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In Memoriam
James R. Mills (1927-2021)
By Ann Jarmusch
May/June 2021
 James Mills at Petco Park for SOHO's annual People In Preservation awards event in 2004. Photo by Sandé Lollis |
San Diego would be a far less authentic place were it not for James R. Mills, the former state legislator, author, historian, and preservationist who died at age 93 on March 27. His impact on preservation and public transportation has been profound. Already, generations appreciate the benefits of designating and restoring a historic home, trolleys that run from the border to University City, bike trails around his beloved Coronado, and city icons like Old Town San Diego Historic State Park, the rebuilt Old Globe Theatre and the restored Star of India.
"Jim Mills was one of the most important individuals ever to engage in the promotion and preservation of California's important historic places. I can think of no one that has done more to save our collective cultural heritage," Bruce Coons, SOHO's executive director, said.
In 2001, SOHO gave this long-standing member, friend, and informal adviser our Lifetime Achievement Award—and he still had two decades of accomplishments ahead of him!
Jim Mills was an articulate leader hailed for his integrity and belief in governing for good. Toni Atkins, the state Senate president pro tempore (like Jim before her), called him "a remarkable gentleman" and "a champion of the people." We gained Old Town San Diego Historic State Park, SDSU's library, the California Coastal Act and Coastal Commission, the California Historical Building Code, and the Mills Act, the most effective incentive for restoring a historic building, and more.
Preservation architect and SOHO board member Milford Wayne Donaldson calls Jim Mills "my second dad, in a way, in historic preservation… Even if you didn't agree, the disagreement was always about the project. It never got personal." He experienced Jim's intense ardor for the trolley to run through the Gaslamp Quarter when restoration of that area was starting. It didn't happen, but Jim got his San Diego trolley system, which was partly funded by the California Transportation Development Act. "In a certain sense, that act helped preserve historic neighborhoods," he added.
Often praised as a Renaissance Man, Jim wrote limericks, books on San Diego history and landmarks, and two novels. In retirement, he was just as busy. Jim led the Metropolitan Transit Development Board for many years, holding board meetings in the James R. Mills headquarters. He worked on behalf of San Diego's Maritime Museum and Railroad Museum. To the end, he was fighting to save the state Capitol Annex from demolition and writing another novel. Is it any wonder it's about a man in a white hat doing good?
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