The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Clock Tower in the East Village of downtown San Diego can be seen from numerous vantage points throughout the city and Coronado. I frequently admire it from afar when walking on the Bayshore Bikeway in Coronado. Too far away to actually read the time, but it's still a reminder that time keeps moving along.
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| MTS CLOCK TOWER |
There are no bells or chimes, and it is really quite plain with just one large white clock face on all four sides of the tower that is adorned with a white pointed roof. When it lights up at night it is especially striking. Standing about 300 feet tall, it is considerably shorter than many of the nearby structures.
After admiring it from a distance, I decided to head over to the East Village to get a closer look. The MTS Clock Tower is located at the 12th & Imperial Transit Center near Petco Park and just south of the San Diego Central Library. The tall gray cement structure, with red-steel beams at the base, was built in 1988. It sits on a plaza adjacent to the James R. Mill Building/Trolley Towers that serve as a hub for the county Health and Human Services Agency. The station is a major transfer point for various trolley lines and buses. Padre fans often pass by or use this stop when attending baseball games. It's surrounded by parking structures, residential construction projects, and the San Diego Trolley maintenance yard.
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San Diego is not known for tall or famous landmark buildings. Its skyline is spread out and consists of many different types of architecture. The nearby airport serves as a deterrent to extremely tall structures. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restricts downtown building height to a maximum of 500 feet within a one and one-half mile radius of the San Diego International Airport. The tallest building in the city is the 24-story One America Plaza that was completed in 1991 and stands 500 feet tall.
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| SAN DIEGO SKYLINE |
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