If you need to know something about the architectural or cultural history of La Mesa, James (Jim) Newland, is your go-to guy. As president of La Mesa Historical Society, historian /planner at California State Parks, and a long-time La Mesa resident, Jim possesses encyclopedic knowledge. He is the author of four books on local history, including La Mesa (Images of America) and Around Mt. Helix. He is highly approachable and happy to share his wealth of knowledge. From helping to preserve landmarks to hosting historic home tours, he is a valuable asset to La Mesa's historic preservation efforts.

Martin Lindsay is another cultural preservationist and advocate, but one who focuses on the culinary heritage, history, and food culture of San Diego. He is an accomplished writer, historian, lecturer, and blogger who has documented San Diego’s culinary history through contributions to Tim Ferriss’ bestseller The 4-Hour Chef. He wrote Ninety Years of Classic San Diego Tiki, 1928-2018, and blogs about food in history via Alineaphile.com, EscoffierAtHome.com, and ClassicSanDiego.com. Martin’s work serves as a time capsule and research repository while celebrating the region’s important culinary heritage.

In 2021, Ocean Beach Hardware, on Newport Avenue since 1919, was at risk of closing when its lease was coming up for renewal and the owner was moving out of state. OB locals and longtime hardware customers Jenae and Joe Kuchman took a leap of faith and bought the business. In the heart of OB, the Kuchmans have demonstrated the important role that locals can play in preserving the history and character of their community.

Nancy Warwick, the fourth-generation owner of Warwick’s bookstore in La Jolla, got word in early 2021 that the building where she leased the store’s space had been sold. She, along with many customers from La Jolla and elsewhere in San Diego, were saddened and overwhelmed at the prospect of the store closing. Thankfully, over 30 investors came forward and put together an offer to buy the building that toppled the first one. With its popular author readings and book signings, Warwick’s is a centerpiece of La Jolla’s cultural life that offers a warm sense of place for customers of all ages.

When Joan and Gary Gand learned of an unusual, hidden Midcentury Modern home in the La Jolla hills from their realtor and local Modern era historian Keith York, they jumped at the chance to make an offer. With a promise to the sellers to fully restore the house, inside and out, they sealed the deal. Then, armed with original house photographs and blueprints procured by the sellers’ daughter, the couple began an extensive, two-year project. Since the restoration’s completion in 2021, the 1961 Robert and Rebecca Liebner/William Ivans House gleams with all the former glory of its classic design.

If you have ever walked along La Jolla blufftops above the Cove, you’ve probably stepped foot on the historically designated Coast Walk Trail. Over the years, increased public use, soil erosion, invasive species, and a lack of City of San Diego funding had led to the sloped, meandering trail’s severe deterioration. To address the issues plaguing this endangered resource, in 2010, residents of Coast Walk formed The Friends of Coast Walk Trail (FOCWT), a non-profit 501c3 group. FOCWT began an extensive restoration of the trail in 2020 and 2021. The project has provided a strong preservation model for successful public/private partnerships and has given back a beloved natural resource to San Diego locals and visitors alike.

Near the western edge of Mission Hills, the 1909 Inspiration Heights Historic District consists of almost 100 residences designed in 20th-century styles. Mission Hills Heritage, the area’s preservation advocacy group, recognized the continuous, intact historic blocks and context of this highly desirable neighborhood, and saw its strong potential as a historic district. However, limited City staffing and resources delayed the research and nomination process for the historic district for several years. With rising concerns over state legislation and the potential for large alterations to this historic tract, Mission Hills Heritage elected to move forward by itself, successfully nominating Inspiration Heights to the National Register of Historic Places.

If you’ve ever seen the Tom Cruise movie Top Gun, you know about the Top Gun House in Oceanside, where romantic scenes between Cruise and Kelly McGillis were shot. Historically known as the Graves House, the 1887 cottage is one of the oldest homes in Oceanside and a prime example of Folk Victorian architecture. After years of sitting vacant in a worsening state of disrepair, the house was ceremoniously moved, restored and, in 2021, integrated into the new Mission Pacific Hotel. Still called the Top Gun House, the hotel describes its new use as “a decadent homemade dessert bar.” Once on SOHO’s Most Endangered List, the colorful cottage’s rebirth comes to us thanks to preservationist and developer Jeremy Cohen of S.D. Malkin Properties.

If you have taken a stroll around the grounds or through the lobby of the Hotel del Coronado recently, you may have noticed its main, southern facade has recently undergone a substantial reconstruction and restoration. After years of piecemeal remodels by previous owners, BRE Hotels hired Heritage Architecture & Planning to craft the restoration of the entire 2,400-square-foot historic veranda and its 1888 detailing. Now completed, this $14 million dollar reconstruction returns to today’s guests the original design, beauty, and sense of arrival first enjoyed by the Hotel del’s guests in 1888.