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Designation of 540 Thorn Street Upheld!
May/June 2021

540 Thorn Street

Sixth Avenue and Thorn Street streetscapes with 540 Thorn on the corner in 2021. Photo by Amie Hayes

The San Diego City Council, led by Council President pro Tempore Stephen Whitburn, upheld the historical designation of 540 Thorn Street at the April 20, 2021 hearing. It was the first designation appeal to come to this newly elected council.

Thank you to all the SOHO members, preservationists, and San Diegans who submitted comments and spoke at the hearing in support of retaining the historical status for this rare home. Without your support, this new council might not have understood the significance of this mansion, which anchors the Sixth Avenue and Thorn Street corridors.

postcard image of 540 Thorn Street, 1909

1909 historic postcard of 540 Thorn Street, San Diego. Courtesy SOHO

The home is exemplary of a Tudor Revival style house with both Richardsonian Romanesque and Arts and Crafts era influences. Character-defining features include the asymmetrical facade and cross-gable, first-floor rough-faced sandstone including the round-topped arches, prominent chimneys, and windows of varying shape and size. 540 Thorn is also the high-quality design of a young San Diego architect, Elmer Bayless, whose architectural legacy is unfortunately brief due to his passing shortly before the house's completion.

Thanks to you, this corner house, the imposing keystone for the entire block, will continue to convey the history and architectural heritage of Sixth Avenue, the western edge of Balboa Park, and San Diego's social, aesthetic, and cultural heritage of a century ago.

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