20 San Diego Uptown News | Oct. 28-Nov. 10, 2011


HOME IMPROVEMENT Gone With the Windemere


HouseCalls Michael Good


Everyone who loves an old house cherishes the illu- sion that it might be historic. And usually he or she is right. Most old houses were built by someone significant, were lived in by someone who long ago did something notable or notorious or at least interesting, and are examples of a certain house type that exists only in the past, often in a neighborhood that is already considered historic or may soon be recognized as such. The problem is usually a matter of degree. Every old house is significant, but some are more significant than others. For better or worse, what is historic in San Diego is now determined by the City of San Di- ego Historical Resources Board, an appointed, volunteer body that determines, among other things, whether or not a house quali- fies for a Mills Act exclusion—a significant tax break that can be passed on to new owners. The Board’s job is to sometimes say no and to keep the bar set high. It has become the defacto doorman for the really cool history party that every owner of an old house wants to crash. While most old houses have only one claim to fame, occa- sionally a homeowner hits the historic trifecta—the architect is certifiably significant, a


Sometimes Even an Irving Gill House Isn’t Historic Enough The all-Redwood cottage interior, circa 2010. (Photo by John Eisenhart)


resident was justifiably famous and the house type is rare and worth preserving.


That’s what happened in 2009 when the new owner of 1328 Virginia Way hired Ron May of Legacy 106 to research her house. At first glance, Windemere, as the house was originally known, seemed to have everything going for it: it was an Irving Gill-designed


1890s Redwood-paneled beach cottage that had been the resi- dence of a best-selling author and was the oldest occupied residential structure in La Jolla. But when the City of San Di- ego finally issued its report on Aug. 11, the staff recommended that the application for historic designation be denied. On Aug. 25, the Board concurred. Now the house’s fate hangs in the balance. In fact, demolition has already begun. The diamond paned leaded glass windows have been removed, and the dis- tinctive roofline, with protrud- ing rafter tails and hand-carved brackets, has been sawed off. The wrecking ball may be next. Windemere was built in 1895


Presented by Supporting sPonsored by is easy as pie!


Buy your Thanksgiving pie from Mama’s Kitchen and 100% of the proceeds benefit our neighbors battling AIDS or cancer.


Pick up your pie the day before Thanksgiving at one of more than 20 convenient locations around San Diego!


WIN AN IPAD 2!


See website for details.


pumpkin, apple, pecan, & no-sugar-added apple


$20 To order by phone: 619.233.6262


Every pie sold buys OVER 6 meals for one of Mama’s clients


www.mamaspies.org Order online today at


per pie


October 29th, 7:00pm Qualcomm Stadium


AZTECS vs Wyoming


UT Youth & Family Night Select $16 tickets for $8


5:00pm Warrior Walk between E & F GOAZTECS.COM 619.283.SDSU


Fleet Week Classic


• Lawn Transformation • Low water Landscapes • 30 years of experience


3685 Voltaire St. San Diego 619.223.5229 • coastalsage.com


from plans drawn up by the firm of Falkenhan & Gill. It was one of several cottages built by Gill along Prospect on the cliffs over- looking the Cove. The owners, John and Agnes Kendall, already had one Gill-designed house, on a ranch in El Cajon, where they lived most of the year. They likely saw Gill’s other cottages along the La Jolla coast and asked him to build them something similar. The design Gill came up with has many unique features, but Windemere is also a recognizable type—an informal beach cottage.


Like many beach cottages


of its era, Windemere had its resident artist, the English writer and suffragist Beatrice Harraden, who had written some of her more celebrated books while staying at the Kendalls other homes, in London and El Cajon. Harraden did some writ- ing in La Jolla, and during her stay one of her novels was serial- ized in the San Diego Union. The Kendalls eventually sold the house, subsequent owners moved it a few blocks east to Vir- ginia Way, and La Jolla became a very different place. No longer an artists retreat and seasonal get-away, with houses that had names rather than numbers, La Jolla today has some of the most pricey real estate in the country, and architecture that is notable first and foremost for just being big. Really Big. When I visited Windemere in the spring of 2010, I found it surprisingly well preserved. A beach cottage is an exercise in modesty, so its charm is subtle. The ceiling is low upon entering, and it only opens up as you pass to the dining room, which now looks out to the backyard, rather than the ocean. Everywhere you turn, you are surrounded by wood: ceiling, floor and walls; it


must have once felt like being in a Redwood forest at the edge of the sea. There’s a cathedral-like feeling to the place. Maybe it’s because of the timeless nature of the house, the fact that so little has been changed, as if it’s been preserved in amber… or shellac. Few houses this age show so little evidence of their previous inhabitants. “It’s a real time capsule,” says Erik Hanson, a South Park resident and Gill expert who has probably been in more Gill houses than anyone alive. “It’s an all-wood house. Board and batten. Single wall construc- tion. It’s a house that shows you how it was put together.” When it comes to what makes it worth saving, he says, “It’s just different. It’s not like any- thing else. I can’t think of too many that are even similar. The casualness of it being a beach house. The lack of formality. It represents what was once unique about La Jolla when it was an artists hangout.” Despite its well-preserved condition, the Historical Re- sources Board’s main reason for rejecting Windemere was “due to a lack of integrity.” What really sealed Winde-


mere’s fate however, was the decision of the homeowner who originally applied for historical designation to sell the house, rather than restore it. The new owner, who purchased the prop- erty in February 2011, hired a lawyer, Scott Moomjian, to argue against historic designa- tion. When the Board reviewed the application, it now had a series of addendum to consider, written by Moomjian, refuting the original report’s claims. Moomjian, in person, addressed the Board regarding his objec- tions to the report. No member of the community was allowed to respond, so essentially Win- demere was defenseless. For anyone familiar with Gill, or how architects work, or how writers write, or how build- ings change over time, Moom- jian’s arguments are just plain silly. Foremost among them is the claim that Windemere isn’t really an Irving Gill. It was built during a period when Gill was in partnership with Joseph


see Windemere, page 21


IRRIGATION TUNE-UP


$100 Check and adjust valves,


Controller, sprayhead and drip systems, Minor repairs included


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24