La Jolla Historical Society

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The La Jolla Historical Society is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the La Jolla community within San Diego, California. According to its mission statement, it "celebrates the history and culture of this region along the water's edge through interdisciplinary programs, exhibitions, and research that challenge expectations. It balances contemporary and historic perspectives to create understanding and connection." [1]

Contents

Programs and collections

A unique historic house museum, The La Jolla Historical Society (LJHS) "develops projects that cross disciplinary boundaries and explore the relationship of culture to society, collaborating with guest curators, artists, architects, and other cultural producers." [2] Programs include exhibitions, presentations, symposia, discussions, interviews, architecture tours, youth education, and annual community events such as the Secret Garden Tour of La Jolla and the La Jolla Concours d'Elegance. LJHS consults with the City of San Diego regarding landmark designations of properties located in La Jolla. [3]

The Online Archive of California lists some, but not all, of the collections held by the La Jolla Historical Society.

Location

The La Jolla Historical Society is located on the former estate of philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps. Her house, South Molton Villa, is now the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.

Organizational history

The La Jolla Historical Society (LJHS) was founded in 1964 by a group of community leaders and local citizens dedicated to preserving the community’s rich heritage and culture.

The work of LJHS dates back to 1936 with the arrival in La Jolla of Howard S.F. Randolph, a historian and genealogist from New England. Interested in La Jolla's early development, Randolph worked with the Library Association of La Jolla, now the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, to gather photographs and other documentation. The publication of his book La Jolla: Year by Year (1946), [4] spurred interest in local history. Randolph’s collection grew, becoming the nucleus of the significant archival collection of images and documents that LJHS maintains today. [5] La Jollans’ historical efforts remained connected to the Library Association through the 1950s.

The 1960s were a decade of dramatic change in La Jolla as a "land boom" led to rapidly increasing real estate prices. [6] Small beach cottages began to be demolished and replaced by high rises and modern commercial buildings. [7] [8] The arrival of the University of California, San Diego and Salk Institute for Biological Studies changed the cultural and intellectual composition of the community. [5] [9]

In that context, community members realized a separate organization was necessary to address a growing interest in history and preservation. Articles of incorporation were filed on July 7, 1964, with the Society's first officers being Barbara Dawson (President), Hiomi Nakamura (Vice President), and A.B. Crosby (Secretary). At that time, the board of trustees of the Library Association transferred the substantial Randolph Collection to LJHS. [5]

LJHS first occupied a room in the La Jolla Federal Savings & Loan building at 1100 Wall Street. It then met in private homes until 1968 when a small office was established at 7917 Girard Avenue. In 1971, operations were moved to the La Jolla Public Library at 1010 Wall St. (now the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library). Six years later, the Society moved to the Colonial Inn. In 1981, LJHS moved to its current location in the La Jolla Cultural District. [5]

The La Jolla Historical Society has grown into a multi-faceted community organization with a growing slate of programs and an ambitious future.

Historic Structures

1904 Wisteria Cottage and Balmer Annex

Wisteria Cottage (left) and Balmer Cottage (right), La Jolla Historical Society Wisteria Cottage Balmer Cottage LJHS.jpg
Wisteria Cottage (left) and Balmer Cottage (right), La Jolla Historical Society

Wisteria Cottage, 780 Prospect Street, is located in the heart of the La Jolla Cultural District and offers an important example of the distinctive vernacular architecture of early San Diego. [10] The rehabilitated Wisteria Cottage serves as an interpretative space and a museum-standard exhibition gallery space. The renovated conference room in the Balmer Annex provides improved facilities for meetings, workshops, educational programs, and community activities. [11]

Wisteria Cottage was built in 1904 and acquired by Virginia Scripps, half-sister of philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, soon after its completion. Between 1907 and 1909, architect Irving J. Gill made a number of additions and modifications, including the construction of a wisteria-covered pergola that flanks the entry. Wisteria Cottage became part of a Scripps family compound that, by 1916, included South Molton Villa and several smaller buildings: a library, a guest bungalow, a lathe house, and a garage. [12] [13]

From the 1940s through the 1960s, Wisteria Cottage housed the Balmer School, an elementary school that developed into the La Jolla Country Day School. Balmer Annex was added in the late 1940s. [14] [15] From the mid-1960s to 2005, it served as a bookshop, first the Nexxus Bookstore, then John Cole's Book Shop. The Cottage was added to the List of San Diego Historic Landmarks in 1982 (HRBS 166). [16]

With the closing of Cole's Bookstore in 2005, Wisteria Cottage began a new era as the home of the La Jolla Historical Society. In 2008, Ellen Clark Revelle, the great-niece of Ellen Browning Scripps, and her family made a bequest of the entire property to LJHS. [17] Pat Dahlberg, president and executive director of LJHS, played a major role in securing the site. [18]

Wisteria Cottage was restored and rehabilitated for use as a museum, education and research center, and community gathering place. [19] [20] Construction was completed in 2014 to coincide with LJHS's 50th Anniversary celebration. [21]

In 2014, the Historical Resources Board (HRB) of the City of San Diego presented LJHS with an award for the Architectural Rehabilitation of Wisteria Cottage. LJHS was also selected for Save Our Heritage Organisation's People in Preservation Awards program as 2014 Preservationists of the Year. [22]

1909 Cottage

1909 Cottage, La Jolla Historical Society 1909 Cottage LJHS.jpg
1909 Cottage, La Jolla Historical Society

The 1909 Cottage has been adaptively reused as offices and public research space. The rooms have their original wainscot, windows with “wavy” glass, and pine plank floors.

The cottage, originally located at 245 Prospect Street, was one of many seasonal houses built in La Jolla. Often constructed from old-growth redwood, they had one or two bedrooms and no plumbing or electricity. [23]

LJHS acquired the cottage in 1981, after learning that it was due to be demolished to make room for a three-story condominium. The cottage was moved to its current location at 7846 Eads Avenue by La Jolla developer Dewhurst & Associates, with the financial support of the Revelle Family.

1917 Carriage House

The Carriage House has been retrofitted for state-of-the-art storage of the Society’s archival collection, which includes historic photographs, public records, private documents, and newspaper archives.

Located on the former estate of philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, the Carriage House was built in 1917 as a garage for the Ford automobile belonging to Scripps' chauffeur. [24]

1996 Venturi Pergola

Venturi Pergola, La Jolla Historical Society Venturi Pergola LJHS.jpg
Venturi Pergola, La Jolla Historical Society

In 2018, LJHS acquired and installed The Venturi Pergola, one of the pergolas designed for the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) complex by the firm of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates (VSBA). The Tuscan-inspired fiberglass columns and aluminum pergola were a postmodern response to the work of early twentieth-century architect Irving J. Gill. The pergola was accessioned into LJHS’s permanent collection. [25] [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Jolla</span> Neighborhood in San Diego, California, United States

La Jolla is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, occupying 7 miles (11 km) of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature of 70.5 °F (21.4 °C).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bishop's School</span> Private, day, college-prep school in La Jolla, California, United States

The Bishop's School is an independent college preparatory Episcopal day school located in La Jolla, California. Bishop's is known for its reputation in academics, arts, and athletics as well as its sizable endowment. The school offers courses for students in the sixth through twelfth grades and has an 8:1 student-teacher ratio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Jolla Country Day School</span> Independent/private school

La Jolla Country Day School is an independent school in University City, a community of San Diego, California. The school contains a lower school, a middle school, and an upper school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego</span> American art museum in California

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD), in San Diego, California, United States, is an art museum focused on the collection, preservation, exhibition, and interpretation of works of art from 1950 to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Browning Scripps</span> American journalist, philanthropist

Ellen Browning Scripps was an American journalist and philanthropist who was the founding donor of several major institutions in Southern California. She and her half-brother E.W. Scripps created the E.W. Scripps Company, America's largest chain of newspapers, linking Midwestern industrial cities with booming towns in the West. By the 1920s, Ellen Browning Scripps was worth an estimated $30 million, most of which she gave away.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Jolla High School</span> Public school in San Diego, California

La Jolla High School (LJHS) is a comprehensive high school for grades 9–12 located in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California. Opened in 1922, LJHS is the second-oldest campus in the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). LJHS is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). LJHS was named a California Distinguished School in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cole's Book Shop</span>

John Cole's Book Shop was a bookstore in La Jolla, San Diego, California. It was founded in 1946 by John and Barbara Cole on Ivanhoe Avenue, and moved in 1966 to the Wisteria Cottage at 780 Prospect Street. The cottage had housed Ellen Browning Scripps' half-sister Virginia, and La Jolla Country Day School, prior to becoming the location of John Cole's Book Shop. Susan and Charles Cole, the daughter and son of John and Barbara Cole worked in the book shop as did Susan's daughter Trilce and Charles' son Zachary. Zachary sold harmonicas in the book store. Parties were held for numerous authors over the years. The La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art lent sculptures to John Cole's Book Shop which were displayed on the grounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Scripps Building</span> United States historic place

The Old Scripps Building is a historic research facility on the campus of the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, California. Built in 1909-10, it is the oldest oceanographic research building in continuous use in the United States and the historic center of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It is also architecturally significant as a work of Modernist architect Irving Gill and for its early use of reinforced concrete. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1982. It now houses Scripps administrative offices.

Founded in 1924 by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, Scripps Health is a nonprofit integrated health care delivery system based in San Diego, California. Scripps treats more than 600,000 patients annually through the dedication of 3,000 affiliated physicians and more than 16,000 employees among its five acute-care hospital campuses, home health care services, 28 outpatient centers and clinics, and hundreds of affiliated physician offices throughout the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego-Scripps Coastal Marine Conservation Area</span> Marine protected areas on Californias coast

San Diego-Scripps Coastal Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) and Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve (SMR) are adjoining marine protected areas that extend offshore from La Jolla in San Diego County on California's south coast. The two marine protected areas cover 2.51 square miles (6.5 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shell Beach, La Jolla</span> Beach in San Diego, California, USA

Shell Beach, La Jolla is a small beach in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California, United States. The beach is accessed via a flight of concrete steps that start at the south end of Ellen Browning Scripps Park. This beach is located immediately north of Children's Pool Beach, south of Boomer Beach, and also south of La Jolla Cove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Jolla Recreational Center</span>

The La Jolla Recreational Center is a historic recreation center in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California. It was commissioned by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps on property adjacent to her home, and designed by San Diego architect Irving Gill. The center was completed in 1915; Scripps donated it to the City of San Diego the same year. On September 7, 1973, it was designated as San Diego Historic Landmark #86.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eucalyptus County Park</span>

Eucalyptus County Park is a 6.45-acre (2.61 ha) urban park located at 9125 Edgewood Drive in Spring Valley, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Park</span> Park in San Diego, California

Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Park, often referred to as Scripps Park, is an urban park located in La Jolla within the city of San Diego, California. The 5.6 acres (2.3 ha) park, part of the unceded ancient homeland and traditional territory of the Kumeyaay Nation, is sited on a sandstone bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is an open-space, landscaped environment heavily used by residents and visitors from all over the world.

The first library in La Jolla, San Diego, California, was The La Jolla Reading Room. Constructed in 1898, it is a historic structure that was moved to the campus of The Bishop's School in 2005. In 2000, the City of San Diego designated it as a historical landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Rest and Red Roost Cottages</span> Historic beach cottages

The Red Roost and The Red Rest, built in 1894, are historic beach cottages overlooking La Jolla Cove in La Jolla, San Diego, California. At one time, they were outstanding examples of the first-generation California bungalow. Their placement on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 has not prevented serious deterioration due to neglect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Dragon Colony site</span> Historic art colony

The Green Dragon Colony was a group of unique rental cottages that attracted musicians and artists to the seaside community of La Jolla, San Diego, California, between 1895 and 1912. Established by German immigrant Anna Held Heinrich, the colony became a well-known tourist destination in Southern California.

The Tyrolean Terrace Colony (1911–1912) was an Arts & Crafts-style hotel bungalow court in La Jolla, San Diego, California, adjacent to the former Green Dragon Colony. It catered to early automobile traffic along Coast Blvd., a scenic drive that led to La Jolla Park and other sites along the shore.

Coast Walk Trail is a pedestrian trail along the bluffs above sea caves in La Jolla, San Diego, California.

References

  1. "Our Mission". La Jolla Historical Society. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  2. "Balancing the Contemporary and the Historic". La Jolla Historical Society. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  3. "La Jolla Historical Society".
  4. Randolph, Howard S.F. (1946). La Jolla Year by Year. La Jolla, CA: The Library Association of La Jolla.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Olten, Carol (Fall 2013). "Historical Society Observing 50th Anniversary: A Look Back to the Beginning". Timekeeper: The Official Newsletter of the La Jolla Historical Society. 32 (3): 9.
  6. Anderson, J. Lee (October 1964). "Land Boom: How Far and How High". San Diego Magazine. 16 (12): 82-85.
  7. "La Jolla's New Skyline". San Diego Magazine. 14 (1): 92. November 1962.
  8. "La Jolla: Gilding the Lily". San Diego Magazine. 15 (5): 52. March 1963.
  9. "UCSD: A Special 34-Page Section". San Diego Magazine. 16 (4): 51-87. April 1964.
  10. "Wisteria Cottage Rehabilitation and Historic Structure Report". IS Architecture. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  11. "Wisteria Cottage". La Jolla Historical Society. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  12. McClain, Molly (2017). Ellen Browning Scripps: New Money and American Philanthropy. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press. p. 149.
  13. Kane, Diane (Summer 2014). "New Research Links Wisteria Cottage Builders to Scripps Family". Timekeeper: The Official Newsletter of the La Jolla Historical Society. 33 (2): 10.
  14. Kane, Diane (Fall 2013). "Report Reveals More Balmer School History". Timekeeper: The Official Newsletter of the La Jolla Historical Society. 32 (3): 11.
  15. Kane, Diane (Winter 2013). "Balmer Annex Added to Accommodate Baby Boomers". Timekeeper: The Official Newsletter of the La Jolla Historical Society. 32 (4): 11.
  16. "City of San Diego Historical Site Board Register No. 166" (PDF). California Historical Resources Inventory Database.
  17. Bell, Diane (July 26, 2008). "Historical Society will get La Jolla Landmark Cottage". www.genealogybank.com. San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  18. "Patricia Ravage Dahlberg Obituary" . Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  19. "Plans for Wisteria Cottage Underway". Timekeeper: The Official Newsletter of the La Jolla Historical Society. 26 (2): 6. Summer 2007.
  20. Olten, Carol (Summer 2013). "Wisteria Cottage: Plans for the Future". Timekeeper: The Official Newsletter of the La Jolla Historical Society. 32 (2): 8.
  21. Olten, Carol (Winter 2013). "Wisteria Cottage in Final Phases of Renovation". Timekeeper: The Official Newsletter of the La Jolla Historical Society. 32 (4): 8.
  22. Haxo, Judy (Summer 2014). "Society Receives Round of Historic Preservation Awards". Timekeeper: The Official Newsletter of the La Jolla Historical Society. 33 (2): 7.
  23. Schaelchlin, Patricia A. (1988). La Jolla: The Story of a Community, 1887-1987. San Diego: The Friends of the La Jolla Library. p. 75.
  24. McClain, Molly (Fall 2013). "Lots of Lots: Scripps Ladies Buy La Jolla". Timekeeper. 32 (3): 4.
  25. Pacheco, Antonio (August 30, 2018). "Rescued Venturi Scott Brown pergola to rise again in a San Diego garden". The Architect’s Newspaper. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  26. Mackin-Solomon, Ashley (September 12, 2018). "Pocket Park opens on La Jolla Historical Society campus". La Jolla Light. Retrieved 23 May 2024.

32°50′42″N117°16′38″W / 32.84500°N 117.27722°W / 32.84500; -117.27722