Save Our Heritage Organisation
Magazine
November 21, 2010 marks the tenth anniversary of SOHO's assuming operations of the Whaley House Museum for the County of San Diego. Although the past ten years seem to have flown by, we are very proud of what we have accomplished in our first decade at the Whaley House.
A long legal battle between the previous operators and the County of San Diego was settled with the furnishings and antiques in the museum going to the previous operators. Items having belonged to the Whaleys or Whaley House-related would remain. After the 40 plus years of collections were removed SOHO took possession of the near-empty museum in a state of deteriorated condition after many years of neglect.
Determined that the museum would not be closed for a single day of public access, SOHO replaced items as quickly as the movers cleared rooms. SOHO volunteers stood ready with buckets, mops, vacuums, tools, paint, brushes, and all manner of cleaning supplies. As rooms were readied, period appropriate items were moved in that had been collected through loan, donation or purchase by our curatorial staff.
Upon opening our doors the first time we were met with protestors, friends of the last operators to whom it didn't matter that we had merely won the bid and were not a party to their tribulations with the county. However, we won the day as visitors who had been wanting to visit the house for years, and who had never been able to access it before due to limited and sporadic hours of operation, flocked to our doors, walking past the protestors and welcoming us warmly and thanking us for opening the house to the public to which it belonged.
In 2010, the Whaley House looks more like it did in the 19th century than at any time in the 20th. Using historic photographs, a new front porch was recently replicated from Thomas Whaley's original 1857 design, and new copper rain gutters were added, also in their historic design. Long-term plans include returning the front facade to its historic appearance, with five sets of French windows on the second floor and five double store doors on the first. Photo by Sandé Lollis.
A public relations campaign was launched, along with the long-term restoration plan, and an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant was procured, which provided a general needs assessment for the house.
Mildew, dirt, moisture, and leaks in the roof all contributed to the house's need for attention and repair. Doors and windows that had been painted shut were opened, and many of the partitions, light boxes and electrical fittings that were put in place in the 1960s were removed. Access to the public being a primary goal, one of the first areas to be addressed was the removal of the maze of English formal garden style hedges that enclosed every brick walkway. Besides not being a landscape congruent with the Old Town frontier homestead, it was impossible for those in wheelchairs to maneuver.
The house's original floor plan and use of rooms had been altered over the years, so the first year was spent returning it to its most significant period for interpretation, 1857-1885. One first floor room displayed as a dining room was returned to its historic use as the 1869 Whaley & Crosthwaite General Store; the former kitchen display was restored to the original dining room.
The wood-burning antique stove made in 1864 is in its original working condition, making this a functional 1860Ős kitchen. A replica oilcloth with checked design covers the floor. All accessories are antique or reproduction such as the wash tubs and washboard, which were custom made. Other furnishings to be added as funds allow will include a dry sink, more kitchen tools, and a cot for the servant. Photo by Sande Lollis
A nineteenth century-style tabletop tree and other period decorations make the Whaley House a cheery place during the Christmas holidays. Photo by Sande Lollis
One major feature of the restoration was to transform the second floor front room, which had been displayed as a bedroom/sitting room suite, back to its use as San Diego's first commercial theater. A raked stage, painted backdrop, antique pump organ, and chairs for the audience completed the theater's return after 133 years, with its first production being a new musical adaptation of O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi in December 2001.
Period decorative treatments such as wallpapers, carpets, drapes, lighting, and faux-grained oak woodwork were introduced to give the house its nineteenth century look and feel.
In 2007 the original kitchen, a board-and-batten lean-to structure on the back porch, was reconstructed, which also included removing inappropriate alterations thereby restoring the back of the house to its earliest period after more than a century.We are very proud of what we have accomplished
in our first decade at the Whaley House.In 2008, we were finally able to replace the 1950s front porch with the reconstruction of the original 1850s porch, an important transformation that was watched by the entire Old Town community who cheered us along the way.
The property involved not only the Whaley House, but also four other historic buildings. The sad little 1870s Verna House was in dire shape and underwent a historic building report along with a complete restoration. It serves as the museum shop and admissions center. The two rare examples of false front buildings, while still awaiting ground floor foundations to be put back from their 1960s raised platform installation, are leased to a café that has gained a reputation for some of San Diego's best Creole food; thousands of visitors each year can sit in the patio dining area and enjoy the Whaley House gardens at leisure. The Derby Pendleton House, which is one of the most important historic structures in the state serves as offices for SOHO, and has undergone much needed restoration as well, making it a pleasure for staff to work in and call our home.The Youth Docent Program was created to introduce youth to the concepts of historic preservation through the history of the Whaley House. This has been one of our greatest successes with dozens of young people having gone through the program and going forward with museum, history and historic preservation fields of study as their chosen career paths.
We are also proud of our record of public access. Opening the museum to the public six days a week, with extended nighttime hours three days a week and being open seven days during the summer season has enabled over 120,000 visitors a year to learn about the family, the historic structures, SOHO, the 150-year-old folklore of the spirits within the Whaley House and, most importantly, the role that historic sites play in the quality and character of a community as not only an economic driver but as a character-defining feature of the tapestry of our lives.
As this was going to press, we received a phone call from Frederick Reynolds Gerlach, Thomas and Anna Whaley's great-great grandson who had been cleaning out his mother's house when he re-discovered several journals and correspondence written by C. Lillian Whaley, the last Whaley to live in the house, as well as several pieces of original furniture, which he and his family have generously decided to donate to the museum. The furnishings will require restoration, but ultimately will be on display. The written materials will be scanned, catalogued, transcribed, and made available to the public as soon as possible. What a wonderful anniversary gift to have received.
So many inroads were made and so much has occurred in the last ten years, that only a few highlights are recounted here. We hope you save the date and celebrate with us this milestone of stewardship for SOHO and attend our anniversary event on November 21, 2010.
