|
Big Stone Lodge, Poway
 Long after the San Diego-Poway-Escondido stagecoach line stopped running, Dr. Homer Hansen and Daniel Stuck purchased land along Old Pomerado Road in the 1920s, envisioning a resort complex set within a grove of old oak trees. First came the gas station in 1925, then the Big Stone Lodge with its dance hall and bandstand. A restaurant and bar were added around 1930. While the resort was never fully realized, the site served as a popular roadside rest stop and thrived as a local social center for decades.
Designated Historic Site Number 16 by the City of Poway, the Big Stone Lodge is comprised of gigantic roof beams and large granite boulders thought to have been brought down from nearby hillsides. Its decline began in the 1990s when Old Pomerado Road/Hwy 395 was straightened, the Lodge was hidden from the street. Further trouble arose with a new housing subdivision built nearby, and the residents began complaining regularly about the noise. The Lodge, which had developed a reputation as a rowdy country and western bar, closed soon after that.
Poway's Redevelopment Agency purchased the property in 2003 to protect and preserve the remaining Lodge complex but funding was not a priority. A 2005 historical evaluation recommended considering it a historical district and laid out multiple options for restoration. Nevertheless, the City Council concluded that the buildings could not be saved and that a passive park would be the best possible use of the land. Now owned by the Poway Housing Authority, the Big Stone Lodge is in danger of demolition, based on a dated Environmental Impact Report from 2005. In September 2019, SOHO informed Poway's City Council that the complex should be evaluated by a structural engineer and a new EIR must be prepared to address current conditions and changed circumstances. A commitment to preserving the Big Stone Lodge—a vibrant and exceptional piece of Poway and San Diego cultural and architectural history—must be included in any new plan.
Please contact Mayor Steve Vaus (svaus@poway.org) and the Poway City Council (councilmembers@poway.org) to share your memories of the site, concern for the demolition, and support for preservation of the Big Stone Lodge to be rehabilitated.
The decaying Big Stone Lodge. Photo by Criselda Yee
|
2022 | 2021
2020
2019
Newly Added
Remaining from past years
Saved/Removed from the list
2018 |
2017 |
2016
2015 |
2014 |
2013 |
2012 |
2011
2010 |
2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006
2005 |
2004 |
2003 |
2002 |
2001
|
