San Diego, a major coastal city in Southern California, has over 200 high-rises mainly in the central business district of downtown San Diego. In the city there are 42 buildings that stand taller than 300 ft. In the 1970s, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began restricting downtown building height to maximum of 500 ft within a 2.3 mi radius of San Diego International Airport's single runway. The tallest building in the city is the 34-story One America Plaza, completed in 1991, which stands 500 ft tall.

History

The history of skyscrapers in San Diego began with the completion of the U.S. Grant Hotel in 1910. The building, at a height of 211 ft, remained the tallest building in San Diego until 1927, when the El Cortez Hotel at 310 ft took its place. The skyscraper's height was surpassed in 1967 by the 530 B Street, which stood as the tallest building for two decades with its height of 388 ft. In 1989, with a height of 499 ft, Symphony Towers gained the title, before being passed two years later by One America Plaza. During the 1990s, the city was compared to a "handful of tools in a scarcely stocked toolbox" and a "mouth with a lot of missing teeth". Development in the late 1990s and 2000s led to many new high-rises, mainly residential skyscrapers. Many of these new residential buildings are pairs of twin towers."I believe that our skyline is a collective composition of many buildings. We don't have to have one landmark like the Empire State Building or Petronas towers. I think the landmark is the entire Downtown." , San Diego is ranked 98th in the world and 3rd in California with its 162 high-rises. However, due to the FAA height restriction, none of San Diego's buildings are within the top 100 tallest buildings in the United States. , there are around 20 buildings that have been proposed, approved, or are currently undergoing construction which will join the tallest buildings in San Diego (over 300 feet).

Cityscape

Tallest buildings

This list ranks San Diego skyscrapers that stand at least 300 ft tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.

Tallest under construction

There is one building under construction in San Diego that is planned to rise at least 300 ft (as of July 2023). Under construction buildings that have already been topped out are also included.

Timeline of tallest buildings

There have been five buildings that have held the title of tallest building in San Diego including the current tallest building, the One America Plaza.