Death knell for historic La Jolla cottages that have stood for 100 years as city ignites fury

The fate of two historic cottages overlooking La Jolla Cove in San Diego is hanging by a thread –– and locals are fighting to save them.

The Red Rest and Red Roost at 1187 and 1179 Coast Blvd, established in 1894, are said to be among the oldest surviving wood-framed structures in La Jolla Village. The cottages were seriously damaged by a fire in Oct. 2020.

Now, a proposal to demolish Red Rest while preserving Rest Roost is moving through San Diego’s permitting process, which has local historic preservation groups furious.

Preservation architect Dr. Diane Kane, a former staff member of the city’s Historical Resources Board, spoke at the San Diego Community Planners Committee on Aug. 25.

“Over generations, we have created institutions to identify and protect the places that help tell us who we are. Those places are part of our shared inheritance. And that inheritance is held in trust — what happens when that trust is not upheld?” she argued.

Community leaders and planning groups are strongly pushing back against the city’s handling of the historic Red Rest cottage.

The La Jolla Historical Society appealed the proposal on June 16, arguing the move would damage the La Jolla Park Coastal Historic District’s integrity. Save Our Heritage Organisation, a preservation nonprofit that has long opposed redevelopment plans for the site, also objected to the demolition of Red Rest.

La Jolla Community Planning Association President Lisa Kreideman told the Times of San Diego that she felt “the city was throwing in the towel,” adding that officials are essentially declaring, “demo it, and there’s nothing else historically relevant about this.”

The Community Planning Committee voted 22–2 to support the Historical Society’s appeal, framing the dispute as a major citywide issue.

According to The Times, in an Aug. 28 letter to San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava and the city council, Community Planning Committee Chair Victoria LaBruzzo said that the committee intervened “because of its potential citywide implications for designated historic resources and districts.”

She highlighted that the city had previously issued a Notice of Violation on the property in 2002 — nearly two decades before a major fire — due to a failure to maintain the structures.

She wrote that the committee “is concerned about the precedent that could be created when a designated historic resource deteriorates over time and that deterioration is later relied upon as a basis for determining that the resource no longer retains sufficient historic integrity to warrant protection,” The Times reported.

The committee’s letter further contended that the city failed to analyze how demolition would impact the surrounding cottage ensemble and neglected to meaningfully explore preservation alternatives, such as stabilization, rehabilitation, or reconstruction using salvaged materials.

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