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SOHO President's Message
By David Goldberg
July/August 2019
 David Goldberg at 2019 People In Preservation awards event. |
Exciting news for preservationists! After decades of neglect, the exterior of the Junépero Serra Museum is being restored. As one would expect for this prominent local landmark, the two-part preservation project will adhere to the Secretary of the Interior Standards. Phase 1 (the west side of the building) is scheduled to be completed by early July in advance of the San Diego 250 Civic Commemoration Ceremony on July 16. Phase 2 (the tower and east façade) is not yet funded.
Kudos to the San Diego History Center, which operates the museum, and its partners for undertaking this important project! I greatly look forward to seeing the finished results.
SOHO has campaigned for years for Presidio Park's restoration, so this is welcome news indeed. That being said, the museum's exterior restoration together with the recent restoration of the arbor on the top of the hill need to be viewed as initial steps forward due to the deteriorated state of the park. Presidio Park has been on SOHO's radar for at least a decade, and in 2016 our board of directors added it to SOHO's Most Endangered List of Historic Resources in San Diego County. With a drumbeat intensifying annually, it has remained on the list every year since.
The Serra Museum, designed by master architect William Templeton Johnson and dating to 1929, has for years suffered from peeling paint, broken and cracked plaster, mold, and dry rot. The historic John Nolen landscape is dotted with patches of dead grass and dying vegetation. Signage is inadequate and trails are in poor condition. There is litter and even some graffiti. The Serra Cross is deteriorated, and magnificent sculptures and monuments suffer from neglect.
Presidio Park is one of the brightest jewels of our local park system. The Presidio, a National Historic Landmark, is the site of the first European settlement in California and the "Plymouth Rock" of the West Coast. It is one of the most significant historic, cultural, and archaeological sites in the country. Plus, it is an important asset to our quality of life and regional economy—and will only become more so as our population grows and tourism increases.
Presidio Park also helps tell the story of George W. Marston (inspirational, in my view), the great civic leader and visionary who devoted nearly seven decades of his life to improving San Diego, until his death in 1946. Over many years, he acquired Presidio Hill lots, commissioned the design and construction of the Serra Museum, paid for the landscaping, and then generously gave the finished park to the City of San Diego. Surely, we can muster the collective wherewithal and leadership to return Presidio Park to its rightful place as one of our most beautiful, historic, and culturally significant public spaces.
In other news, SOHO continues to monitor the status of the Horton Plaza shopping mall downtown. Fortunately, the new owner seems receptive to input from the stakeholder community.
Controversial when built, the colorful postmodernist design by architect Jon Jerde was cutting edge and helped economically revitalize downtown San Diego. It received international acclaim and other cities throughout the country studied it as a new way to rejuvenate decaying urban cores. Postmodernism, however, is now in what I call the "ugly duckling" phase—old enough to be out of vogue, but too recent to have withstood the test of time. (Remember when Victorian architecture, the reason for SOHO's founding 50 years ago, was held in low repute and Arts and Crafts bungalows didn't even rate a sneer?)
Today, signs point to postmodernism being recognized as an important architectural movement, and this is where the preservation community can be of assistance. Preservationists can help the owner identify parts of the original project that are likely to be significant, and that should be retained in final redevelopment project. This will result in a better overall outcome, and in all likelihood, a more profitable project for the developer. Think ballpark district revitalization.
We hope you enjoy San Diego's 250th commemorations and have a safe and happy summer!
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