As our hectic daily lives seem to flash by, San Diegans are increasingly finding enrichment and inspiration in our historic neighborhoods, buildings, parks, and cultural landscapes—even the bayfront. These places matter deeply to most of us, whether San Diego natives or newcomers. Our historic touchstones tell us stories about people and their times, and record events that are meaningful and instructive today and in the future.

Save Our Heritage Organisation announces its 32nd annual Most Endangered List to call attention to places we love that could disappear if we're not vigilant. And provides actions you can take to help.

The 2019 Most Endangered List includes nine significant landmarks and cultural landscapes that are threatened by development, deterioration, or lack of maintenance. Seven are carried over from last year; two are new. All embody compelling aspects of San Diego's history and character, such as the nationally important Presidio Park in Old Town, Big Stone Lodge in Poway, and Hillcrest's commercial core.

Two newcomers to the list are unique contributors to San Diego's authentic essence. The damaged Pottery Canyon Kiln underscores San Diego's rich history of immigration and the arts. The six-foot-tall adobe structure is all that's left of La Jolla Canyon Clay Products Company, which was founded by Cornelio Rodriguez after he moved here from Guadalajara, Mexico in 1928. He and his brothers scooped clay from this La Jolla canyon for decorative pottery sold nationwide and building products, like roof tiles and adobe bricks.

Also added to the list are five historic piers combining function and charm along the La Playa shoreline of Point Loma for almost 80 years. Publicly and privately owned, the piers are threatened with removal by California Coastal Commission regulations, which require public access to the state's bay- and beachfronts. The pending Port of San Diego's Draft Master Plan called for demolition, but substantial public opposition based on nautical and social heritage caused Port Commissioners to reconsider and possibly to challenge the Coastal Commission's order.

La Playa Piers, Point Loma Bayfront
For almost 80 years, San Diegans have enjoyed using a few private and publicly owned piers along La Playa's historic and picturesque waterfront. Likely constructed between the mid-1930s and late '40s, the five piers are integral to the nautical character, use, and cultural landscape of La Playa and Shelter Island. The privately-owned piers are not on private land, but rather in areas the Port of San Diego governs; residential uses are not permitted. And because not all of the piers are open... Read more

Pottery Canyon Kiln, La Jolla
The Pottery Canyon kiln is a round, six-foot-tall wood burning adobe structure on a private lot next to Pottery Canyon Natural Park in La Jolla. In 1928, Cornelio Rodriguez arrived from Guadalajara, Mexico and founded the La Jolla Canyon Clay Products Company in this canyon. When the City of San Diego designated the site historic in 1976, it was the oldest surviving pottery works in San Diego and possibly in Southern California. It remained active... Read more

Barrett Ranch House, Jamul
The Barrett Ranch House was placed on the Most Endangered List in 2014 after multiple concerned citizens reached out to SOHO regarding its troubling condition. Rural farmhouses are particularly rare in San Diego County. Built in 1891, this large two-story farmhouse in Jamul has been left vacant and vulnerable for years. The wood façades and special architectural elements, such as double front porches and a bay window, are still painted barn-red with white trim, as is... Read more

Big Stone Lodge, Poway
Long after the San Diego-Poway-Escondido stagecoach line stopped running, Dr. Homer Hansen and Daniel Stuck purchased land along Old Pomerado Road in the 1920s, envisioning a resort complex set within a grove of old oak trees. First came the gas station in 1925, then the Big Stone Lodge with its dance hall and bandstand. A restaurant and bar were added around 1930. While the resort was... Read more

Granger Hall, National City
Loosely draped in a weathered old tarp, the Granger Music Hall, glimpsed from the I-5 freeway, is enough to evoke serious concern over this acoustical masterpiece designed by San Diego Master Architect Irving J. Gill. Completed in 1898 at the Paradise Valley estate of Colorado silver magnate Ralph Granger, the small but elegant building was used for private concerts and to house Granger's notable violin collection. Gill's knowledge of acoustics, gained from his earlier work in Chicago,... Read more

Hillcrest Commercial Core
The commercial core of Hillcrest grew up along a streetcar line during San Diego's early 20th-century building boom, when the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in nearby Balboa Park fueled rapid suburban expansion. Hillcrest's historic character remains relatively unchanged since its early years, with one- to three-story structures filled with street-level shops, banks, and restaurants and a mix of apartments and... Read more

Presidio Park, Old Town San Diego
Once celebrated as the "Plymouth Rock of the West Coast," Presidio Park has become a desolate, unwelcoming place with few visitors today. A designated National Historic Landmark, this quiet and unassuming spot was the original location of the 1769 Spanish expedition's first Mission in Alta California, leading eventually to the development of Old Town, the port, and greater city of San Diego. Another layer of historical depth was added in the early...Read more

Red Roost and Red Rest Bungalows,
La Jolla Cove
SOHO's longest-running preservation battle is laser-focused on the Red Roost and Red Rest Bungalows, which have endured more than a quarter century of shameful, deliberate neglect. Located in the otherwise polished Village of La Jolla, this ghost-like pair of deteriorating 1894 redwood beach cottages are a curious sight to tourists, not to mention residents, who are unaware of their history and the on-going struggle to preserve them. Dating to the early period... Read more

San Diego Stadium, San Diego
The fate of San Diego Stadium in Mission Valley remains in limbo, as San Diego State University and the City attempt to agree on the terms and sale price of the huge site that includes this historic sports arena. Designed by the San Diego firm of Frank L. Hope Associates and opened in 1967, the stadium embodied innovative technology in the sports-viewing world at the time, featuring pre-cast concrete walls, optimal sight lines, and iconic spiral pedestrian ramps. It was initially home... Read more

Balboa Park Saved!
SOHO and allied groups and individuals take great pleasure in celebrating a major preservation victory: The most recent battle to save Balboa Park, San Diego's "Crown Jewel." This world-renowned cultural and historical resource has appeared on SOHO's Most Endangered List since 2011, but no longer qualifies in 2019 as "imminently threatened" and therefore has been removed has been removed from the roster.... Read more

Villa Montezuma, San Diego
Removed from the List
An icon of the historic Sherman Heights neighborhood, the 1887 Villa Montezuma is one of San Diego's most beloved grand Victorian era residences. The Comstock & Trotsche-designed home of Jesse Francis Shepard has been removed from the 2019 Most Endangered List, as we know of no imminent threat of demolition or other insensitive proposals. However, the under-utilized Villa has sat stagnant for many years, with its owner,... Read more