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Treganza Heritage Park Dedicated
By Ann Jamusch
November/December 2021
 (Second from left) Racquel Vasquez, mayor of Lemon Grove. County Supervisor Joel Anderson hands out the proclamation at the dedication. Courtesy San Diego Voice & Viewpoint |
 Alberto Treganza, early 1900s. Courtesy Lemon Grove Historical Society. |
At the urging of the Lemon Grove Historical Society, the Lemon Grove City Council voted unanimously in 2020 to change the name of Civic Center Plaza to Treganza Heritage Park, in honor of an influential pioneer family. The city and the historical society hosted a public celebration at the 1.76-acre park, adorned with lemon trees like the ones the Treganzas cultivated commercially, in early October 2021.
Eduardo Treganza, the family patriarch, was a gifted plein air artist and horticulturist. His wife, Josephine, had an active interest in archeology and was a noted fossil collector.
Alberto O. Treganza, another well-known member of this family, worked as an early 20th-century architect in the San Diego region and in Utah. Trained at a technical school, he also took architecture classes under William S. Hebbard in San Diego. He was later employed by the Hebbard & Gill firm, where he learned to design contemporary architecture, including Modern, Craftsman, and Prairie School styles. Alberto was the creator of the Lemon Grove roadside "Big Lemon," and his body of work includes Arts and Crafts and Spanish Colonial Revival homes. A number of his buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places and the City of San Diego's historic register. For one, the Old Police Headquarters (designed with the Quayle Brothers, 1939) has been restored and redeveloped with shops and restaurants into the Headquarters at Seaport.
Alberto's wife, Antwonet Treganza, was an active force in the Lemon Grove community, and in 1938 began a decade of weekly columns, "Walks and Talks with Mother Nature," for the San Diego Union.
Their daughter, Dr. Amorita Treganza, a well-known pediatric optometrist, was the first woman to head a national medical association. She was also an actor and a Spanish dancer, and led the effort to found the historical society in 1978. As a young teen, she sat atop the Big Lemon when it debuted as a parade float.
Kudos to the Lemon Grove Historical Society for elevating recognition to one of Lemon Grove's most accomplished families and for winning persuasive powers with the City Council.
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