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SOHO President's Message
By David W. Goldberg
May/June 2023
 Photo by Sandé Lollis |
I recently went on a tour of historic buildings on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, my first old building adventure outside of San Diego since the pandemic began. Broadway is one of L.A.’s most historic streets, with many significant movie theaters and flagship department store buildings dating to the first decades of the 20th century. Not only are my trips entertaining and fun, especially for National Preservation Month, they’re also an opportunity to learn how other places handle preservation issues and inner-city challenges.
What first struck me in L.A. was the number of once grand movie theaters, typically multi-story buildings, being converted into loft housing. With demand for office space declining nationally as more work is being done remotely, these renovations provide an effective way to return historic structures to economic viability. The lofts doubly serve as much-needed housing with private work spaces.
Probably the most impressive adaptive-reuse project on the tour was the conversion of the 1927 Tower Theatre into a world-class Apple store after being vacant for decades. This was the first theater designed by renowned theater architect S. Charles Lee, and the first film house in Los Angeles to be wired for “talkies.” In 2022, the project received a Preservation Award from the Los Angeles Conservancy.
That a theater from the late 1920s, which incorporated cutting-edge technology of its day, can fit into the business model of a high-tech multinational corporation like Apple, makes an important statement: Preservation makes economic sense. As you may know, S. Charles Lee designed San Diego’s now demolished Tower Theatre and the even more impressive Tower Bowl bowling alley. Dating to the early 1940s, these buildings faced each other across (our) Broadway near the Santa Fe Depot. Their loss still hurts. The missed opportunity makes me cringe.
Another important takeaway from my tour was the status of the 1907 Broadway Trade Center, a 13-story Beaux-Arts building that went into foreclosure during the pandemic. Once the site of the A. Hamburger & Sons department store, and later a flagship May Company store, the building had been undergoing an ambitious renovation until the pandemic halted work. Fortunately, the unoccupied structure was secured and has suffered little visible damage. When financing and ownership issues are sorted out, it will return to life again, in all its former glory.
Choices and decisions matter. If the California Theatre in downtown San Diego had been adequately secured and protected during its years of vacancy, it might now be undergoing adaptive reuse and restoration to provide badly needed affordable housing. If code enforcement had prevented decades of demolition by neglect of the Red Roost and Red Rest cottages in La Jolla, they might instead be sources of civic pride. We must do better.
In my last column, I noted that the highly controversial California Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) is unlikely to cause significant harm to designated historic resources. [Read the column from the March/April issue] Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for its companion legislation, California Senate Bill 10 (SB 10). In contrast, SB 10 seems designed to encourage investor speculation at the expense of single-family home ownership, SB 10 also reminds me of the well-intentioned post World War II urban renewal projects that eviscerated downtown San Diego and other historic urban cores.
San Diego is now poised to be the first California city to implement SB 10. SOHO has been successful in getting exemption language for designated historic resources and districts into the City’s draft, but challenges are likely. SOHO continues to monitor its progress closely.
On a happier note, here’s a big National Preservation Month shout-out to SOHO team members Dean Glass, Robin Lakin, Kathryn Fletcher, Sandé Lollis, and Robert Veres, who handled our post-pandemic museum re-openings and resumption of educational public events with dedication and professionalism. They bring an impressive range of talents, skills, and enthusiasm to their work, and often are the first contact the public has with SOHO. They exemplify SOHO’s high standards, and I’m very grateful for all they do. Let’s thank them in May and all year round!
In conclusion, it saddens me to note the passing of Kathleen Kelley-Markham. I first met Kathleen and her husband Jim in 1978 during the battle to save Irving Gill’s 1907 Melville Klauber house from demolition. They were in the forefront of that struggle, and nearly half a century later, I’m still in awe of their dedication and tenacity. Kathleen also served as SOHO’s president, helping steward the organization through a challenging period. She will be greatly missed.
As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, I look forward to seeing everyone as we enjoy our beautiful and historic city together.
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