Historic Gate and Railing Reconstructed
Historic Gate, Then and Now
After illegally replacing the 122-year-old wood gate and railing on Adams Avenue at Mission Cliff Drive earlier this year, the property owner at 1608 Mission Cliff Drive completed reconstruction of the gate and railing, per requirements of the City of San Diego Historic Preservation Planning Department. In February, the owner replaced the gate without a permit as required by the City. In addition, he used the wrong wood and cut the pickets too wide to fit into the cement cap atop the cobblestone wall.
The gate and railing have now been completely replaced with redwood and the pickets fit into the slots on the cement wall. The Historic Preservation Planning Department has also required the owner to fix the cracks in the cobblestone wall below the railing.
The gate, railing, and cobblestone wall stretching from Adams Avenue to the deadend just west of Mission Cliff Drive were built by Scottish landscape gardener John Davidson and are the remaining vestiges of Mission Cliff Gardens, established in 1898 by John D. Spreckels.
The University Heights Historical Society first alerted the Historic Preservation Planning Department in February 2020 about the illegal replacement, and then filed a complaint with City of San Diego Code Enforcement in March, along with Save Our Heritage Organisation and other concerned community members. Chris Ward’s office helped to keep the process moving along.
Traditional millworker William Van Dusen reviewed the work and commented that, “It appears to me that someone made a good faith effort to replicate the original gate and railing using modern day lumber sizes and bolts. There are less than perfect details, however this is true with many other similar sections that have been replaced in the past. All in all, I would say it was pretty well done and it will blend in better in five years.”
While the new gate and railing are more historically accurate, our community still grieves the loss of the original gate and railing, which are simply irreplaceable. The University Heights Historical Society will reach out to other owners adjacent to the cobblestone wall to remind them that any work on the historically-designated wall, gates, or railing requires a permit from the City. Owners may contact the Historic Preservation Planning Department at HistoricalResources@sandiego.gov for more information and further direction.
As a grassroots organization, the University Heights Historical Society appreciates donations of any size to help us continue to preserve the architectural, cultural, and historic resources in University Heights.