Save Our Heritage Organisation
Magazine
Cover of Volume 38, Issue 3/4,
our award-winning magazine.
Our Heritage magazine wins
National EXCEL Award
Each year, the Society of National Association Publications (SNAP) holds a competition to recognize and reward the exemplary work of association publishers.
SNAP is a nonprofit, professional society serving the needs of association publishers and communications professionals. Their mission in part is to develop and maintain high editorial and advertising standards and to foster effective relationships among publishers, communications professionals, and industry providers.
The EXCEL program judges over 1,000 magazines, newsletters, scholarly journals, electronic publications and websites. A panel of publication and communication experts make up the jury and we are proud to announce that Our Heritage won in the most improved category. The award announcement letter stated in part that "Your submission displayed superior quality and truly is The Best and the Brightest in the association community."
An awards ceremony is scheduled later in the year in Washington DC.
SOHO Chosen as Tile Heritage Hub
The Tile Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization, dedicated to promoting an awareness and appreciation of ceramic surfaces in the United States. The organization has become a major voice in the preservation of existing installations of rare and unusual ceramic surfaces while enhancing the visability of contemporary tile work as well.
Cover of our March 2008
Tile Tour booklet.
Tile Hubs are designated locations throughout the United States where people can go to talk tile and to seek information about local tile installations. Joseph Taylor of the Foundation wrote us after he and cofounder Sheila Menzies presented the historic tile of San Diego portion of the 2008 preservation weekend and said, "Wow, what a tile treat you and your crew provided the folks of San Diego. In all the years we have held tile symposiums around the country, I can't remember a time when more local people showed up to share in the experience. I was taken aback when the adobe church filled to capacity, and then to find the two trolleys packed as well. I can only wonder how many people you turned away! Thanks so much for including us."
The Foundation was so impressed with the level of interest here that SOHO was invited to become a Tile Hub. Joe further stated, "We require that a Tile Hub have a map or list of installations, and you certainly have that. Plus you have your vast assortment of tile books and catalogs for people to browse through and purchase and that a tile hub is basically a place where people can go to find out about local tile installations.
We ask that SOHO members email us photos and locations of historic tile installations that you know of so that they may be added to our online tile hub.Preservation Weekend Wrap Up
SOHO's annual preservation weekend was once again a successful three days of educational and interesting lectures, architectural tours and historic homes. The event drew attention in national magazines for our emphasis on topics not usually covered, such as historic tile and Tiki architecture. For the Home Tour we chose Mission Hills after a 5-year hiatus to celebrate that community's 100th anniversary. With several Mission Hills Heritage board members opening their homes and other community leaders following suit we had, by all accounts, one of the best home tours in years. Two stunning examples of William Templeton Johnson were shown, along with an early example of master architect Wayne McAllister's work, and two of Mission Hills' most beautiful Craftsman homes.
National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) Visits San Diego
Preserving Historic Places in Parks was the focus of a three-day Western Preservation Leaders Meeting in April, in partnership with the NTHP Western Office, SOHO, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, California State Parks Foundation and San Diego County Parks and Recreation.
About sixty preservation leaders and professionals from eight western states gathered to examine preservation successes and ongoing threats to historic resources during a series of panel discussions and tours of San Diego.
Western preservation leaders touring the historic Warehouse District.
A portion of the conference focused on historic preservation in state parks and preservation's essential role in fighting global warming. Tours covered a wide span of San Diego's preservation projects, including the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Old Town, currently undergoing it's extensive restoration, and the newly restored Balboa Theatre. The downtown Warehouse District was the topic of a presentation and tours, as was Chicano Park's nationally significant collection of murals, and of course our great city park, Balboa Park was featured.
Special thanks to SOHO members who played a large part in the successful event, Anthony Block, Vykki Mende Gray, Mike Kelly, David Marshall, Marty Rosen, and David Swarens. We thank State and County park staffs, along with Whaley House Museum staff, and a very special word of appreciation for the planning and implementation prowess of Hugh Rowland and Anthony Veerkamp of the Western region office of the NTHP, which completed the picture of cooperation and work ethic that made this program so outstanding.
The SOHO Lady
Last issue we were remiss in not reporting on the nearly 40-year-old tradition of the passing of the SOHO lady to a deserving volunteer or leader in preservation work for SOHO. This is a special honor awarded for efforts above andbeyond the call of duty. It is always a surprise presentation made totally and arbitrarily by the previous recipient, who presents it at our annual membership and board election event.
Erik Hanson accepts the coveted SOHO Lady award.
This award itself was originated by Courtney and Denise Gonzales who first presented it in 1969, the year SOHO was founded. That year's recipient was Peggy and Tom Shepley who added the stipulation to the award that it must always be on public display for the full year in the recipient's home and that SOHO members are apt to check at any time!
The 2007 winner is Erik Hanson who received it from the 2006 winner, Welton Jones. A wooden plaque with winners names engraved on brass hangs in the SOHO offices. When Welton was making his decision, which is always kept secret, he was astonished to see that Erik, who has been one of the stalwarts of SOHO for over 20 years had never received the honor. So he rectified the oversight with an eloquent, humorous and heartfelt speech in presenting the lovely lady to Erik.
Earth DaySOHO exhibited at EarthFair this year for the first time to raise awareness of the huge environmental benefits of preservation; we spread the word through Carl Elefante's great words that "the greenest building is the one that is already built." Thanks go to the SOHO members who helped us man the booth and talk to so many people (this is the largest EarthFair in the world) who had never thought about the connection before and who were open to learning more. Learn more about sustainability and preservation online now at sohosandiego.org, where we have gathered articles, statistics and information, and an embodied energy calculator that will tell you just how much that historic building really means to the saving of our environment.
Janet O'Dea and Dean Glass man the
SOHO booth at EarthFair.
Get Involved! Join a SOHO Committee
We are embarking on a greatly expanded outreach program this year; we just exhibited at EarthFair and we will be at the Del Mar Fair next. Our goal is to reach every segment of the community and raise awareness of who we are and how we can help empower citizens and community groups to take back their neighborhoods, to protect what is meaningful to them and to save San Diego's past for the future, to save it for their children and grandchildren.
To do this we need your help; this kind of outreach takes manpower. Can you help us? There are many opportunities to get involved, and make friends while making a difference. A two-hour shift can be meaningful to the cause, plus, it's fun and satisfying. If you would like to be part of a group of volunteers that would form a core group (Volunteers for SOHO), we could extend ourselves throughout the county, as we need to. Remember SOHO is the only countywide preservation organization, which is a lot to oversee. The Events and Education committee (E&E) meets at 11:30am on the second Tuesday of every month in the Conference room at the Derby Pendleton House. As a subcommittee, Volunteers for SOHO, can choose their own time and day to best suit their schedule.
Outreach and organizing within our communities is important, and if you can commit to just two hours a month for meeting, we could use your help. All SOHO committees are supported by Staff; we will arm you with all the tools, back up and information you need to put your ideas into action.
More from this issue
- From the Editor
By Alana Coons- The Balboa Theatre - Anatomy of a Restoration
By David Marshall, AIA- The Balboa Theatre - An 18-year Redevelopment Battle
By Welton Jones- Survivors of San Diego's Theatrical Past
By Welton Jones- Professional Theater Comes to San Diego
By Dean Glass- Googie: An Architectural Link to San Diego's Midcentury Culture
By Kristin Reichardt Kirwan- North Park's Neon
By George Franck- A General Plan of Destruction
By Bruce Coons- Preservation Community
- Unearthing Long-Buried Whaley House Cistern
By Dean Glass- Reflections
- Strength in Numbers - Membership
- Donations
- GoodSearch.com
- Lost San Diego
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