What’s it like to have your hand on the pulse of the Gaslamp Quarter?

The Gaslamp Quarter is ready to rebound.

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Just ask Jimmy Parker, executive director the past six years of the Gaslamp Quarter Association, which protects and promotes the downtown historical district that is the city’s entertainment hub. The Gaslamp, Parker says, has taken a hit in these challenging economic times (business is down, he estimates, 15 to 20 percent).

But Parker is optimistic.

“I would say that with the economic downturn, we took our lumps like everyong else,” he says. “But we’ve picked up steam since Mardi Gras and it’s been exciting down here.”

In fact, in spite of these hard times we’re enduring, the Gaslamp Quarter has seen a number of new businesses open. High-profile businesses.

For one, Fluxx, a new, high-end nightclub at Fourth and Island in the old Aubergine space.

For another, the Melting Pot, a fondue-theme restaurant that now occupies the former Dakota space near the corner of Fifth and E (plus Vin de Syrah Spirits & Wine Parlor in the basement space below).

The Bitter End at Fifth and F is now the Tipsy Crow, and the upscale Ivy Hotel at Sixth and F has become part of Hyatt’s Andaz chain.

These are but a few of the changes in the Quarter about which Parker is excited. And there’s more to come, including the opening, by midsummer or fall, of the restaurant Seersucker in the erstwhile Z Gallerie space on Fifth Avenue by after-dark impresario James Brennan (Stingaree) and celebrity chef Brian Malarkey (The Oceanaire).

None of this would be happening if we’d all decided to just hoard every buck we have and cocoon at home.

“I think people have done an economy shift,” says Parker. “We still like going out to dinner. We’re not spending as much. We’re picking our moments.” At the same time, he added, “Restaurants have found their value menu. They’ve been able to look and see what people really want.”

The wild card in how Gaslamp Quarter businesses fare this summer may be the San Diego Padres, who have begun 2010 season play in nearby East Village’s Petco Park.

“This is the one time of the year that San Diegans think of San Diego’s downtown again,” says Parker. “They’re going to be marketed to. They’re going to see it on TV. That is huge for my businesses. It’s a reminder. That’s what a lot of marketing is. It reminds people that ‘Hey, there are still things going on.’ They start thinking that it’s now time to get out and enjoy the day (or night) downtown.”

Even if the Padres underachieve this season (which would be nothing new), the presence of the ballpark remains a plus for Gaslamp merchants, according to Parker: “It’s been a catalyst. It brought a whole group of people downtown who finally got over their fear of one-way streets and parking and big buildings, and they’ve continued to come.”

Sounds like that famous whispered line from Field of Dreams, doesn’t it?