The Golden Era was a literary newspaper that originated in San Francisco in 1852. It was notable for publishing pieces by renowned Western authors like Mark Twain and Bret Harte.
In 1887 the periodical, then a monthly magazine, was brought by James Harrison Wagner to downtown San Diego. It occupied the first floor of a building that stands at 919 Fourth Avenue in today’s Gaslamp Quarter. Much of its focus then would concern the development of San Diego and the West in the late 19th century.
A historical plaque describes the Lawyer’s Block Building, 1889.
Before its completion, 20 spaces of this building’s second floor were rented to some of early San Diego’s best known lawyers, making this an unofficial headquarters for litigators. The first floor had a more literary history. In 1889 it housed the West Coast’s pioneer illustrated literary periodical, Golden Era. The San Diego Union also had its offices here, with printing presses in the basement.
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