With the La Jolla Park Coastal Historic District now officially on the National of Historic Places, some locals are wondering what it means for the land and landmarks within the district.
Looking to answer as many questions as possible, La Jolla resident and architectural historian Diane Kane gave a presentation at the La Jolla Parks & Beaches meeting May 20 at the La Jolla/Riford Library. It may be the first of several such talks at various meetings and locations.
The Coastal Historic District encomes places such as La Jolla Cove, the Children’s Pool, Casa de Mañana retirement community and Red Roost and Red Rest cottages. The area is based on an 1887 map of what was called La Jolla Park and includes eight acres of coastal parkland roughly between Torrey Pines Road and Coast Walk in the north and nearly the end of Coast Boulevard in the south.
The area’s period of significance ends in 1940, when the last of many recreational buildings were constructed and community development began to focus on areas farther from the coast.
“The first question people ask [about this district project] is why,” Kane said. “It was to identify sites and structures of significance to the planning and development of La Jolla. … We [did] it to preserve and protect the cultural landscape that we have along the coast and celebrate the unique marine environment.”
Having those elements on the National of Historic Places also could boost tourism and community pride, she said.
Kane said her interest in having the district designated was to have codified management practices for its features.
“There are many important places on the planet that are being loved to death by overtourism, so to get a management scheme in place, you have to know what you are managing and why you are managing it before you can go forward with future actions,” she said.
With the district now nationally designated, any changes to its resources have to follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, a series of federal guidelines that cover preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and reconstruction of historic sites.
For example, under those standards, Kane said, “if you have a termite-riddled fence, you have to replace it in kind. If you have plant materials that are past their prime, you have to replace them in kind.”
The standards also could provide guidance on how to rebuild damaged or destroyed structures and enforcement of cleared view corridors throughout La Jolla.
For structures that have “some problems with integrity due to their condition,” such as the 93-year-old Children’s Pool — funded by famed La Jolla philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps to provide a wave-free shoreline for children, protected by a seawall — the standards provide guidelines for how to address repairs, Kane said.
“Children’s Pool is in its original location, in its original setting, it has its original design. It still feels very much like it did when it was first built … and is associated with the people who built it,” she said. But “the materials are starting to fray due to weathering and lack of maintenance and, as a result, the original workmanship is deteriorating.”
The standards suggest making repairs from the perspective of “Would the people that built it recognize it?” among other things, Kane said.
Federal funding and grants also may be available for historically designated sites to help facilitate repairs, preservation efforts and/or restoration.
Last year, the La Jolla Community Planning Association, La Jolla Planned District Ordinance Committee, La Jolla Shores Association, Parks & Beaches and San Diego Historical Resources Board all voted to the La Jolla Park Coastal Historic District, and the California State Historical Resources Commission followed suit in August.
The San Diego-based Save Our Heritage Organisation also has stated its .
Reaching the National was delayed until earlier this month, partly by a letter submitted by animal-advocacy groups that raised questions about how marine mammals that go on land in La Jolla would continue to be protected. That was an issue because the historic district includes both the Children’s Pool, which is closed to the public for five months annually for harbor seal pupping season, and Point La Jolla, which is closed year-round to keep humans and sea lions apart.
Another letter from a former area resident asked that more properties be included in the district.
To resolve those issues, more specific details were added to the description of the district’s boundaries.
Kane said the historic district is from the mean high tide line landward, whereas the local Marine Protected Areas are from the mean high tide line seaward, and the two “do not interface.”
Other Parks & Beaches news
Sidewalk widening: As part of a continuing effort by the city of San Diego to widen the sidewalk along Coast Boulevard next to Scripps Park, LJP&B formed a group to work with the city as the project progresses.
“I think it’s super important for us to be proactive and participate in this,” said Alexandra Corsi, a member of the working group. “It’s very important for us to communicate and be in the loop with planners. … We cannot act afterward.”
In 2022 and ’23, representatives of local planning groups and advisory boards submitted a list of projects to the city in hopes of having them funded and implemented. Widening and rebuilding the Scripps Park sidewalk was No. 1 on the list.
On March 11 this year, the city allocated $750,000 to draft a plan to widen the sidewalk as one of 19 projects citywide in Mayor Todd Gloria’s “Parks for All of Us” initiative.
To the working group, email [email protected].
Second picnic grove: A second picnic grove in La Jolla’s Scripps Park could be in place by the end of the year. The proposed site is north of the current one and now has a table.
A right-of-entry permit was written in November, followed by a series of emails between the city and LJP&B board member Tim Seery.
Seery reported that the city said a final draft of the plan should be ready for review by the end of this month.
The project would cost a total of $70,155, including a 10 percent contingency fund for any unexpected expenses. If funding is secured, the project should be “shovel-ready” by Labor Day, Seery said.
Corsi said she would late La Jollan Selma Malk‘s family, who provided funding for the first picnic grove — unveiled in December 2022 — and would seek other sources of funding.
Next meeting: The La Jolla Parks & Beaches group next meets at 4 p.m. Monday, June 24, at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. Learn more at lajollaparksbeaches.org. ◆
