The Piñon

All are invited to a public workshop hosted by our partner,the Los Peñasquitos Lagoon Foundation. The purpose of the workshop is to address preserving public access to the lagoon. For more information, please view here.

This is the first in a series of articles by Judy Schulman. This article was first published in the Torreyana 1/ 2023.

As you all know by now, we will be celebrating the Lodge’s 100th-year birthday this year. But if a few occurrences in history had been a little different, we would be celebrating our 111th year anniversary!

As early as 1909, there were plans to bring what later would be called the 1915 Panama California Exposition to San Diego. The City leaders wanted a grand entryway to San Diego. What better place than through the then partially completed coast road through our park?

To encourage travelers to the area, in 1912 Ellen Browning Scripps hired the architectural firm of Mead & Requa to design a lodge for the park. Both men were interested in Southwestern architecture. Their pueblo revival architectural style called for a two-story Hopi village structure. Some of the features of this style include rounded adobe walls, canales, chimney pot caps, corbels, gargoyles, log benches, niches, parapets, pole ladders, and vigas.
Primarily for a live-in park supervisor and family, the lower floor would have a living room, three bedrooms, bathrooms, and a garage. The upper floor (main floor) would have an open balcony, a covered terrace, toilets, a refectory (dining hall), a kitchen to provide light refreshments/tea service, and a store. The store would have souvenirs as well as supplies for campers and picnickers. A 1919 description of the plan suggested that there would be a gas station.
Unfortunately, since the lodge was on City land, the City decided that they should be the ones to find and hire an architect. The fiscal year ended before they could make a decision. The money that Ellen Browning Scripps would have contributed went to the City general fund. It was set aside to be used for the 1915 Exposition. The onset of World War I also put the City’s focus elsewhere. With input from Ellen Browning Scripps, it wouldn’t be until 1921 that the City decided on the need for some type of visitor center to accommodate the increasing number of tourists to the park.
By then Mead had left the firm, and Herbert Jackson became Requa’s new partner. Their 1922 plan for the Lodge retained many of the original features that had been planned years earlier. By the time construction was actually to begin, the plans changed to what we see today. I wasn’t able to find any newspaper article or City document that addressed the reason for the change. My guess is that it was related to cost and the desire to finish as quickly as possible.

February 26, 2 pm – 5 pm: Torrey Pines Conservancy’s 73rd Annual Meeting at the Martin Johnson House, Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

We are looking forward to seeing our members and donors at our 73rd Annual Meeting in February. The event will take place outdoors on the patio of the Martin Johnson House. Please join us and learn about important Reserve updates while enjoying light refreshments and the magnificent view.

More information on our wonderful speaker and RSVP coming shortly.