San Diego's Contributions
Tyler Cowen asks what San Diego has contributed to American culture. Having grown up in San Diego County (though I haven't lived there in almost 20 years), I feel obligated to respond.
He mentions Eddie Vedder (though as a San Diego teenager in the 90s, we weren't big fans of his ignoring his homeland, even though we were big fans of his band's music). Frankly, we didn't get a lot of musicians who came from and stayed in San Diego; LA is just a couple hours north, and it pulled successful musicians from its southern neighbor. (Heck, a number of my friends who are now professional musicians have relocated to LA, though I suspect most of them would rather live in San Diego). As a result, we were big fans of Stone Temple Pilots who, though derivative, claimed San Diego as their home. It's also worth mentioning Simon & Simon, which helped alleviate my homesickness freshman year of college.
For my money, KSDS 88.3, out of San Diego, is the best jazz radio station in the country. I've listened to it from New York (which doesn't have a jazz station, though you can pick up Newark's 88.3 if you're lucky) and Chicago (which also doesn't have a jazz station, though the College of DuPage broadcasts and I can pick it up if I'm going the right direction in my car).
People seem to be mentioning the Zoo (though I prefer the Wild Animal Park San Diego Zoo Safari Park). But nobody's mentioning Balboa Park, with its museums, green space, gardens, etc.
If you're there with kids, of course, The New Children's Museum is a spectacular introduction to art and artists from San Diego and Mexico.
La Jolla has a ton of art galleries (though whether they're good or not I don't know; like I said, it's been almost two decades since I actually lived there).
But if you're looking for widespread cultural influence, you definitely shouldn't look past the La Jolla Playhouse, which has originated a number of musicals that eventually found success on Broadway and in tours (The Who's Tommy was during my high school days, but there have been plenty more).
I'm sure there's stuff I'm missing--it's been years since I've spent time with California literature; I know San Diego has popularized fish tacos, but I have to admit I'm less familiar with the city's cuisines than I am in places I lived as an adult. But it's clear that San Diego has had some broader influence on the American culture, as well as its own pockets of culture that haven't exploded into mainstream life but are vibrant in their own right.











