Awards ceremony includes three Downtown sites; Spreckels Warehouse joins Most Endangered List

Anthony King | Assistant Editor

Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) hosted their annual People In Preservation Awards May 23, where the nonprofit honored individuals, families and groups who have preserved historic buildings and sites throughout the region, including three in Downtown.

“We are pleased to honor this diverse group of eight winners who persevered in their preservation projects despite unfavorable economic conditions, unexpected discoveries and the necessity for highly skilled craftspeople,” said SOHO Executive Director Bruce Coons in a press release.

Among those honored May 23 were the San Diego Housing Commission for their work in restoring Downtown’s Hotel Sandford and the American Regional Theatre at the Spreckels (ARTS) for three major restoration projects of the Spreckels Theatre.

“The historic Hotel Sandford, which was designed by Henry Lord Gay and built in 1914, had been converted to affordable senior housing units in 1989,” SOHO said in the release. “Remodeling done at that time was not kind to the structure and original features were lost.”

The Housing Commission hired preservation architects in 2010 to restore and rehabilitate the building’s interior and exterior. Today, the building has the original exterior colors and a rebuilt wood storefront at the main entrance, 1301 Fifth Ave.

Jacquelyn Littlefield, the daughter of Louis B. Metzger, who took over the Spreckels Theatre lease in 1931, founded the non-profit organization ARTS specifically to oversee restoration at Downtown’s Spreckels Theatre for the building’s 100th birthday. Littlefield purchased the theater in 1962.

“For the building’s centennial last year, ARTS ambitiously completed three major restoration projects, for which this award is given,” SOHO said. “The grand lobby has been rehabilitated and polished to a fine glow that provides evening patrons with a glamorous entrance.”

Littlefield and ARTS also helped fund new mezzanine-level seating as well as restoration of iconic neon marquee and blade sign. The sign was restored by Blake Sign Co., located in Stanton, Calif.

The night’s highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award, went to the Chicano Park Steering Committee for their dedication to the park and murals in Barrio Logan that celebrate the Chicano and Latino civil rights movement. After a 2012 mural restoration project was completed, the committee successfully nominated the park to be designated a National Historic District.

Other honorees were the Wilson family, who restored a cottage in Ocean Beach originally built in 1922; Dalia and Gordon Hunt, a Mission Hills couple who restored their 1913 home; Daniel Ramirez, who helped rescue the University Heights “Log Cabin House” from demolition; SOCO, LLC for restoring their theater blade sign at the former Loma Theatre in Point Loma; and historian Diane Welch for her book “Lilian J. Rice: Architect of Rancho Santa Fe, California.”

The People In Preservation Awards ceremony also serves as the official announcement of SOHO’s 2013 Most Endangered List of Historic Resources, which includes “a call for more responsible historic preservation action” throughout San Diego County, representatives said.

“Historic buildings, landscapes and sites contribute to a distinct sense of place and provide a priceless record of our shared heritage,” SOHO said in a separate press release. “The Most Endangered List, now in its 26th year, has proven to be a valuable tool in encouraging urgently needed preservation action.”

The 2013 list includes five new areas and eight remaining sites from previous years, making 13 total in need of attention.

“Twelve of the 13 items on the Most Endangered List are buildings and sites that embody the diversity and richness of San Diego County history,” SOHO said. “The 13th item – the municipal trend toward overturning historic designations for the owner’s convenience – could easily become a preservation nightmare, both legally and culturally.”

New sites listed this year include Collier Park Spring House in La Mesa, Calif., Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, St. Luke’s Chapel in North Park and the Spreckels Warehouse located Downtown. Built in 1924 on Fourth Avenue near J Street, the building now houses Downtown’s Cost Plus World Market. Due to economic pressure, the owner is considering demolishing the building to construct a residential tower, SOHO said.

“So that we have a tangible record and understanding of historic Downtown development, SOHO negotiated fiercely to save warehouses along J Street and nearby for restoration and reuse as shops, restaurants and sports bars,” SOHO said. “We’ve lost a host of simple, vernacular industrial buildings. … These losses make it all the more imperative to recognize the historic socioeconomic and architectural significance of the Spreckels Warehouse, J Street’s western anchor.”

The San Diego Historical Resources Board is currently slated to review the property, and SOHO said they are encouraging the group to declare the warehouse a historic landmark and “to steer its owner toward a buyer with preservation and adaptive reuse in mind.”

For the complete list and more information visit sohosandiego.org or call 619-297-9327.