Historic photos provided by Mission Hills Heritage
Cover image from promotional brochure, circa 1909. Courtesy David Marshall
Artist’s sketch of Sunset Boulevard and view from tract, excerpt from promotional brochure, circa 1909. Note stucco entrance pillar at left of frame. Courtesy David Marshall
Advertisement, 1909. Courtesy San Diego Union
Advertisement, 1910. Courtesy San Diego Union
Streetscape at Sunset Boulevard and Saint James Place, circa 1911, view southeast. Courtesy San Diego History Center
Aerial view, Inspiration Heights below/south of the dashed red line (corresponds with Sunset Boulevard), 1927, view northeast. Courtesy San Diego History Center
Map of contributing and non-contributing properties, 2021. Courtesy Architectural Resources Group
Andrew Goodrich and Katie Horak. Courtesy Architectural Resources Group
Current day photos of homes in the Inspiration Heights Historic District. By Sandé Lollis
FOR MORE THAN 16 YEARS, Mission Hills Heritage has been a powerful force for the preservation and protection of one of San Diego’s most intact and charming historic neighborhoods. This nonprofit group of dedicated residents regularly offers walking tours, historic home tours, even neighborhood improvement projects, to preserve and raise awareness of Mission Hills history and special character. Members’ hard work previously led to successfully nominating two historic districts to the City of San Diego register: the Mission Hills Historic District and the Fort Stockton Line.
Mission Hills Heritage members long had their eye on another potential district, marked by iconic entry pillars on Sunset Boulevard. The Inspiration Heights suburban tract, near Mission Hills’s western edge.
Based on the collective historical and architectural significance of almost 100 residential properties, plus various landscape features, with a period of significance from 1909-1961, the neighborhood is distinct. Subdivided into lots in 1909 in accordance with the City Beautiful movement, the homes are sited on irregular lots along curving streets, conforming to the natural terrain—tenets of John Nolen's 1908 report San Diego A Comprehensive Plan For Its Improvement. Designed by notable San Diego architects and builders, they are visually and architecturally unified by the preponderance of Prairie School, Arts and Crafts, and Period Revival styles.
Mission Hills Heritage took preliminary steps to have Inspiration Heights recognized as an official district. However, limited City staffing and resources hindered the processing of a nomination for several years. With rising concerns over state legislation and the potential for increasing densification without adequate oversight, the group elected to instead nominate the district to the National Register of Historic Places through the State Historic Resources Commission.
Mission Hills Heritage raised the money to fund the report and materials needed to produce a nomination, and led a public outreach effort to support the designation. Hundreds of volunteer hours went into the nomination, which was prepared by Andrew Goodrich and Katie Horak of Architectural Resources Group after surveying and documenting every property within the proposed district boundary. These essential tasks are especially notable for occurring during the height of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
The nomination supports two criteria for designation. Under Criterion A, the district is significant as a tangible expression of how key ideas of the Nolen Plan were implemented. Under Criterion C, the district is significant as an excellent, intact concentration of early 20th-century architectural styles.
In October 2021, the State Historic Resources Commission voted unanimously to approve Inspiration Heights for listing on the National Register. The commission forwarded the nomination to the National Register’s keeper, who listed the district two months later. It is San Diego’s first residential historic district to be nationally recognized in this way, and the approval automatically qualifies it as a local historic district.
SOHO congratulates Kirk Burgamy, Sue Dean, and Barry Hager of Mission Hills Heritage for their hard work, dedication, and ongoing stewardship of one of San Diego’s best-preserved historic neighborhoods. The designation of the Inspiration Heights District on the National Register of Historic Places is a win-win for all San Diegans and preservationists!
(From the left) Board president Kirk Burgamy, Sue Dean, and Barry Hager. Photo by Sandé Lollis
