What makes San Diego, San Diego? That’s the question at the heart of this issue. Over the course of eight weeks, San Diego Magazine staff and I spoke to dozens of people, from long-time leaders at some of our biggest institutions to emerging artists working alone at night in studio apartments after

People remember the first time they see Joe Dreamz. Mine was a mile into the 2023 Carlsbad Half Marathon. He was standing on a speaker in the middle of the course, singing: “Hey you with the shoes, are you living Joe Dreamz?” Clearly not. I’m running uphill at 7 in the morning, I thought. Months lat

Hawaiian shirts hang from the ceiling like Jimmy Buffett chandeliers. Shelves of Waterford Crystal, uranium glass, and 1930s Depression-era glass line the narrow walkways, the latter mass-produced during a time when few could afford fine china. There’s enough to pour a mai tai for every San Diegan w