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Penning the Past 2026
Insights into San Diego's Historic Neighborhoods and Architecture
Step into the stories of San Diego’s built environment with Penning the Past, SOHO’s engaging Zoom lecture series that explores the city’s historic neighborhoods, architecture, and the people who shaped them. Now in its third year, the series continues to spotlight authors, historians, and preservationists whose research deepens our understanding of San Diego’s cultural and architectural legacy. SOHO members attend free, while non-members are welcome for $10 per lecture. Your participation supports SOHO’s mission to preserve the historic places and stories that make San Diego unique.
March 14 · 11am-12 noon
Lomaland
Eric DuVall
Explore the fascinating and often misunderstood story of Lomaland, the turn-of-the-century Theosophical community that once occupied San Diego’s Point Loma peninsula. In this engaging illustrated lecture, historian and storyteller Eric DuVall brings to life the people, ideals, architecture, and cultural legacy of this ambitious utopian experiment.
Blending careful research with vivid storytelling and a deep sense of place, DuVall traces Lomaland’s rise and decline while situating it within the broader currents of Southern California history, alternative spiritual movements, and early San Diego development.
Author bio DuVall moved to Ocean Beach in 1958 and has since become a prominent local journalist, historian, and preservation advocate. He serves as president of the Ocean Beach Historical Society and is a longtime board member of the La Playa Trail Association.
Many readers recognize him from his long-running column, 'A Page from History,' in the San Diego Union-Tribune. He is the co-author and editor of the book Point Loma, a SOHO People In Preservation Award winner, and is currently working on two upcoming books documenting the history of Ocean Beach.
PURCHASE ADVANCE TICKETS
Free for SOHO members · $10 for non-members
April 11 · 11am-12 noon
The Gaslamp Quarter
Sandee Wilhoit
Journey through the evolution of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter with historian Sandee Wilhoit, from its beginnings as William Heath Davis’s “New Town” to its notorious era as the Stingaree, the city’s infamous red-light district.
Through stories of Victorian architecture, civic reform, colorful characters, and lingering legends, Wilhoit brings the Gaslamp’s layered past vividly to life, tracing the district’s transformation into one of San Diego’s most recognizable historic neighborhoods.
Author bio Sandee Wilhoit is the Historian and Lead Tour Guide for the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation and a member of the Gaslamp Players historical reenactment troupe. She writes the monthly “Gaslamp Landmarks” column for the Downtown News and presents widely on San Diego history.
PURCHASE ADVANCE TICKETS
Free for SOHO members · $10 for non-members
May 9 · 11am-12 noon
The Distinct Modernism of San Diego
Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves
While Los Angeles and San Francisco often dominate California’s modernist narrative, The Distinct Modernism of San Diego reveals a homegrown architectural movement rooted in the pioneering work of Irving J. Gill. Author Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves traces the lineage of architects influenced by Gill’s principles of simplicity and regional sensitivity, uncovering a modernism defined by collaboration and innovation unique to San Diego.
Author bio Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves is a theologian, author, and art historian based in La Jolla. Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, he has served in ministry for over 25 years and holds a master’s in Christianity and the Arts. His work explores the intersection of faith, art, and design.
PURCHASE ADVANCE TICKETS
Free for SOHO members · $10 for non-members
June 13 · 11am-12 noon
Balboa Park’s Botanical Building
Nancy Carol Carter
Few structures in San Diego are as beloved or as emblematic of Balboa Park as the Botanical Building. Opened for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition and recently restored to its historic grandeur, this iconic structure reflects the city’s deep horticultural and architectural legacy.
Historian and landscape scholar Nancy Carol Carter traces the Botanical Building’s design, purpose, and evolution, situating it within Balboa Park’s broader landscape history while offering insight into the philosophy and challenges behind its careful restoration.
Author bio Nancy Carol Carter is a historian, writer, and leading authority on San Diego’s horticultural and landscape history. Associate editor of California Garden, she has published widely on Balboa Park and the legacy of figures such as Kate Sessions and Paul Thiene.
PURCHASE ADVANCE TICKETS
Free for SOHO members · $10 for non-members
July 11 · 11am-12 noon
Old Town: A Neighborhood of State Landmarks
Alex Bevil
Old Town is where California began. In this illustrated lecture, historian and preservationist Alex Bevil explores Old Town San Diego as a remarkable concentration of California Historic Landmarks, revealing how individual buildings and sites together tell the story of the state’s earliest days.
Drawing on decades of research and landmark nominations, Bevil highlights overlooked communities and explains how preservation advocacy helps protect the places that anchor California history.
Author bio Alex Bevil is a retired California State Parks historian, researcher, and preservation advocate whose work has led to numerous National Register and local historic designations throughout San Diego County.
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Free for SOHO members · $10 for non-members
August 8 · 11am-12 noon
Down the Rabbit Hole: The Women of Talmadge
Laura Henson
What can the lives of individual women tell us about a neighborhood? In "Down the Rabbit Hole: The Women of Talmadge," historian Laura Henson explores the often-overlooked women who shaped the early development of this San Diego community.
Through biography and place-based research, Henson reveals how individual lives illuminate broader themes of housing, independence, and community identity.
Author bio Laura Henson is a local historian, preservation advocate, and former president of the Talmadge Historical Society and the author of the award-recognized series "Down the Rabbit Hole: The Women of Talmadge."
PURCHASE ADVANCE TICKETS
Free for SOHO members · $10 for non-members
September 12 · 11am-12 noon
Ninety Years of Classic San Diego Tiki, 1928–2018
Martin S. Lindsay
Join author and food historian Martin S. Lindsay for a spirited exploration of San Diego’s unique role in America’s Tiki and Polynesian pop culture. From Prohibition-era bars to postwar tropical lounges, Lindsay’s richly illustrated lecture showcases the restaurants, artists, and designers who defined nearly a century of San Diego’s island-inspired style.
Author bio Martin S. Lindsay, AIGA, is an art director, food historian, and board chair of the Culinary Historians of San Diego. Author of Ninety Years of Classic San Diego Tiki, 1928–2018 and founder of ClassicSanDiego.com, Martin is a celebrated resource on local culinary and cultural history.
PURCHASE ADVANCE TICKETS
Free for SOHO members · $10 for non-members
October 10 · 11am-12 noon
Cemeteries of San Diego
Seth Mallios
Just in time for Halloween season, Cemeteries of San Diego explores the city’s past through its burial grounds. Archaeologist and historian Seth Mallios reveals how cemeteries reflect cultural change, memory, and the pressures of urban growth.
Based on the San Diego Gravestone Project, this illustrated lecture uncovers lost cemeteries and forgotten stories, showing how the city’s dead continue to speak to the living.
Author bio Dr. Seth Mallios is Professor of Anthropology and Director of the South Coastal Information Center at San Diego State University and director of the San Diego Gravestone Project.
PURCHASE ADVANCE TICKETS
Free for SOHO members · $10 for non-members
November 14 · 11am-12 noon
U.S. Highway 80
Chris Wray
Long before Interstate 8, U.S. Highway 80 was the lifeline that connected San Diego to the mountains, desert, and the wider Southwest. In this richly illustrated lecture, historian and author Chris Wray traces the story of this legendary transcontinental highway from downtown San Diego to the Imperial Valley and beyond, revealing how shifting routes, roadside communities, and changing transportation needs shaped the region.
Drawing on historic photographs, maps, and on-the-ground research, Wray explores Highway 80’s multiple alignments through the city and backcountry, from early surface streets and mountain grades to its eventual replacement by the modern freeway system. Along the way, he highlights forgotten towns, scenic passes, and roadside landmarks that once defined travel across San Diego County’s most rugged landscapes.
Blending transportation history with place-based storytelling, U.S. Highway 80 offers a compelling look at how one highway helped create—and ultimately transform—San Diego’s relationship with its mountains and desert.
Author bio Chris Wray is a San Diego historian and author specializing in the history of the county’s backcountry, mountains, and desert regions. He is the author of U.S. Highway 80, Highways to History, and The Historic Backcountry, and has produced a series of videos documenting historic places throughout San Diego County.
PURCHASE ADVANCE TICKETS
Free for SOHO members · $10 for non-members
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