Miramar College and Hourglass Field Community Park History

Miramar College, began in 1969 on land originally called Hourglass Field, since it had been an auxiliary U.S. Navy landing field with the outer boundaries shaped like an hourglass. In this early aerial photograph (to the left) of the College’s land (approx. 1970) the “touch and go” field is quite apparent.

In 1941 the U.S. Navy acquired 170 acres from the San Diego Water Agency to build an airfield. The land was relinquished to civilian aircraft use after World War II. From 1957 to 1959, Hourglass Field was used by the California Sports Car Club and the San Diego Regional Sports Car Club of America. In 1965, the San Diego Unified School District, which at the time administered community colleges, as well as a K-12 education, acquired Hourglass Field and the surrounding area from the U.S. Navy for free with the condition that an educational facility was built within 18 months. In 1969, what was to become Miramar College opened as a $1 million facility, the Miramar Regional Occupational Training Center, consisting of a main classroom building, fire training range and police training range.

On September 25, 1989 the Community of Mira Mesa, the City of San Diego and the San Diego Community College district entered into a long term lease, which included the city building a 30 acre community park which included sports fields, swimming pool and a fieldhouse. The land was supplied by the college district and most of funding for construction was supplied through the Mira Mesa Facility Benefit Assessment fund that built the facility that exists today. To honor the history of the area the Community of Mira Mesa with the support of the College District and the City of San Diego named Mira Mesa’s second Community Park “Hourglass Field Community Park”.

The above history was taken from Images of America MIRA MESA, by Pam Stevens page 27.