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In Memoriam: John D. Henderson, FAIA (1933-2023)
 John Henderson in Balboa Park in 2019, at the Bea Evenson Fountain in Plaza de Balboa. He contributed to the design of both, completed in 1972, as a partner in Delawie, Macy & Henderson. Photo by Sandé Lollis |
Acclaimed preservation architect and SOHO Lifetime Achievement winner, John D. Henderson died in July of cancer. The preservation community, San Diego architects, and many others mourn the loss of this very active, congenial professional who successfully documented and restored our region’s important historic landmarks and served as president of the American Institute of Architects San Diego chapter. He was later elected to the national AIA’s prestigious College of Fellows (FAIA).
Decades before 2019, when SOHO presented John with a Lifetime Achievement Award, its highest honor, John received the SOHO President's Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Preservation of San Diego History in 1981.
During an interview in 2019 to commemorate SOHO’s 50th anniversary year, John shared many colorful details of SOHO’s early years. He attended the first meeting at co-founder Miles Parker’s house to plot SOHO’s initial success: saving the Sherman-Gilbert House (1887). Miles, an artist and teacher who died in 2012, “had a lot of hair and not quite flowing robes, but almost,” he remembered.
"SOHO was kind of a ragtag bunch. They had no money, but a lot of enthusiasm," John said. He also noted bold activism, adding, "SOHO people carried the placards, stood in front of the bulldozers, and talked to the press.”
After he helped research and write the pioneering California Historical Building Code, John presented the more flexible rules at a SOHO workshop. His firm, then Delawie, Macy & Henderson, contributed funds to buy the endangered Villa Montezuma in 1971. He also worked with SOHO to save the Horton Grand Hotel and to restore and revive the Gaslamp Quarter, where he won awards for restoring the Keating Building and the Yuma Building.
John enjoyed bringing people together for a cause. Generous with his time and expertise, he knocked on doors in Sherman Heights to gauge support for transforming the Villa Montezuma into a community center. He held authoritative positions on numerous preservation boards at the local, state, and national levels.
Over the years, John successfully wrote ten National Historic Register nomination reports for significant San Diego landmarks, including the Marston House, Santa Fe Depot, La Jolla Woman's Club, and the Villa Montezuma. Getting his hands dirty early in his career while restoring an old adobe launched his passion for historic preservation—and aren’t we fortunate it did. Thank you, John Henderson.
Read the 2019 interview with John Henderson and a description of his People In Preservation Lifetime Achievement Award on SOHO’s website.
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