The following is from a report by Ann Jarmusch in her San Diego Historical Resources: Designations and Board Reports in the March-April newsletter from SOHO.
During their January 2025 meeting, the City of San Diego Historical Resources Board considered a 1912 Point Loma house on Fernando Street. It is currently boarded up and the owner has a 90-day permit for demolition. The Board expects to rehear the case at its April meeting.
Regarding designations, an interesting case of history and change over time occupied the board with three lengthy reports and public comment on the nomination of a 1912 Prairie style house at 310 San Fernando Street. An early and rare example of the style in San Diego, historic photos depict the two-story, square home as an outpost seven miles from the city and rising from Point Loma’s nearly vacant La Playa area. Neighbors noted that it is one of La Playa’s oldest remaining house and an important touchstone for the community.
This house has an unusual history with the HRB, beginning in 2018 and including reports comprising hundreds of pages, incomplete reports the Heritage Preservation staff could not officially accept, and the staff’s current recommendation not to designate the house due to extensive alterations. The three detailed architectural evaluations presented at the meeting came down either for or against designation, based on modifications, materials, and setting. Other germane facts slipped out during the hearing: The house is now boarded up and its owner has a demolition permit good for 90 days.
Bruce Coons, SOHO executive director, told the board he had visited the property several years ago at the owner’s invitation to help determine its historicity. He favors designation because it is an important house for Point Loma. In his view, the alterations—such as the replacement of the original flat tile roof with asphalt and the addition of a bay window—do not detract from the 1912 design integrity and are not sufficient enough to disqualify it from designation. “It is instantly recognizable,” he said, as a Prairie-style home both in early photos and today.
San Diego’s Historical Resources Board is expected to receive new information and to rehear the case for designating this 1912 Prairie style house with Mission Revival influences in the La Playa neighborhood at its April 2025 meeting.
