After much controversy, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) decided not to raze its Chancellor’s House “” designated a historical landmark “” and instead will rehabilitate the home, an architectural gem that sits on an archaeological goldmine, recently named a true Native American burial ground.
Since 2006, the university planned to demolish its 55-year-old Chancellor’s House, designed by master architect William Lumpkins. Sitting on 7 acres of ocean bluffs in the exclusive La Jolla Farms area, the 4,000-square-foot Pueblo Revival-style house, with a 7,400-square-foot area allocated for public meetings, has been vacant for several years, following findings that it was unsafe due to a lack of earthquake retrofitting.
The university’s final proposal was to construct a 10,800-square-foot public meeting center that would include a private residence.
But the site and home became of interest to a plethora of historical and Native American groups. Because the land yielded at least 29 sets of human remains, the 12 Indian tribes of the Kumeyaay stepped in, declaring the land sacred. And the home was designed by noted architects, drawing the interest of the State Office of Historic Preservation and the La Jolla Historical Society. The Chancellor’s House at UCSD is now a historical landmark, and the site has been declared a burial ground by the Kumeyaay Nation.
Don Schmidt with La Jolla Historical Society went to the Kumeyaay meeting of the Native American Heritage Commission.
“What happened was that the commission voted to declare the property a sanctified area, a Native American cemetery, and any proposed projects must come before the commission,” Schmidt said.
The La Jolla Historical Society worked diligently to give the Chancellor’s House a historical designation. Members researched the site and house, wrote a report and sent it through the state and national registries, said Pat Dahlberg of the La Jolla Historical Society’s board of directors.
Although it received state historical status, the home is currently in the process of being reviewed nationally, Schmidt said.
“We’re very pleased,” Dahlberg said. “We hope to be very much involved in the rehab [of the house].”
The Native Americans designated the site of the Chancellor’s House in the La Jolla Farms area sacred, as a burial ground, according to La Jollan Courtney Coyle, attorney for Carmen Lucas, one of two Native Americans who oversaw excavation during 2006. Remains were dated to 10,000 years by the Smithsonian ” older than the Kennewick Man of the Pacific Northwest, Coyle said.
Schmidt said he believes the university decided not to demolish the home after many groups pursued the historical aspects and continued to protect the home and site.
“We’re waiting to find out exactly how to rehab the house,” Schmidt said. “Because we feel we have fought so long, we want to make sure the historical viewpoint is represented.”