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SOHO President's Monthly Message
July 2016
By Jaye MacAskill
 Jaye at the San Diego Zoo, c. 1980 |
Even though I've lived in San Diego for more than a decade, I still think like a tourist. For all the millions of lucky people who get to visit San Diego every year, there are millions more who only wish they could be here. I try never to take these facts for granted, which isn't difficult. I was a repeat visitor for 30 years before finally moving here.
For my entire childhood and teenage years, I would come down from Vancouver Island to California to see my grandparents once or twice a year. Day trips to San Diego were a frequent highlight. Unlike the rainy Pacific Northwest, it always seemed to be sunny in San Diego. I developed a particular fondness for Old Town, the architecture and museums of Balboa Park, and the Hotel del Coronado. Everything just seemed so exotic! I guess it could be said that even back then I was already into cultural heritage tourism in a big way, and that San Diego is one of the places where it originated.
Back in the 1970s, while I was enjoying my first virgin strawberry margaritas from a booster seat at Old Town's Casa de Bandini, SOHO was also just getting started in preserving San Diego's rapidly vanishing architectural heritage. Now many years later, I am not only hugely surprised, but deeply humbled to be president of the organization's board of directors. One of the most effective historic preservation advocacy groups in the entire country, SOHO is largely responsible for saving and elevating the historical aspects of San Diego that I enjoyed as child and that no doubt contributed to shaping me as a grown person. As a small-town kid from Canada, I certainly never imagined that one day I would join the effort to help preserve the unique historic resources of San Diego that I loved, or be part of such an impressive organization. When I return to the former Casa de Bandini to drink "adult" margaritas these days, not only do I think proudly of SOHO's involvement in restoring the building to its original appearance as the historic Cosmopolitan Hotel, but from a personal perspective, I also marvel at how strange and wonderful life can sometimes be.
To enjoy the rich lifestyle of a committed cultural heritage "staycationer" such as myself, joining SOHO is one of the best and easiest ways to go about it. By becoming a SOHO member, you support the organization's important preservation and educational mission while reaping a range of benefits including free admission to SOHO museums and sites, and discounts on special events tickets and merchandise in our museum shops. And if you are reading this, you probably already know that through SOHO you will also continue to learn about our region's diverse history and be kept up to date on important preservation issues affecting the quality of life in our cities, neighborhoods and rural backcountry.
As my own life path shows, cultural heritage tourism can have profound effects. San Diego County and the Imperial Valley have so many interesting historic sites and museums to visit. I encourage everyone to act like tourists in your own "backyard" and take advantage of the virtually unlimited cultural heritage activities available year round. Although I make it my own personal mission to visit as many local historic sites and buildings as possible, after all this time, I still feel like I've barely scratched the surface. I'm actually embarrassed by how many places are still left on my must-do list! So, if you happen to feel the same way about your list, may I suggest "checking off" one of SOHO's house museums or sites that you haven't visited yet? Whether you tour the Warner-Carrillo Ranch House, Santa Ysabel Store, Marston House, or Whaley House, you are sure to have a good time while gaining a new perspective on San Diego's fascinating history. And you never know, the experience could even alter your life!
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