From the Editor

The last year saw us write a new chapter for SOHO with the successful operation of the Marston House, and, with our feet even more firmly planted at the Whaley House, the second half of our 20-year lease begins.

Dean Glass and Ann Jarmusch chronicle these milestones by events that have taken place, restorations completed and in the goals achieved. What has also happened along with these tangibles is the maturing of an organization into one of the most influential and effective historic preservation groups in the country.

It doesn't feel that different on the ground, day in and day out, as a team of dedicated employees along with an invaluable, talented, and supportive volunteer roster, and an ever-growing membership, all simply do what they can do and keep the ball moving forward.

During this past year we have seen long-term dreams for SOHO come true. Among the most important of these is the restoration of the Casa de Bandini-Cosmopolitan Hotel site. Tourists and locals alike have flocked to the new old building hungry for a taste of an authentic San Diego experience. Hopefully the state will now come to understand the economic viability of treating a historic park like a historic park and not a theme park, that its mandate to preserve and protect its historic resources is not a burden to be borne, but an exciting opportunity to showcase their holdings, to engage, inspire, and inform the visitor about the important role they play within the greater parks system.

The 2010 People In Preservation award winners certainly know what makes up an intriguing and uniquely San Diegan place. Their combined works have preserved a sense of place that all San Diegans can applaud.

All good news, well, darn it, no. Our Most Endangered still has seven of last year's list still remaining and this should be cause for alarm for all of us. The California Theatre sits rotting as arts and culture groups desperately seek appropriate event venues, and City Hall looks to build a new home for itself while the California in all its decayed grandeur beckons for rehabilitation and reuse. The Balboa Theatre down the street, one of the CCDC's and the City's brightest moments, somehow even with its immense commercial success, not quite bright enough to light the way to see the California's hidden greatness and inherent beauty.

SOHO celebrated its 40th year in 2009. With thirty formative years under its belt the last decade has realized the most in terms of the goals and agenda of its founders. Sadly, this issue also memorializes a number of SOHO people who have passed, each of them an important contributor to the collective success in saving San Diego's heritage.

2010 - Volume 41

MORE FROM THIS ISSUE

From the Editor

The Cosmopolitan Hotel: A Resurrection of the Past

Most Endangered List of Historic Resources

Lead Paint: What's at Stake?

The California Theatre Under Siege

10-Year Anniversary at the Whaley House

Marston House - First Year Retrospective

People In Preservation Winners

An Evening Well Spent at PIP

Preservation Community

Reflections