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SOHO's 2023 Most Endangered List
Now in its 36th year, SOHO's Most Endangered List continues to serve as a rallying cry to raise awareness and focus attention on sites threatened by deterioration, lack of maintenance, insufficient funds, or inappropriate development, and to bolster local advocacy efforts and build support for each property or site’s eventual protection and/or preservation.
The Most Endangered List of historic resources serves as a comprehensive compilation of historic sites and locations that currently face imminent risk of permanent loss. Its primary objective is to generate public awareness regarding the vulnerable state of these sites within our community and to motivate individuals to take proactive measures for their preservation. The selection process involves assessing the level of threat faced by each site, while considering their cultural and historical significance.
SOHO’s list is a call to collective responsibility. Historic landmarks speak volumes about our region’s character, echoing our narratives across generations. Yet, these treasures stand threatened year after year, vulnerable to being erased entirely. The list serves as a compass, guiding our community toward preservation-minded action. It waves a red flag of urgency, drawing the attention to all who hold a stake in and value our shared heritage.
When evaluating a potential site for inclusion on the list, SOHO considers a range of factors, including significance, local support for preservation, the urgency of the threat, and potential solutions to that threat. Sites do not need to be nationally significant or famous to make the list. They need only be places that matter to a community.
Given the vast expanse of San Diego County, there may be endangered sites that remain unknown to many of us. The community’s active involvement becomes crucial in identifying at-risk locations. To facilitate this, SOHO provides this submission form that allows anyone to report endangered buildings and sites year round.
It is important to note that the annual list might not encompass the entire spectrum of cultural diversity present in our region. The list focuses on sites that face the most severe threats at the time of the listing and that we are aware of, which are often unpredictable and unforeseen.
Presently, one of San Diego's most culturally diverse historic sites, Presidio Park, remains under threat and has been on the list since 2016 for a variety of issues. This nationally significant settlement holds immense historical and cultural value, as it marks not only the Spanish entry into California but also the presence of San Diego’s first Black residents. Its inclusion on the Most Endangered List for eight consecutive years highlights the urgent need for collective action to safeguard its legacy and its very land formation. You can find more information about Presidio Park and its importance to the diverse communities whose history it holds.
Learn more about the resources in the menu at right.
San Diego’s Historic Neighborhoods |
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San Diego's historic neighborhoods represent an essential part of our city's cultural heritage. They embody a valuable, authentic legacy, providing a tangible connection to the past, ongoing pride and bonds, and a sense of continuity for the future. ... Read more |
Vallecito Stage Station, San Diego County |
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The Vallecito Stage Station holds a pivotal place in California's rich history as a vital stagecoach stop during the mid-19th century. Serving as a key resting point along the Butterfield Overland Mail route, the adobe structure played a crucial role in connecting the east and west... Read more |
2460 B Street Victorian, Golden Hill |
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The primary threat to the 1897 Clark McKee/William Stewart House is demolition by neglect. Abandoned and unsecured, this historic site is in a state of disrepair that has reached critical levels. Large, gaping holes in the roof have hastened the building's deteriorating structural integrity for several years. ... Read more |
San Diego’s Historic Streetlights |
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Picturesque historic streetlights have graced the streets and neighborhoods of San Diego for well over one hundred years, and now they are facing a dire and unnecessary threat of destruction.
Despite being structurally sound and possessing the potential to endure for another century with reasonable repairs and minimal restoration, these historic gems are in immediate and imminent danger due to the City of San Diego's misguided, and fiscally irresponsible plan to... Read more |
Presidio Park, Old Town San Diego |
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Presidio Park has held a four-alarm spot on SOHO’s Most Endangered List, first in 2005, when plans for a destructive City of San Diego makeover loomed, then from 2016 to the present, for reasons including lack of maintenance. Presidio Park, which includes the Junípero... Read more |
California Theatre & Caliente Racetrack Sign,
San Diego |
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The deteriorating California Theatre remains a Spanish Colonial Revival style landmark waiting for its new starring role in downtown San Diego life. The developer that bought the 1927 property near City Hall declared bankruptcy in 2022, before any work was done on it. SOHO had reached a preservation agreement on the architecture and Caliente Racetrack mural with... Read more |
Barrett Ranch House, Jamul |
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This 131-year-old, two-story rural farmhouse, built in 1891, continues to suffer from neglect and vandalism inside and out. This rare surviving example of our fast-disappearing ranching heritage is at serious risk. Its worsening condition has kept it on the Most Endangered List since 2014. The wood facades and architectural details, such as... Read more |
Granger Music Hall, National City |
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SOHO and other preservationists and music lovers have lobbied for a logical dream to come true: moving Granger Hall to nearby Pepper Park and rehabilitating it under the Port of San Diego’s wing, perhaps in partnership with its owner, the City of National City. Despite having healthy coffers and promoting elaborate new waterfront parks, Port officials have thus far taken no... Read more |
Red Roost and Red Rest Bungalows,
La Jolla Cove |
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As SOHO’s longest-running preservation battle, the Red Roost and Red Rest cottages have endured more than a quarter three decades of deliberate neglect and flagrant disregard of City of San Diego laws that protect designated historic resources. Built in 1894, they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and stand within the new La Jolla Park... Read more |
Big Stone Lodge, Poway |
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Designated as Poway Historic Site 16 and eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources as a historic district, Big Stone Lodge and related buildings are worthy of preservation for their rustic architectural style built with local natural materials: huge boulders and massive timber. In addition, notable Poway businessmen envisioned Big Stone Lodge would... Read more |
MOVED TO WATCH STATUS
Chase Bank, Pacific Beach |
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Chase’s redevelopment project is no longer planned for the site of this original Home Savings and Loan Bank branch. SOHO had listed it on MEL to protect its outstanding mosaics by the prominent artist Millard Sheets and to prevent demolition of its...Read more |
Hillcrest Commercial Core Historic District,
Uptown |
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Removed but not forgotten, as SOHO continues to work with residents, stakeholders, and the City of San Diego on the ongoing Hillcrest Plan Amendment process. The city released a draft Hillcrest... Read more |
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego |
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Redevelopment activity appears to be on hold. However, SOHO expects the Marines to eventually resume weighing their options for the busy MCRD, where male and female platoons must be integrated. Any solution will likely... Read more |
Kensington Pepper Trees |
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Tall, stately California pepper trees with broad shade canopies add beauty and history to Kensington’s scenic streets. Planted c. 1910, they are as old as the community’s mostly Spanish Colonial Revival style homes and shops, and an integral part of its charismatic identity. In 2018, residents submitted a “Conserve-a-Tree” application for 37 remaining... Read more |
Consolidated Aircraft/Old Town Campus NAVWAR, San Diego |
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This huge development is now, thankfully, on hold. Iit would have forever altered Old Town San Diego, the Consolidated Aircraft facilities, and nearby areas by adding tall, multi-story buildings arranged as densely as downtown. As a U.S. Navy project, local building... Read more |
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