To spot the Lewis Brick Block, just glance to your right for a tall, bright red-brick building with big arched windows and a colorful “my yogurt” sign above the entrance at 538 5th Avenue.
Welcome to the lively Lewis Brick Block, once the Stingaree Hotel-back when San Diego’s streets were filled with rowdy saloons, smoky cigar shops, and mysterious visitors. Imagine it’s 1885, you’re standing here, and the scents of tobacco and fresh bread float through the air as Joseph Hensley’s cigar shop gets busy downstairs. Crowds would wander in and out, some seeking a sharp new hat or a billiard game, others hunting rumors about what really happened last night upstairs.
Through the decades, the old brick walls soaked up every riotous echo: fiery preachers from the Lighthouse Revival Center booming from the doorway, laughter from boisterous billiard halls, and, eventually, kids begging their parents for frozen yogurt. Can you picture it? This sturdy Victorian building has hosted its fair share of wild stories-maybe even a scandal or two. And just think, every window and brick still hears the hum of the past, even today. So next time you grab a sandwich or a frozen yogurt here, remember: you’re sharing your snack with over a century of secrets and shenanigans!
