Name and building
Quick reading: Remington Tattoo takes its name from the Remington typewriter of the 1900s.[1][2] The shop page says its building was built in 1914 and restored in 2011; a 2017 interview calls it a 1930s Spanish building, and both descriptions are reported here.[4][2]
Why “Remington”?
The official about page opens with the name: Remington Tattoo is “named after the Remington 1900’s typewriter.”[1] The 2017 SDVoyager interview with owner Terry Ribera gives the same origin.[2] The Remington typewriter was one of the best-known American office machines of the early twentieth century, and the choice fits the shop’s stated design theme. The about page says the shop will “bring you back in time to a post-industrial revolution 1920’s workshop,” and that it honors the heritage and history of tattooing.[1]
Tattooing shares an origin story with office machinery that the name may nod to: the first electric tattoo machine patented in the United States, by Samuel O’Reilly in 1891, was adapted from Thomas Edison’s electric pen, an early document-copying device.[3] The shop’s sources do not say that this is why the name was chosen, so it is offered here only as context.
When was the building built?
Two public descriptions of the building do not match exactly, and this wiki reports both. The official shop page says the parlor was “built in 1914 and restored in 2011.”[4] The December 2017 SDVoyager interview describes the purchase of a building across the street from the original shop, and calls it a 1930s Spanish building.[2]
There are several ways the two could be reconciled. A 1914 structure could have been remodeled in a Spanish Revival style in the 1930s, a period when that style was common in San Diego; or one of the descriptions could be loose. No county assessor or historic-resources record for 3009 Myrtle Avenue was retrieved for this build, so neither date is treated as settled. The 2011 restoration date on the shop page is consistent with the opening year given by both the interview and Ribera’s biography.[4][2][5]
From a small room to 3009 Myrtle
According to the interview, the shop’s first space was just under 600 square feet, and the move came when Ribera bought the building across the street.[2] The official site’s archive includes a post headed “Remington Tattoo is finally open,” and a separate invitation to a grand-opening party on 8 October 2011 placed the shop between Lefty’s Pizza and Mosaic Wine Bar.[6][7] The present public address on every official page, and on Google, is 3009 Myrtle Avenue.[4][8]
What is inside
The shop page describes the interior as industrial and modern combined with an apothecary or artist’s studio, and says the aim is to combine tradition and nostalgia with a modern, clean environment.[4] It calls the parlor “among the most original in the city,” which is the shop’s own characterization. No interior photographs are reproduced here; the shop’s own pages and its Google listing carry photos.
The block
The shop describes its location as near the corner of 30th and Upas in North Park.[4] North Park’s commercial core developed from 1911 onward around 30th and University, a few blocks north, and the neighborhood’s housing stock includes many early twentieth-century bungalows.[9] A building dating from 1914, as the shop page says, would belong to that first wave of development. See North Park.
Common questions
What is Remington Tattoo named after?
The Remington typewriter of the 1900s, according to the official about page and a 2017 interview.
When was the building built?
The shop page says 1914, restored in 2011. A 2017 interview calls it a 1930s Spanish building. Both are reported.
How big was the first shop?
Just under 600 square feet, according to the 2017 interview.
See also
Sources cited
- ^ a b c About Remington Tattoo Parlor. Remington Tattoo Parlor (remingtontattoo.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f Meet Terry Ribera of Remington Tattoo Parlor + Gallery in North Park. SDVoyager. Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ Tattoo machine (history). Wikipedia. Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f The Tattoo Shop – Remington. Remington Tattoo Parlor (remingtontattoo.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ Terry Ribera (official artist page). Remington Tattoo Parlor (remingtontattoo.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ Remington Tattoo is finally open. Remington Tattoo Parlor (remingtontattoo.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ Grand opening party, 8 October 2011. Remington Tattoo Parlor (remingtontattoo.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ Remington Tattoo Parlor, Google Business Profile (CID 9649323829549075776). Google Maps. Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ North Park, San Diego. Wikipedia. Retrieved 9 November 2026.