Lifetime Achievement - SOHO PIP 2023

Dorothea Laub’s endeavors have made her possibly the most steadfast donor and champion of historic restoration projects in San Diego since the cultural preservation benefactors of the early 20th century. Much of her work has centered around the restoration of Balboa Park’s historic buildings and landscapes, the historic buildings of Liberty Station Arts District, Point Loma Village restorations, and beyond. Her moral and donor support during the Save The Cabrillo Bridge campaign showed just how deep her love of the park goes. At Liberty Station, her love of dance led to the transformation of a 1940s former Navy building into Dorothea Laub Dance Place, now the home of the prominent companies Malashock Dance and San Diego Ballet. She also supported the preservation and adaptive re-use of other Liberty Station historic buildings: one dedicated to Music and Arts, and the Dick Laub NTC Command Center, named in honor of her late husband. Most recently, her generosity took center stage as the beloved Balboa Park carousel menagerie, dating back to 1910, underwent restoration and reopened in July 2023.

She has a remarkable gift for recognizing why people need significant historic places in their lives. Her enduring projects are as varied as faithfully replicating a 1935 Palm Canyon pedestrian bridge in Balboa Park that had been lost, a work of the renowned San Diego architect Richard Requa, to renovating parts of the San Diego Automotive Museum to revitalizing the historic clubhouse of Point Loma Assembly, a local improvement society founded by 28 women in 1911. Her support is soon to be seen in the restoration of Balboa Park’s 1935 Municipal Gymnasium, (originally the Exposition’s Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries) being done by the Committee of One Hundred.

Dorothea Laub Music & Arts Center at Liberty Station

Architect’s rendering for the restoration of Balboa Park’s municipal gymnasium. Courtesy Balboa Park Committee of One Hundred

Dorothea Laub Balboa Park carousel. Photo courtesy Friends of Balboa Park

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