There are many historic homes throughout La Jolla, however, there is one that holds special value for many. Known as “Audrey Geisel University House,” it is at 9630 La Jolla Farms Road and overlooks Black’s Beach, the Scripps Coastal Reserve, and the Pacific Ocean.
The home serves as the university’s official chancellor’s residence and has quite a history, even before it was renamed “Audrey Geisel University House” to honor the longtime university supporter and widow of author Theodor Dr. Seuss Geisel. She died in 2018 at the age of 97.
“Geisel House is registered as a historic site at the local, state, and national levels due to its Pueblo Revival architecture,” said Leslie Sepuka, associate director of university communications.
It also has some amazing towering horses at its base that date back centuries, she added.
Built in 1952, the house was designed by Santa Fe-based architect William Lumpkins and was purchased by the University of California system in 1967.
Sepuka added that Audrey Geisel University House closed in 2004 when it was deemed uninhabitable due to seismic and system deficiencies, including plumbing and electrical problems and the need for canyon edge slope stabilization.
“The principal architect for the renovation was Ione R. Stiegler, FAIA, of IS Architecture, who specializes in historic preservation. The house is the home of the chancellor, but also the home of university events honoring faculty, staff, and students — everything from dinners to honor Nobel Laureates to alumni and advocate receptions to large events that celebrate student-athletes,” Sepuka said.
For that reason, the majority of Audrey Geisel University House is comprised of exterior and interior reception areas, including an intimate living room and dining room for meetings, exterior courtyards, coastal view patios for 100 guests, and a reception hall for sit-down dinners for up to 60 people.
These areas are supported by an enlarged commercial kitchen and accessible public restrooms. With this renovation, Audrey Geisel University House can serve future generations, Sepuka said.
As for those “horses,” they are two beautifully crafted, nearly life-size terra cotta horses located on the property and were part of the collection of Martha W. Longenecker Roth, who founded the Mingei International Museum in 1978, Sepuka noted.
Background
According to a 2012 UCSD news release, Audrey Geisel University House was previously known as the “Black Residence” and was designed for Mr. and Mrs. William Black.
The 12,000-square-foot Pueblo Revival-style adobe residence with two-foot thick walls was built in 1950-51 and sits on a site that offers coastal bluff subsidence and native habitat.
It also has the status of a Native American Sanctified Cemetery by the California Native American Heritage Commission, the release adds.
Thanks to various local preservation groups, La Jolla Historical Society, the Kumeyaay Repatriation Committee, and Save Our Heritage Organization, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 and amended in 2009.
In early 2008, UC San Diego revised a previous proposal to gut the residence and opted to rehabilitate the historic Black House.
An architect identified “character-defining features, assessed its current state back then, and provided an evaluation of its significance and integrity using the Secretary of the Interior Standards.”
According to various online sources, after years of planning and environmental reviews, the first phase of coastal bluff stabilization took place in 2011 and renovations began in 2012 and were completed in December 2013.
Of special note and significance, the UC San Diego 2012 report stated: “The site contains a continuous six-foot deep Native American cultural layer deposit with numerous intact burials dating back at least 10,000 years and millions of fragmented human remain. In consultation with the Kumeyaay Nation, a Kwaaymii Indian, and archaeologists, a design was created that could accommodate new subterranean utility lines with minimal disturbance in the cultural layer and then only in previously disturbed locations. The solution for bluff stabilization minimized the need for heavy equipment to travel across potential burial sites.”
During the renovation years, many historic photos, and original plans by Lumpkins were used as well as interviewing William Black Jr. Great effort was taken to repair and preserve all exterior features of the house.
For instance, the adobe walls were in good condition but needed repairs and were done so with great care. Also, corbels, posts, and beams were replaced where damage was extensive, according to the release
Inside the historic home, the wood ceiling beams and windows were rehabilitated, and other wood ceiling elements were preserved as were historic light fixtures refurbished.
No additions were added to the house, and two of the previous four additions were said not to be significant and were demolished.
The 2012 report also said the rehabilitation was extensive at $10.5 million and it was anticipated no other work would be needed for another 40 years. The cost was covered by gift funds including $1.5 million gifted from the UC Office of the President to complete the project from the Searles Fund, an endowment used to fund general purposes of the university which cannot be covered by state funds.
“The goal was to not only preserve and maintain the integrity of the house but preserve the site itself as a place of cultural value to the Kumeyaay people.”
