September 2011 Inspiration Volume 6, Issue 2

Fall Walking Tour A Walk Along the Mission Hills Streetcar Line By Tom Roetker Mission Hills is today a well-established of cow pasture land and nursery haven of great walkable streets that pass fields. The few houses that were in the September 24 - Saturday grand old homes and lovely gardens. It area before 1909 were thought of as 1-4 pm was not always that way. In the early days country homes rather than homes in Tours leave every of , many individuals worked to the city. The story of how Mission Hills 15 minutes attract people to build their homes in the changed from a country area to a vital area with modest success. The problem part of the (Continued on next page) PURCHASE TICKETS for Mission Hills at the time Day of the Tour Only was transportation. In the days before the automobile, $10 for MHH members mass transportation was $15 for non-members the key to attracting people to the area. When the Ticket office streetcar line was extended opens at 12:30 pm to Mission Hills, the area 1527 West Lewis Street was finally opened up to new owners and quickly End-of-tour refreshments became a hot location to will be served live.

The hills between Old Town and Hillcrest were a mixture SDE 437, Hawk & West Lewis (no date). Courtesy Southwest Railway Library of the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association Highlights President’s Porch Fall Walking Tour 1 By Debbie Quillin President’s Porch 1 Sometimes in the still, dark quiet The echoes of the past have not yet faded into The Streetcar 3 of the night, I lie awake trying to complete oblivion. There are still those people imagine the lives of the many in our neighborhood who are the children and Annual Membership people who have lived in our house grandchildren or the neighbors and friends Meeting 3 over the last 95 years. I know their of those who built our houses or who moved names and have seen here when our houses From Muddled to photos of some, but We will do voice were new. But these Magnificent 4 what were their lives recordings that will story threads need to really like? These walls be transcribed into be collected as soon as Legislative Update 6 have reverberated with possible before they fade the joys of birthday text, as well as videos away forever. With your From Restored to celebrations, weddings and photos when our help, we can weave those Ravaged 7 and anniversaries, as subjects are willing. stories into a fabric that well as lots of holidays, future generations can Calendar 8 and they have absorbed in silence don at will to immerse themselves in the past. the sorrows of personal grief, illness and death, war and sudden Mission Hills Heritage has asked experts in the tragedy. If only these walls could field of conducting oral history interviews to tell their stories! formulate an (Continued on next page) Page 2 of 8

(Walking Tour continued from previous page) Rigdon, Morris Irvin, Alexander Schreiber, and Walter Trepte. city is a story written by the most prominent Some of the most prominent architects, such as , people of San Diego in the early 1900s. The Emmor Brooke Weaver, and William Templeton Johnson, joined story really starts with Kate Sessions, who had to add to the fabric of the area. In just 30 years, most of the her second nursery in Mission Hills before it was Mission Hills homes of today were built. called Mission Hills. She was a driving force in bringing the streetcar to Mission Hills. Sarah On Saturday, September 24, “A Walk Along the Streetcar Line,” Johnson Miller was another strong advocate the annual Mission Hills Heritage walking tour, celebrates the of the streetcar line. (She was the daughter of influence of the streetcar line and those people who built the Captain Henry Johnson who was captain of the area before and after the line was established. The tour starts passenger ship Orizaba and an early landowner at 1527 West Lewis Street and extends west to Trias Street in Inspiration Heights.) Sarah Johnson Miller along West Lewis Street and Fort Stockton Drive. We plan to built the Villa Orizaba. Both Kate Sessions and have a historic streetcar at the starting point of the tour and Sarah Johnson Miller had large properties in to finish with refreshments at the end of the streetcar line. Mission Hills and were key proponents of the We will share many stories of the streetcar, the builders, and development of the community. the homeowners, as well as other surprises along the way. Please come for a fun walk. We think you will enjoy learning a Kate Sessions worked with other early leaders of bit more about the streetcar line and the homes that were just San Diego, including and John steps away from the modern mass transit of the day. Spreckels, to promote development of Mission Hills. Many of the key builders of San Diego jumped to For more information about purchasing tickets for the walking build in the area, including Martin Melhorn, Nathan tour, please see the front page.

(President’s Porch continued from previous page) occupants that you might be able to find and allow us to approach and to train volunteers to begin recording copy and to archive? Do you have original plans for your these stories with renewed vigor. Jacque Lynn house? Foltyn and Ron May will advise us in procedure, and we have volunteers ready to heed the call. We will Please contact Mission Hills Heritage with contact do voice recordings that will be transcribed into text, information or if you have suggestions for us. There are as well as videos and photos when our subjects links on our website or you can email me at dlquillin@ are willing. We will start training volunteers in late missionhillsheritage.org. We also have a voice message August and hope to begin interviews in the fall. line: (619) 497-1193.

This is where we need your help. Please spend Without your aid in finding suitable interviewees, we may some time thinking about the people who live on lose valuable ties to our past. But with your help, we can your street. Are there people who have lived here document and preserve our community’s narrative that since early childhood long ago? Are any of them future Mission Hills residents will treasure forever. children or grandchildren of original owners? Do you know of someone who might have left the area Even if we live in our lovely homes for most of our lives, recently to live with children or to an assisted living our guardianship will pass, and other families will take our facility? Would you be able to give us their contact place. If we can help them to understand how our lives information? Do you or any previous owners of unfolded here, then we will have made their walls talk. We’ll your house have photos of your house and/or its be the ghosts that speak to them in the night!

To preserve and protect the character, charm, and historic resources of Our Mission Mission Hills, assuring that development projects harmonize with the established community and provide for community input into these projects. Page 3 of 8 The Streetcar: Its role in San Diego’s Growth By Valerie Lemke

“A Walk Along the Streetcar Line,” this tracks—the elegant streetcar was state of the art in every way. year’s docent-led walking tour through the century-old neighborhood of Mission Hills, is The “end of the line” came for the Class 1 San Diego streetcars in a guaranteed trip down memory lane. 1939. Some were sold as residences, but most were burned, and the ashes sifted for scrap steel, according to Chaffee. The arrival of the streetcar in San Diego changed the town forever. Transportation Today, just three Class 1 streetcars survive. “They were home to an magnate John D. Spreckels’ rationale for elderly woman who had lived with her husband in the streetcars since forming the San Diego Electric Railway their purchase,” said Chaffee, who now owns the vintage streetcars. Company in the late 1890s was prophetic: “Transportation determines the flow of the An added attraction on the upcoming walking tour is one of the population, and wherever the tracks went, original Class 1 streetcars that will be on display along the tour route. development followed,” he said. Spreckels’ It is Chaffee’s vision to return his vintage machines to their original dream was a street railway system which role, carrying San Diegans and tourists alike. would reach even the outlying sections of the city, according to Christian Chaffee, a local “The return of the streetcar will celebrate our historic character,” antique and art dealer who heads the San he said, “And it is a way to revitalize our city with a clean, green Diego Historic Streetcar Restoration Project transportation system that people will actually use.” and who has written a history of the original streetcars.

By the early 1900s, the San Diego Electric Annual Membership Meeting Railway drove into areas from La Jolla to the • U.S.-Mexico border. Mission Hills, a remote October 22 4-6pm outpost in the streetcar’s earliest days, was included in no small part thanks to Kate This year our membership meeting and celebration will be held Sessions, the “Mother of ” and at the Joel L. and Edith M. Brown House at 4141 Lark Street. a nursery owner in the neighborhood. In Join us in this historic 1916 Prairie-style home for an afternoon of a horse and buggy, she drove through the light snacks and refreshments as we discuss our organization’s scrub and dust, urging landowners to sign a future and cast our votes for our leadership for the coming year. petition to widen the streets, making way for This event is open to all Mission Hills Heritage members, and we streetcar rails. Her endeavors paid off, and encourage all to attend. Photo by Debbie Quillin. by 1909 the streetcar arrived in Mission Hills. With an addition to the line in 1913, the real estate boom began.

The San Diego Class 1 Streetcar was Number 3, as is the community’s current bus route. It plied the rails of Mission Hills until 1939 when it was replaced by less expensive models. The twenty-four Class 1 streetcars were painted yellow and green with gold-leaf trim on the outside. The interior boasted gleaming cherry wood, overhead lighting, and more gold leaf. The push buttons used to signal the motorman were inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Double-ended and double-sided—no need to turn the streetcar around at the end of the Page 4 of 8 From Muddled to Magnificent By Jim Stafford

When clients of mine called and said that they had purchased a historic home needing restoration, I was eager to take a look. What I found was a once-grand, two-story craftsman-style home hidden under a shroud of various ill-conceived renovations.

Constructed in 1913, this home is situated on an impressive corner lot at 1915 Sunset Boulevard in Mission Hills. The first priority: to get all 50 windows in working order. This home has a mix of casement and double- hung windows. The casements were freed up and the hinges reset, making these windows open and close as they should. The double-hung window sashes were removed, excess paint scraped out of the tracks, new sash

Above So much of the house’s original exterior elements had been removed, reshaped, covered, and destroyed that a faithful restoration would have been difficult to achieve without this early photo. Photo courtesy of the . Right With the application of new shingle siding, the restoration of this window is nearing conclusion, awaiting the installation of the surrounding trim. Facing page top The house’s red brick finish appears unscathed after fake rock and Tex Coat were carefully removed from the porch, pillars, and chimney. Bottom Restoration nears completion as new trim, corbels, and knee braces are fabricated and installed to replace the originals removed in the 1960s and 1970s. Page 5 of 8

very fortunate to have found at the San Diego Historical Society photographs of the house when it was new. This gave us all the information we needed to meet our restoration goals. New cedar shingles were dried and dipped in stain, the color taken from old shingles that were covered and not exposed to weather or sun.

Insulation was placed between the exterior studs and was covered with OSB sheathing. The shingles were then installed with a restored bottom flair and in the original pattern on the second story.

Clear, dry, all-heart redwood beveled siding was special ordered to match the original and stained accordingly. The installation of the siding was dicey since the many corners were mitered.

cords installed, and balance weights made and The fake rock was chiseled off of the porch and bricks. The red adjusted to a proper weight. This is key to having brick chimney, covered in Tex Coat, was scraped using a heat gun a double-hung window that functions properly. and heat scraper. They were then carefully reassembled and lubricated with paraffin. Windows that had been In order to preserve the original texture of the bricks, we used dry inoperable for decades functioned like new. ice blasting for the final cleaning. This is gentle, avoiding problems with dust or water. Sandblasting is much too aggressive for these In the 1960s and the 1970s, a great deal of effort soft sanded, molded original bricks. All of the brick work will now was expended to modernize one’s home. This be re-pointed and the chimney lined. home was the victim of that era, and its exterior had been covered with vinyl siding. An abatement contractor was hired to remove the remaining Tex Coat from the eaves and gables, and the final touches for the Then came the Tex Coat. This is a very heavy exterior are now in progress. We are custom fabricating all the trim, textured paint. The result was that it covered all corbels, and knee braces both on the site and in my shop. Custom of the delicate lines, grooves, and detail in the rain gutters in the style of the original will be mounted on the roof woodwork, trim, and bricks. so as not to hide the exposed rafter details. The photographs are frequently referenced. The final insults were fake rocks veneered to the front of the first story including the red brick This old home is a worthy project, and the crew and I have enjoyed porch. Then an iron security door was placed the enthusiasm and encouragement of the community. It will be an over the original, majestic entry door. elegant member of the neighborhood once more.

Without flinching, my clients asked me to remove all of the aforementioned “improvements” and to bring the house back to its original condition.

After the vinyl siding was removed, it was sobering to see what had been done. The vinyl installers had “cleaned up” the lines of the poor victim with a claw hammer. They knocked off corbels, knee braces, trim, and the second story shingled siding with its beautiful flair at the bottom. All this was done to make the surface of the house flat in preparation for the vinyl siding, thus robbing the home of its original character.

Forensic paint evidence revealed the size, shape, and location for each piece of architectural detail that had been removed. We were also Page 6 of 8 Legislative Update: The Uptown Community Plan Update, Interim Height Ordinance, & Beyond By Barry E. Hager

News flash: The Uptown Community Plan update still recommendations we presented in 2010 (see sidebar) so isn’t finished yet! Okay, so you have been hearing that for that our recommendations don’t get lost in the reshuffle. awhile now. In fact, the phrase “moving target” perfectly describes the deadline for completing the community Interim Height Ordinance Extended plan update. As recently as this June, city planning This past July, the city council voted 7-0 to approve staff were predicting it would be another year, but just the second and final 180-day extension of the a month later they were saying it would be another 18 Uptown Interim Height Ordinance. This will cap building months which would place completion in 2013. Whoa! heights in the commercial areas of Mission Hills at Here’s a recap of where we are with the plan update 50 feet through January 2012, as the update of the and the interrelated Uptown Interim Height Ordinance Uptown Community Plan continues. Recognizing that (IHO) as well as with other issues affecting our historic the update will not be done by then, the council’s Land neighborhood. Use and Housing Committee (LU&H) has directed city staff to bring forward an ordinance that will further extend Status of the Community Plan Update the IHO so that it does not lapse before the completion Recall that the Uptown Community Plan serves as a of the plan update. That new ordinance will need to be blueprint for development in our community. The current approved by January 2012. Stay tuned for details. plan is over 20 years old and overdue for update. The City intended to begin the plan update in fall 2008 and Historic Reviews and Demolition Regulations to be indicated it would be a two-year process. Delays pushed Revisited the commencement to fall 2009. Since then, the process In September 2009, the city council’s Land Use and has moved very slowly forward. Mission Hills Heritage Housing Committee devoted an entire meeting to is a member of the Community Plan Update Advisory discussing the City’s regulations for construction projects Committee (CPUAC), and our representatives have and permits involving potentially historic resources. At that attended numerous workshops and charettes concerning time the committee voted to recommend several changes the plan update. However, earlier this year the mayor’s to the City’s regulations to provide better protections for office reshuffled the planning department, essentially historic resources. However, the regulations themselves combining City Planning with the Development are implemented by the mayor’s staff, and most of the Services Department. At about the same time, planning recommendations have been rejected. LU&H, now staff abruptly canceled three public workshops and under the direction of Councilmember Sherri Lightner, announced that they would begin drafting the new plan will hold another meeting this fall to revisit these issues and that they would hold another workshop when they and see if any progress can be made. We will let you “had something to show us.” Public input is now on hold. know when this happens. We have reminded the planning staff of the detailed

Here is a brief summary of the Mission Hills Heritage recommendations for the community plan update:

• Preserve several blocks of single-family homes community character. by changing the land-use designations from multi- • Expand potential historic districts in our neighborhood. family to single-family. • Implement a conservation area for Mission Hills • Permanently establish a 50-foot height limit in the so that new construction harmonizes with existing commercial areas of Mission Hills. character. • Adjust downward densities in the commercial zones and nearby areas to keep the bulk and The complete recommendations can be found on our scale of new development in line with existing website under “Current Projects.” Page 7 of 8 From Restored to Ravaged By Valerie Lemke

Just six months ago in our last newsletter, we reported that a bronze plaque stolen in a prank thirty years ago had been located and remounted in its proper place on a column on Sunset Boulevard. Today we must report that four plaques were stolen from three of the pillars in late July. This time it was not the work of a prankster.

“It’s a loss of treasured neighborhood icons, and it is sad to think it was likely stolen by someone desperate for its cash recycle value,” said Debbie Quillin, president of Mission Hills Heritage.

This comes on the heels of the theft of three Historic Landmark plaques—two from homes, the other from a commercial building, all in Mission Hills. Reports indicate the thieves may have been two men in a sedan who struck around midnight. Nearby historic neighborhoods are reporting similar losses.

Two local television news teams reported on the incidents, and when alerted to the thefts, our City Councilman Kevin Faulkner pledged to pay for replacement of the Inspiration Heights plaques should they not be recovered.

In response to the missing plaques, the San Diego Police Department has issued the following Crime Stoppers alert:

Anyone with information on the identity and/or location of the suspect(s) should call SDPD Western Division at (619) 692-4800 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. Crime Stoppers is offering up to a $1,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to an arrest in this case. Anonymous email and text messages can be sent in via www.sdcrimestoppers.com.

Mission Hills Heritage is contacting recycle businesses in our area, and we request that all residents be aware of this problem and report unusual or suspicious activity to the police. Please also contact Mission Hills Heritage so that we may continue to monitor the situation.

Above The restoration of the Inspiration Heights plaque to this iconic neighborhood pillar was cause for celebration earlier this year. Photo by Sandé Lollis. Right After a spate of recent thefts of historic plaques in our community, only outlines remain to indicate where the plaques once hung on this pillar. Photo by Debbie Quillin Page 8 of 8

325 W. Washington Street, Suite 2 - Box 221 San Diego, CA 92103 Phone - 619.497.1193 2011 MHH Upcoming Events email - [email protected] September 24 • Saturday • Fall Walking Tour Board meetings are held the third Thursday (Details on page 1) of each month. Call for the meeting location. Officers October 22 • Saturday • Annual Member Meeting President - Debbie Quillin Please note that we moved the meeting out one week from our Vice President - Paul Schulman, MD previously announced date so update your calendars. (More Chairman of the Board - Barry E. Hager details on page 3) Treasurer & Secretary - Susan A. Dean Board of Directors 2012 MHH Upcoming Events Kimberly Adler Susan A. Dean Barry E. Hager Betty Hauck January 21 • Saturday • Lecture & Hands-On Tables Jane Ligon Deborah Pettry Master Builders of Mission Hills Debbie Quillin Paul Schulman, MD Advisory Director - Ron May April 21 • Saturday • Walking Tour Newsletter Committee Barry Hager • Valerie Lemke September 22 • Saturday • Annual Home Tour Ron May Presidio Hills area of Mission Hills Event Chair - Tom Roetker Senior Editor - Julie Kolb Graphic Design & Layout - Sandé Lollis Webmaster - Frans Venderlee Visit us on the web! www.MissionHillsHeritage.org

MissionHills 325 W. Washington Street, Suite 2 - Box 221 Heritage San Diego, CA 92103