An Historic Opportunity for our City and Our Community
Teachers Training Annex 1, National Historic Landmark, built in 1910.
With the passage of Measure U in November 2022 (the San Diego Student Safety, Health, and School Repair Measure), our City has a golden opportunity to adaptively reuse the Teachers Training Annex 1, a National Historic Landmark and forerunner to San Diego State University, as the University Heights Branch Library.
The San Diego Unified School District Board of Education has repeatedly stated their commitment to rehabilitate and adaptively reuse Annex 1, included funds in Measure U to “renovate or restore historical buildings”, and unanimously adopted a resolution in July 2018 to “Adaptively reuse Teachers Training Annex 1 as a teacher training facility and potential joint-use or community education facility to support teachers and neighborhood families.”
Richard Barrera, San Diego Unified School District Board Trustee for District D, stated that “The School District is excited to work with our partners in the University Heights community and the City of San Diego to bring the historic Annex 1 back to being a center of learning for students, educators and the entire community.”
Our City leaders have largely dismissed this generous offer but have yet to identify or fund any viable alternatives. After a meeting in May 2021 with San Diego Unified School District officials, Councilmember Stephen Whitburn stated that “While there are advocates for using Annex 1, there have been several significant questions raised by the State of California Librarian, by the City’s Library Director and the U-Heights Friends of the Library, whom would all love to see a newer/bigger library in the area, but question if Annex 1 is a viable solution. Given that, we want to look for an alternative that everyone can support."
Over one year later, the City has not committed funding to a new UH branch library or even improvements to the existing one. According to an online survey of 131 UH residents in 2021 (see page 10), 59% preferred that Annex 1 be adaptively reused as the University Heights Branch Library, 19% wanted the current library renovated and expanded, while 13% preferred building a new one elsewhere in University Heights.
Opponents of adaptively reusing Annex 1 as the UH Branch Library buttress their argument with a letter from the California State Librarian, Greg Lucas, who points out some of the obvious structural, ADA, and wiring issues with the building which would be addressed during rehabilitation by San Diego Unified School District. Many of the same arguments could be made against renovating the existing UH Branch Library, one of the smallest and oldest libraries in the city of San Diego. Mr. Lucas even acknowledges in his letter that Annex 1 could “be transformed into an appealing and functional 21st century library.” A feasibility study conducted by the City of San Diego Engineering Department in 2004 identified the same concerns raised by Mr. Lucas and the structural upgrades necessary to resolve them.
Founded in 1910, Annex 1 is 112 years old. Some of the greatest libraries in the U.S., and the world, are over 100 years old including the Jefferson Library of the Library of Congress (125 years), the McKim Building of the Boston Central Library (127 years), and the George Peabody Library in Maryland (144 years).
McKim Building, Boston Public Library, built in 1895
Jefferson Library, Library of Congress, built in 1897
Our City has a wonderful opportunity to partner with San Diego Unified School District to adaptively reuse a National Historic Landmark with a significant educational history as our library. At the very least, adaptive reuse of Annex 1 should be seriously considered along with other alternatives as the UH Branch Library.