Free Concert to Mark Transit Centennial

The San Diego Symphony will salute the centennial of mass transit in the city with a free pops concert Aug. 12, as part of a street celebration in the Gaslamp Quarter downtown.

The block party will begin at 5 p.m. along 4th Avenue, between Martin Luther King Way and J Street, and on Island Avenue, between 4th and 5th avenues. Admission will be free to those in Victorian-era dress or with valid transit passes, tickets or transfers. Free tickets also will be handed out by local merchants and given away at the entrances to the celebration.

The first public transit system in the City of San Diego--a horse-drawn trolley--began operation in the summer of 1886, running from the foot of 5th Avenue north to Broadway, then west on Broadway to the bay.

Bleachers seating 1,200 will be erected for the open-air concert, which begins at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Horton Grand Hotel and William Heath Davis house. Shuttle buses will run from downtown points to the concert site, and there will be free parking for concert-goers after 5 p.m. in the Horton Plaza Shopping Center garage. Balloons and souvenir pins will be given away. Food booths and a beer garden will be open during the celebration.