Did You Know Mark Hamill Has A Street Named After Him?

Have You Been There?

By Culture SlatePublished 3 years ago • 4 min read

San Diego, the second largest city in the state of California, is known for its good weather year-round, and sandy beaches. In addition to the world famous San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and SeaWorld, many people flock to the city to enjoy what it has to offer. Every (normal) year, thousands congregate at the San Diego Convention Center for the San Diego Comic-Con, which has grown to become one of the largest celebrations of everything pop culture.

Nestled in the quiet neighborhood of Clairemont Mesa East is a certain intersection of Mt. Abernathy and Castleton. Incidentally, one of this author’s favorite comic book stores is less than a mile away. A driver with sharp eyes, and obviously the people who live in this area, might have noticed a certain brown sign above the official blue signs marking Mt Abernathy Ave. and Castleton Dr. That is right. This is the site of the “Honorary Mark Hamill Dr.”

Mark Hamill, who famously portrayed the role of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars saga and voiced the characters of Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender, actually spent some time in sunny San Diego. A son of a U.S. Navy captain, Hamill and his family would move around a lot while he was growing up. Hamill was born in Oakland, California. He would spend his elementary school years in Virginia. At the age of 11, his family moved to the 5900 block of Castleton Drive in San Diego. Hamill would spend four years here, which he claimed were the longest he spent anywhere. He attended Hale Junior High School, and spent his freshman year at the nearby Madison High School before moving back to Virginia for his sophomore year, and then Okinawa, Japan for his junior and senior years.

When he first heard a street was being renamed after him, Hamill thought that he was being pranked. It was not a joke. On July 30, 2017, the city of San Diego held a dedication ceremony at the intersection of Mt. Abernathy Ave. and Castleton Dr. unveiling the sign for Mark Hamill Dr. The crowd cheered as a police officer used a green lightsaber to help uncover the street sign. Many would appear in costumes to welcome their favorite Star Wars hero. The house closest to the sign was decorated with life-size Star Wars cardboard cutouts. Surrounded by fans, Mark Hamill explained how he truly felt about the gesture.

"Part of me is honored because the community reached out to make me a part of something I've wanted for so long - a sense of place. I don't really have a hometown, but if I could pick a hometown it would certainly be San Diego."

An article by Syfy Wire revealed the story behind Mark Hamill Dr. It was no simple task, as the writer of the article discovered after he requested all the related documents from the City of San Diego. He called it a six-month long “Jedi’s quest.”

The idea of naming a road after Mark Hamill did not come from a Star Wars fan. It originated with angry football fans. On January 12, 2017, the San Diego Chargers announced that they were moving to Los Angeles after having spent 55 years in San Diego. The residents living on Charger Blvd. in the same Clairemont Mesa East neighborhood contacted their city councilmember Chris Cate, and brought up the idea of renaming the street. A 79-year-old resident suggested renaming the street after Mark Hamill, who had lived in the area.

In the next few months, the residents would realize that it was no simple process to change the name of a street. The city required a petition with at least 25 percent of the residents’ signatures. In this case, they would only need signatures of three of the eleven neighbors living on Charger Blvd. Then, it will come down to a vote by the local community board, and a final vote by the full city council. Even though there were only 11 houses on Charger Blvd, they were only able to get two signatures. Some were not home, or not answering the door. Some residents supported the name change, but could not sign the petition as they were renters. Some did not want to go through the ordeal of changing their address. That was when someone suggested Castleton Drive, a smaller street nearby where Hamill actually used to live.

In April 2017, city staff discovered that, per policy, Councilmember Cate could pay for the renaming from a slush fund reserved for one-off community projects, allowing them to jump over the financial hurdle. They also discovered the newly created “honorary” street-naming process. There would be less objection as no one would have to change their addresses. The Clairemont Town Council gave their approval. Then there was more bureaucratic red tape as the transportation and stormwater department had to sign off on the name change. Finally, on June 20, 2017, the San Diego City Council unanimously approved the street name change.

The date for the dedication ceremony was set for July 30, 2017, so as not to conflict with Hamill’s commitment with D23. (Incidentally, San Diego Comic-Con was held from July 20- 23 that year.) At the ceremony, Councilmember Cate made the official dedication and revealed another surprise. The city of San Diego had proclaimed July 30, 2017 Mark Hamill Day. While Star Wars fans know May the 4th as Star Wars Day, San Diegans would remember this day as Mark Hamill Day.