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SOHO Debuts "The Marston Legacy" Online
By Ann Jarmusch
July/August 2020
 Marston children Left to right Elizabeth, Mary, Harriet, Arthur, Helen; and Anna and George. Courtesy Marston Family Collection |
Remarkable doesn't begin to capture the selfless, visionary accomplishments and philanthropy of George W. Marston. This tireless civic leader, successful merchant, and prescient preservationist arrived in San Diego in 1870, two days after he turned 20, and fell in love with San Diego and its setting. He never stopped working to improve this place and the life of its citizens until his death, seven decades later. His name is synonymous with the popular Marston's department store, but George Marston is responsible for so much more that helped define San Diego's culture and character while underwriting restoration of key historic buildings and places.
As the manager and interpreter of the Marston House Museum, SOHO initiated, curated, and produced the permanent exhibit The Marston Legacy: Progress and Preservation, which has brought the elegant Arts and Crafts house to life in a new way. Visitors since October 2018 have come away from their house tours feeling they know the family of seven better, through accounts of their exposition planning meetings around the dining table and annual Marston store employee picnics on the south lawn, as well as hosting Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington for dinner.
From invaluable city plans that George and his descendants commissioned and a handwritten nursery ledger entry for the original plantings to fashionable ladies' hats and a galaxy of family portraits in the master bedroom, this exhibit is the first of its kind about this leading San Diego family. It introduces or reintroduces the civic-minded Marstons to new generations who may be moved to emulate their community service and Progressive values, such as equal rights for minorities and women, and a living wage for hourly employees.
Now, SOHO has digitized this important exhibit. Its launch on July 1, 2020 on SOHO's website offers limitless public access at no charge and regardless of the Marston House Museum hours. Unlike the museum exhibit, the online version is blissfully free of constraints of physical space and installation in a historic resource. Also unique to online access, viewers can zero in on their interests, or come and go as they wish, by navigating topics such as "Parks, Preservation, and Planning," "The Gardens," and "Progress and Reform."
Perhaps best of all, the online exhibit is flexible. It can be expanded as new information and objects are donated or found.
SOHO is deeply grateful to the original sponsors, donors, and lenders of The Marston Legacy: Progress and Preservation, the permanent museum exhibit, and to all who made the original exhibit possible.
The digitizing, necessary redesign, and inclusion of new material all take a concerted effort, time and money. And this is just the first phase of our goal to fully research and explore every avenue, some of which is little known. When researching and writing The Marston Legacy, we learned that George alone was actively involved in more than 140 organizations in his lifetime, more than we could fit into the permanent show. Ultimately, we envision a book about the entire clan, as his wife Anna; in-laws; children; and grandchildren all seem to have shared strong humanist values, including community service.
The digital format now allows us to delve into each member of the family, and their many contributions and interesting lives. Where in the Middle East did daughter Elizabeth conduct archeological research with her husband, biographer of John Muir? Exactly how did several family members support the Sierra Club? Did Helen Marston keep a diary when, at age 72, she knocked on doors in Selma, Alabama, encouraging new voters?
SOHO will keep a sharp lookout for grant opportunities that might fund this fascinating and rewarding work, which we view as essential to our mission as Marston House stewards. If you'd like to help us make this ongoing project an even bigger success, we would warmly welcome your tax-deductible donation. After all, there's really no one else in San Diego like the Marston family!
See the new online exhibit HERE.
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