North Park
Quick reading: North Park is a central San Diego neighborhood whose heart is 30th Street and University Avenue.[1] Remington Tattoo Parlor is a few blocks south, at 3009 Myrtle Avenue near 30th and Upas.[2]
What is North Park?
North Park is a neighborhood of San Diego and also a larger “community” defined by the City for planning purposes. As commonly described, the neighborhood is bounded by Park Boulevard and University Heights on the northwest, Florida Canyon on the west, Balboa Park on the southwest, Switzer Canyon and South Park on the south, and Interstate 805 and City Heights on the east.[1] The intersection of 30th Street and University Avenue, where the North Park sign stands, is usually treated as the heart of the neighborhood.[1]
Remington Tattoo Parlor sits a few blocks south of that intersection, at 3009 Myrtle Avenue, and describes its location as near the corner of 30th and Upas.[2] The shop’s own copy calls North Park “the heart of San Diego.”[2]
A short history
The name traces to a lemon grove. In 1893 merchant Joseph Nash sold 40 acres northeast of what is now Balboa Park to James Monroe Hartley, whose family struggled to irrigate the trees, hauling water up a wagon trail that later became Pershing Drive.[1] The area became known as Hartley’s North Park. In 1911 Hartley’s son Jack and his brother-in-law William Jay Stevens developed the land into one of San Diego’s early residential and commercial districts, and in 1912 they put up the Stevens building at the northwest corner of 30th and University.[1]
Streetcars, spurred by the 1915 Panama-California Exposition and built under John D. Spreckels, connected North Park to the rest of the city until they were retired in 1949.[1] That period of growth is the backdrop for the Remington shop page’s statement that its building dates from 1914, discussed on name and building.[2]
Architecture near the shop
The Morley Field area of North Park is lined with Craftsman and California bungalows, many designed by builder David Owen Dryden. On 23 June 2011 the City’s Historical Resources Board voted 8–0 to establish the North Park Dryden Historic District along 28th Street and Pershing Avenue between Upas and Landis Streets; 104 of its 136 homes were approved as contributing resources.[1] The district’s southern edge, Upas Street, is the same street the tattoo shop uses as a landmark, a few blocks to the east.[2][1]
The timing is a coincidence worth noting rather than a connection: the historic district was approved in June 2011, the same year the shop page says Remington’s building was restored and the shop opened.[1][2][3]
A creative setting
The shop’s early posts reflect a neighborhood of restaurants, bars and live music: its 2011 grand-opening invitation placed it between Lefty’s Pizza and Mosaic Wine Bar and listed a band for the evening.[4] The shop also calls itself a parlor and gallery, and Terry Ribera’s official page says he paints, sketches and sculpts when he is not tattooing.[5][6]
Getting there
The shop publishes driving directions from Interstate 805: exit at University Avenue / North Park, turn left on University, left on 30th Street, and left on Myrtle Avenue.[2] The address is in ZIP code 92104. A map is on location and map, and visiting hours are on hours and visiting.
Common questions
Is Remington Tattoo in North Park?
Yes. The shop gives its address as 3009 Myrtle Ave, San Diego, CA 92104, in North Park, near 30th and Upas.
Where does the name North Park come from?
From James Monroe Hartley’s land northeast of Balboa Park, which became known as Hartley’s North Park.
What is the heart of North Park?
The intersection of 30th Street and University Avenue, where the North Park sign stands.
See also
Sources cited
- ^ a b c d e f g h i North Park, San Diego. Wikipedia. Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g The Tattoo Shop – Remington. Remington Tattoo Parlor (remingtontattoo.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ Meet Terry Ribera of Remington Tattoo Parlor + Gallery in North Park. SDVoyager. Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ Grand opening party, 8 October 2011. Remington Tattoo Parlor (remingtontattoo.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ About Remington Tattoo Parlor. Remington Tattoo Parlor (remingtontattoo.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ Terry Ribera (official artist page). Remington Tattoo Parlor (remingtontattoo.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.