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Penning the Past Continues Unearthing San Diego’s Stories
July/August 2025
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What makes San Diego unique isn’t just its incomparable weather, spectacular landscapes, or iconic architecture. It’s the layers of stories embedded in its neighborhoods. SOHO’s Penning the Past Zoom webinar series continues to reveal these layers, offering fresh ways to understand the city’s evolution through the lens of preservation, infrastructure, and community. Now in its second year, Penning the Past provides a fascinating window into San Diego’s architectural and cultural heritage. The hour-long talks are presented at 11am on the second Saturday of each month, continuing through November.
To recap, in May 2025, SOHO board member and historian Janet O’Dea explored the storied development of Mission Hills. She traced how a pivotal streetcar extension, savvy subdivision efforts, and anticipation of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park led to the creation of one of San Diego’s most architecturally distinguished neighborhoods.
Then in June, historian and archaeologist Douglas W. Mengers took us on a ride through the rise and fall of San Diego’s trolley systems. From the first horse-drawn lines in 1886 to the electric-powered heyday under millionaire businessman John D. Spreckels—and the eventual end of service in 1949—Mengers revealed how public transit shaped not only how San Diegans moved, but where and how they lived.
If you missed these engaging lectures, you can watch them, along with other past presentations on San Diego history and preservation, on SOHO’s YouTube channel.
Next up, on July 12, aviation historian Gary Fogel will present the story of glider flight in San Diego, from the groundbreaking experiments of John J. Montgomery in the 1880s to the gliding culture of the 1930s at Torrey Pines. Drawing from rare images and extensive research, Fogel will highlight the pilots, designers, and dreamers who made San Diego a hub for motorless flight—and how that legacy still soars today.
Then on August 9, architect and author David Marshall returns to Penning the Past to explore Balboa Park’s transformation from dusty, barren City Park in 1868 to the tree-shaded gardens of two major expositions. With his own decades of experience restoring San Diego landmarks, including the Hotel del Coronado and Spreckels Organ Pavilion, Marshall will share little-known stories behind the park’s evolution and the community efforts that saved it from neglect. Discover the history of one of America’s most treasured urban parks through the eyes of a preservation expert.
Penning the Past lectures are free for SOHO members and $10 for non-members. Register HERE.
We hope you'll join us this summer as we continue sifting through the neighborhoods, people, and moments that have defined and continue to shape San Diego.
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