Save Our Heritage Organisation
SOHO Museum Shop at the Marston House
3525 Seventh Avenue in Balboa ParkSan Diego's newest shopping destination for lovers of historic architecture, gardens and preservation is the SOHO Museum Shop at the Marston House & Gardens in Balboa Park. Located in the charming 1905 carriage house,
the shop offers visitors a distinctive mix of attractive gift items, Arts and Crafts furnishings and books that support the Museum's educational mission while enhancing the Museum experience for tourists and San Diegans alike. Admission to the shop is free.
Visitors will find signature products created especially for SOHO that celebrate the history of the estate and the interests and legacy of the Marston family. An avid gardener, George W. Marston is best known as a visionary civic leader and philanthropist who is also considered San Diego's first preservationist.
The 750-square-foot Craftsman-style carriage house, which has never been open to the public before, is paneled in warm Douglass fir and features an original horse stall and handsome windows. It is cozily furnished with chairs from the Marston family to encourage visitors to relax and browse through the shop's wide array of hard-to-find books and publications on regional architecture, home décor, gardening, nature and history.
"We also carry unique gift items that reflect SOHO's dedication to education and advocacy in honor of our region's historic resources," explains Alana Coons, the nonprofit group's Events and Education Director. "We're very excited to be introducing items of lasting value that complement the property's garden and decorative arts history."
We have introduced the very first of custom hand made baskets by Kumeyaay artists of Baja California from pine needles gathered on the estate from the historic Canary Isle Pine trees that were planted in 1906. Visitors may also purchase specialty geranium plants that are exclusive to the shop from the Geranium George Project plant collection, named for Marston.
Custom products now in the works include exclusive handmade tiles using a beautiful eucalyptus leaf motif that architect William Templeton Johnson created for the Marston home; and SOHO has commissioned letterpress note cards and bookmarks using that same motif and others inspired by the flora and fauna of the five-acre property.
Among other merchandise that reflects the Marston House collections are art pottery vases and jardinières, tiles framed in oak, woodblock landscapes and vintage botanical prints. All profits from the sale of these products support SOHO's educational programs.
The Craftsman-style estate is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is known as the finest remaining residential design of the noted architecture firm of William S. Hebbard & Irving J. Gill. This City of San Diego-owned property is managed by SOHO, San Diego County's largest preservation organization.
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