in no time at all, he had created the city. The home was originally used as the office quarters of pre-civil war soldiers and it served as San Diego's county hospital. Some believe it was inhabited during World War I by a German spy. It is the oldest wooden structure in the city and perhaps most impressive, it served as a home until 1981 without ever being updated. Residents did not even have access to electricity. Today, visitors to the Gaslamp District can tour the home and learn about the lives of some of San Diego's most colorful characters.