The Ada Black/Mann (7v Shepherd House 7781 Hillside Drive La Jolla7 California Historical Report By: Vonn Marie May Cultural Resource Planning C"' Research July2oos State of California-The Resources Agency Primary #_ _____________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#_____ ______ ___ ___ PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial_____________ _ NRHP Status Code__ other Listings._ _________ _____ _____ _ Review Code Reviewer Date Page 1 Resource Name or#: Ada Black, Herbert Mann & Thomas Shepherd House P1. Other Identifier: Ada Black House P2. Location: [] Not for Publication Iii Unrestricted a. County San Diego b. USGS 7.5' Quad: Point Lorna Date: 1975 c. Address: na1 Hillside Drive City: San Diego (La Jolla) Zip: 92037 d. UTM: N/A Zone: N/A Other Locatlonal Data: That portion of Pueblo Lot 1285 of the Pueblo lands of the City of San Diego, according to Map thereof made by James Pascoe in 1870, described as follows: Commencing at a 3"x3" post marking the most westerly corner of La Jolla Hills, according to Map of said La Jolla Hills, No 1479, filed in the Office of the County Recorder of said San Diego County, 10 October 1912. APN# 350-162-07-00. P3a. Description: The Ada Black House is a quintessential two-story stuccoSpanishl Eclectic La Jolla house. Designed in 1926 by the H. J. Mann Company, which Included the emerging architect Thomas.L. Shepard, it was one of two in an architectural duet connected by an open courtyard and stucco wall. The 'street' elevation exhibits two gable ends with adjoining shed roofs with modest eave overhang, typical to the style. An original one car garage is subtly articulated, both dwelling sections display modest window openings. The 'ocean' side, intended as the primary elevation, consists of an oversized arched entry and door. The second level has two mirrored French doors with abbreviated ornamental iron balconies. A basement level emerges in the rear portion of the house capturing the drop in grade and looks out over an expansive urban canyon with dramatic views of the coastline. The courtyard elevation presents a ramble of side gable roofs with a prominent set of French doors at one end and a recessed arched entry and original wood door. The terraced courtyard consists of the original stucco garden wall with an inset vertical fountain, and a prominent large patio tile medallion. The house is in excellent condition and intact from its original period of significance with no changes to its footprint, roofline or elevations. P3b. Resource Attributes: (See significance discussion) P4. Resources Present: Residence, original attached garage, and open courtyard. P5a. Photo or Drawing P5b. Description of Photo Front 'Street' Elevation P6. DateConstructed: 1927 Sources: Water Permit #24103 -17 Feb1927 P7. Owner and Address: Kerri Klein & Mark Wiesner 7781 Hillside Drive La Jolla, CA 92037 PS. Recorded by: Venn Marie May 1941 Fairlee Drive Encinitas, CA 92024 ~9. Date Recorded: July 2005 State ofCalifornia- The Resources Agency Primary#--~---------- DEPARTMENT OFPARK$ AND RECREATi()N . H~l#;... ..--'------------ BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD Page 2 Resource Name or #: #: Ada Black, Herbert Mann & Thomas Shepherd House B1. Historic Name: Ada Black House B2. Common Name: N/A B3. Original Use: Single Family Residence B4. Present Use: Single Family Residence B5. Architectural Style: Spanish Revival Eclectic B6. Construction History: The house was completed in 1927 along with its 'sister' house and adjoining courtyard. The County Residential Building Record reflects no major modifications to the 7781 Hillside Drive house with the exception of a 'finished' basement in 1963, and yard improvements. Interior improvements were made over time but none had any affect on the exterior presence. Because of new development adjacent to the house on the 'ocean' side, which blocked a once dramatic view of the coastline, a previous owner vacated the original entry for the more secluded courtyard entry, although no changes were made to the original. B7. Moved? No Date: N/A Original Location: In situ BB. Related Features: N/A B9. Architect: Herbert James Mann & Thomas L. Shepherd b. Builder: H.J. Mann Co. B10.Significance: Theme: Resdiential Area: La Jolla Period of Significance: Property Type: Single Family Residential Applicable Criteria: A & C & D Criterion A Cultural Landscape Resources are those sites exemplifying or reflecting special elements of the City's, community's or a neighborhood's historical, archaeological, cultural, social, economic, political, aesthetic, engineering, landscaping, or architectural development. {See continuation sheet) B11. Additional Resource Attributes: N/A B12. References: {See Bibliography) B13. Remarks: B14. Evaluator: Vonn Marie May Date: July 2005 (This space reserved for official comments.) State. of California -The Resources Agency Primary#______ ~------ DEPARTI'it1EfilT OF PARKS AND i=IECREA'TION Continuation Sheet HRI# Page 3 Resource Name or #: Ada Black, Herbert Mann & Thomas Shepherd House Criterion A - Cultural Landscape continued La Jolla Park and La Jolla Hills Subdivisions The first defined subdivision of La Jolla was recorded as Pueblo Lot #t 284 and portions of PLs #1283 and #1282, some 400 acres and was named 'La Jolla Park'. The U.S. Government deeded Pueblo Lots to the City of San Diego in March of 1851, a year after California statehood. Much of the land was purchased by California based real estate speculators. La Jolla Park, the subdivision, was filed in March of 1887 by Frank T. Botsford and George W. Heald under the auspices of the Pacific Coast Land Bureau. The boundaries were; the shoreline north from approximately Marine Street to State Street (now Torrey Pines Road), east to Girard Avenue, and all land north of the present day La Jolla Country Club and Golf Course. The Botsford Heald plan was the first to configure lots, streets, and parks from raw land. Build out was slow at first, but constant. La Jolla Park became an architectural collection of Victoriana transitioning into various expressions of the Arts and Crafts movement. Today the area known as the 'village' retains a high degree of integrity from the original La Jolla Park plan layout, with a period of significance ranging from 1887 to 1920. La Jolla Hills subdivision was a later filing, in 1912 and again in1940, and was appended onto La Jolla Park completing the curvilinear Hillside Drive. The diminutive s·ubdivision encompassed the small hilly area off of Torrey Pines Road around Soledad Avenue and the extended portion of Hillside Drive. · Hillside Drive Much history is associated with the neighborhood of Hillside Drive. Curving up from Torrey Pines Road on the northwest face of Mt. Soledad the street served as an early spine for development north of La Jolla village. Known for its 'European' style roadbed defaulting to the topography of steep grades and finger canyons, some parcels were accessed by small wooden bridges. A simple concrete arched bridge at Castellana defines the character of this exceptional roadway. Seventy parcels were first plotted in.1912 coming off Torrey Pines Rd, all though most remained unbuilt for several years. Many of the first homes were built at the higher levels. Marguerite R. Ames, widow of Walter Ames, co-founder of law firm, Gray, Cary, Ames & Frye, remembers bare terrain above her 1927 home she claims as being the first on the hillside. She also remembers, 'The street was made of cobblestones, and as a little girl, I could hear the milk wagon go clopping by in the morning." On this 'hub' of a remote neighborhood the 'lower end', around Lookout Drive and Soledad Avenue, was known to hold eccentric and socially elite residents. The Black (Ada Black) and Towle spinsters were known as reclusives. The gruff World War I British Army veteran, Major Van Schaick, was a local character who dressed in uniform and strolled the beaches on his own military exercises. During WWII bunkers were sprinkled throughout the area for maximum coastal reconnaissance viewing. After the war when most coastal defenses were dismantled although at least one house utilized the abandoned government construction as a foundation for their home. State of California-The Resources Agency Primary#----------'----- DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION Continuation Sheet HRI# Page 4 Resource Name or#: Ada Black, Herbert Mann & Thomas Shepherd House In a 1986 La Jolla Light article reporter Ernest E. Pund Ill wrote of, " ....the idiosyncratic neighborhood of Hillside that sits like a giant curio cabinet on the northwest face of Mt. Soledad." He notes that long before the 1920's boom development on the hill, off the deep waters of La Jolla Shores, illegal Chinese immigrants climbed up the hill and hid in the basement of a craftsman bungalow awaiting their transport. That bungalow was built in 1910 on Lookout Drive by Julia Larned, later inherited by author Julia Moss Sloane. In Sloane's book, 'Smiling Hilltop' she writes of the redwood bungalow and documents the presence of a 'Chinese' suspension bridge across the canyon to Hillside Drive. During the 1920's La Jolla boom Hillside Drive took on another historical layer. One which is known today as truly La Jolla, that of a free interpretation of the Spanish Revival Eclectic style. Ada C. Black Ada C. Black and Helen M. Towle, originally from Ohio, purchased both properties from Kittle Stone Grant in late 1926. Both residences were designed and built by the H.J. Mann Co., H.J. Mann and Thomas Shepherd were the architects and builders. Ada Black resided in 7781 Hillside Drive and Helen Towle in 7771. In 1952 7771 was changed to 7811 Hillside Drive. In mid 1934 Helen Towle granted her property back to Ada C. Black and moved to Oak Park, Illinois. She died just two months later, bequeathing $40,000 to the Fine Arts Society of San Diego.