|
In Memoriam
Jeffrey D. Shorn (1944-2021)
By Ann Jarmusch
May/June 2021
 Jeffrey Shorn, 2016. Photo by Sandé Lollis |
Jeffrey Shorn, who died on April 20, 2021, was an ardent preservation architect and educator. While serving as dean and professor at the NewSchool of Architecture + Design in San Diego, he was also running his own architecture practice from 1981 to 2015. His projects included envisioning the Balboa Theatre transformed into a museum and a proposal for G Street Mole, as well as adapting historic homes.
"His original visit to San Diego was to see the Salk Institute, which would weave thru his career and life," wrote Charles "Chuck" Kaminski, Jeffrey's husband.
"Jeffrey and Chuck were among the very first to pay attention to the significance of Modernist buildings, like the Salk Institute and El Pueblo Ribera, at a time, in the 1970s, when there was little awareness of their architectural importance. His work at both of these sites will forever be a part of Jeffrey's rich legacy, and I will think of him and thank him every time I visit them," Bruce Coons, SOHO's executive director, said.
He lived in El Pueblo Ribera, a 1920s multi-dwelling complex designed by Rudolph Schindler and had it added to the local register of historic sites. When fire destroyed one of the units, he was asked to be the architect of its rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Jeffery served on the boards of SOHO, the La Jolla Historical Society, the California Preservation Foundation, and what became the City of San Diego's Historical Resources Board.
Ione Stiegler, a preservation architect and SOHO member, recalls meeting Jeffery, "the ultimate gentleman," when they both sat on HRB. "He immediately became a role model for me; he was articulate and thoughtful," she said. "We often were tackling difficult decisions and he had a way of seeing through to the heart of the issue and offering a well-considered path forward."
In 2016, SOHO awarded Jeffrey and Chuck the SOHO People In Preservation Lifetime Achievement Awarded for significant contributions to historic preservation in San Diego. They were also featured in a book about gay men as protectors of culture.
Marc Tarasuck, a preservation architect, would reminisce with Jeffrey about "lost" San Diego. "Always the optimist, Jeffrey reminded me that sometimes, 'All you can do is all you can do, and, all you can do is enough. Just remember to do all you can do.'"
More about Jeffrey:
People In Preservation Lifetime Achievement Award
Chuck Kaminski's tribute
Two architects build a rich life together San Diego Union Tribune
A Passion to Preserve: Gay Men as Keepers of Culture, pp. 135-137
Peace Corps newsletter, June 2017, pp. 6-7
|
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
|
