cdn.sandiegouniontrib.comcdn.sandiegouniontrib.com/.../villa_montezuma_stories.docx · Web viewDavid Kahn, executive director of the society, said only a handful of itemswere retained

Story 1

Date:  Dec 08, 2009Page:  A-1

Headline:  Mansion’s furnishings give way to gavelAuthor:  Roger M. Showley

The Villa Montezuma, with its stained-glass images of Shakespeare and theGreek poet Sappho, is San Diego’s most storied and elaborate Victorian, builtjust east of downtown during the boom of the 1880s. Operated as a museumsince the 1970s by the San Diego Historical Society, the idea was to celebrateSan Diego’s past.

But nearly three years ago, the historical society ran into financial problemsthat forced it to close the home and turn it over to the city. Last week,the society began to sell the interior items — an antique piano, bedroomfurniture, lamps, plates and other furnishings — through a Los Angeles auctionhouse. A second auction is scheduled for Thursday.

David Kahn, executive director of the society, said only a handful of itemswere retained because they were original to the house or had some San Diegoconnection. “The bulk of the contents that were exhibit-like elements hadto be sold because there was no room to store them here,” said Kahn, referringto the society’s museum and archives in Balboa Park’s Casa de Balboa.

But Friends of the Villa Montezuma, a community group that has provided supportfor the museum for nearly 40 years, isn’t content with letting the furnishingsgo. It hopes to eventually return them to the Villa after it undergoes $1million in repairs.

It sent a member to Los Angeles last week to buy back some of the items forabout $4,000, Chairwoman Louise Torio said. The items included an entrywayhat rack, desk, armchairs and a bedroom set.

“We’re sentimental toward these pieces,” Torio said. “Quite a number of friendshave donated things to the Villa, and while this may not be the best exampleof a bedroom set, it’s the one we’ve been looking at for 40 years and weenjoy it.”

The Villa, at 1925 K St., was built in 1887 by local businessmen for $19,000and given to Jesse Shepard, a 39-year-old British-born musician, artist andmystic. In return, he moved to San Diego, a town then booming after the railroadbegan service to the east, to entertain the locals with some European culture.The home, designed to his specifications by the firm Comstock and Trotsche,is noted for its stained-glass windows and elaborate woodwork.

Local historian Clare Crane calls the house “without doubt the most interestingand imaginatively designed Victorian house still standing in San Diego.”

After the boom went bust, Shepard sold for the house for $25,000 in 1889and moved to Europe for about 25 years. He died in Los Angeles in 1927.

Kay Porter was among the original historical society members who arrangedto buy the Villa, restore it, donate it to the city and open it to the publicin 1972. Now serving on the friends group’s advisory committee, Porter didnot express dismay that her earlier donations were being turned into cashfor the financially troubled historical society.

“As a donor I got a write-off, so it’s a piece of public property, virtually,”Porter said. “If they can recoup something for that and possibly do somethinggood for the historical society, fine and dandy.”

Maria Bolivar, a Mesa College professor, member of the Villa friends boardand a Sherman Heights activist, said tough economic times are forcing nonprofitcultural organizations to dispose of some of their holdings to survive.

“Hopefully, the San Diego Historical Society doesn’t disappear,” Bolivarsaid, “and if they are at that moment in this stage of the organization wherethey have to resort to selling the property that they have gathered overthe years, that’s something that should be done.”

But there were some grumblings about the way the items were disposed of.

Betty Peabody, a founder of Friends of Balboa Park and a member of varioushistorical organizations, said she was stunned by the news and thought theitems could have been stored while the Villa was being repaired.

“It’s a tough way to make money,” she said.

Bruce Coons, executive director of the Save Our Heritage Organisation, saidmost of the items in the house were not reflective of the way it was furnishedin Shepard’s time. If SOHO ran the house, Coons said, it would refurnishit with items identical to those when the house was built. But he thoughtit was unnecessary to send items to a Los Angeles auction house.

“I would have thought people in San Diego might have wanted some of the itemsfor sentimental reasons and (the historical society) might have gotten betterprices for that,” Coons said.

Kahn said that he requested proposals from auction houses and that the bestone of three received came from A.N. Abell Auction Co. in Commerce.

“Where are the auction houses — the better ones are up in L.A. with a largercustomer base and bigger reach,” he said.

Selling museum holdings — called “deaccessioning” — has been a controversialact for many institutions, since donors believe they are adding to a collectionand are dismayed to find out their generosity has been monetized to plugbudget holes or buy something better.

The San Diego Historical Society ran into a buzz saw of criticism in 1986when it sold the early-20th-century A.H. Sweet House in Mission Hills for$665,000 after it had been donated along with $250,000 to maintain it. Atthe time, the society said it needed the money to develop its Balboa Parkmuseum — a task not yet completed today.

The Association of Art Museum Directors says in a policy statement on deaccessioningthat institutions should sell solely “to improve the quality, scope and appropriatenessof the collection” and use the proceeds “only to acquire other works of art”and never for operating expenses.

The historical society has struggled with its budget during the recession,cutting staff and closing the Villa to the public in 2007. It also returnedto the city a second house museum, the George W. and Anna Gunn Marston House,which was built by the society’s founder at the northwest corner of BalboaPark and donated by his daughter. SOHO has reopened it as a museum.

The organization retained the Serra Museum, which Marston built in 1929 asthe first home of the society in Presidio Park. It, too, has fallen on hardtimes, open only to schoolchildren and group rentals.

This past weekend, there were two arson fires on the canyon side of the museum.The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said the blazes were put out and therewas no danger to the museum.

Story 2

Oops:  FOR THE RECORD | Because of incorrect information from a source, a column in Sunday’s paper reported that the city’s lease with the San Diego Historical Society requires the Serra Museum to be open six days a week. In fact, that provision applies to the society’s museum in Balboa Park. The Union-Tribune regrets the error. (Nov. 6, 2009, B-2)

Date:  Nov 01, 2009Page:  B-1

Headline:  Treasures, history of San Diego locked upAuthor:  Michael Stetz

It's tough to get into one of San Diego's most historic landmarks these

days.

The Serra Museum, perched above Old Town and the site of California's

first European settlement, only opens its doors for school tours, weddings

or other special events.

Well, I'm not in fourth grade anymore. And I'm already married.

I could ditch the wife, meet that someone special and plan a wedding. But,

man, that's a lot of work and attorney fees just to get inside.

It was back in February when the San Diego Historical Society closed the

museum to public tours and dumped two other historical sites, the Marston

House and the Villa Montezuma, because it was going broke.

San Diego still has signs alerting you to the Presidio Park site, so you

can drive up and get turned away. That's a nice touch.

And on the city's Web site, you see this: "The Serra Museum educates and

excites visitors with the park history and San Diego's past."

What kidders.

Walk up the steep steps of the museum today and you see an iron gate with

a lock over the old heavy wooden doors. It's quiet. It's dark inside. It's

a shame.

We don't have much history in San Diego. We have, let's see ... I'm

blanking here.

The Serra Museum sits on land where, in 1769, Spanish Franciscan

missionary, Father Junipero Serra, established California's first mission

and fort.

That's right. It wasn't L.A. Or San Francisco. It was San Diego. We own

the distinction and -- this is cool -- it can't be taken away, like a

certain football team. The site has been called the "Plymouth Rock of the

West Coast."

And we don't celebrate it. We padlock it.

The museum -- it's not the original mission as some people think -- was

built in 1929 and houses artifacts that highlight the historic settlement.

George Marston was behind its creation. A prominent civic leader, he

started the San Diego Historical Society.

Here's what I don't get. How can a high-profile monument looming over

Interstate 8 in view of all those tourists on the way to Hotel Circle be

closed to them and us?

"It's a real shame. It's one of the most important spots in the country,"

said Bruce Coons, executive director of Save Our Heritage Organisation.

"Certainly the most important on the West Coast."

The other sites dropped by the Historical Society are rebounding. SOHO

stepped in to run the Marston House in Balboa Park and reopened it in

July. Built in 1906, it's considered another treasure.

Both it and the Villa Montezuma, a Victorian house built in 1887 in

Sherman Heights, are owned by the city, which had to figure out what to do

with them when the Historical Society said it could no longer run them.

The city, of course, is making its own history with record budget

deficits.

The Villa could reopen in a year. There's a plan to spend about a million

dollars of city bond money and redevelopment funds for restoration.

But what of the Serra Museum, which the city also owns?

The Historical Society, which is headquartered in a museum in Balboa Park,

says this is about money, about the economy. It couldn't afford to keep it

open. Traffic was down too, said Christianne Penunuri, a spokeswoman.

"We just can't afford to have it staffed," she said.

Is there something more important they're doing?

Fred Grand, president of the Old Town Chamber of Commerce, is bummed about

the closure. "Here we have these wonderful resources and they're closed to

the public."

I asked the city about the situation. Late Friday, mayoral spokeswoman

Rachel Laing said the historical society's 1980s-era lease in the city

building requires it to be open six days a week.

Laing said the city has had no complaints, and she cautioned that there

may have been amendments since the original lease. I say, let's check, and

enforce it if we can. It's not like there's a sign on the door telling

people where to complain when they get there and get disappointed.

I went back to the Serra Museum near the time school tours are allowed to

see if I could see anything more. The woman staffing the place said I

could go through quickly. I climbed way to the top of the museum and

caught the stunning view of Mission Valley.

Too bad more people can't enjoy it.

Too bad we're not the best stewards of remarkable gifts.

End-of-Story

Story 3

Date:  Oct 31, 2009Page:  CZ-1

Headline:  $1 million lined up to restore historic villa

Author:  Helen Gao

Villa Montezuma, a cultural landmark on the National Register of Historic

Places, has been shuttered since 2006 because of structural safety

concerns. Since then, tourists and fans of the Queen Anne-style

architectural gem have often wondered when it will reopen to the public.

Now there is an answer -- possibly by the end of 2012.

San Diego and its downtown redevelopment arm are about to enter into a

partnership to fix the 122-year-old house.

The Centre City Development Corp. and the city plan to split the cost of

about $1 million in repairs.

Part of the foundation is crumbling. The chimneys, made of unreinforced

masonry, need to be made earthquake-safe. Leaks have to be patched to stop

damage from moisture.

"It's an old facility, and it needs some tender loving care," said David

Jarrell, the city's deputy chief operating officer of public works.

Last week, the CCDC's board voted to contribute $550,000 toward the

rehabilitation effort. The city is expected to chip in $500,000 from $103

million it borrowed earlier this year for deferred maintenance projects.

The City Council is set to vote on the project next month.

Just a few months ago, the future of Villa Montezuma didn't look so

bright. The financially strapped San Diego Historical Society, which has

run the house museum since the early 1970s, decided to hand the property

back to the city. The city, mired in chronic budget deficits, seemed as if

it were in no position to take care of the property, either.

But quietly working behind the scenes was Friends of the Villa Montezuma.

The group has been around for more than three decades and incorporated as

a nonprofit in 2006 with the goal of raising money for restoration.

Chairwoman Louise Torio said her group hopes to operate the facility once

it's repaired and make it come alive once again as a museum and community

hub.

"Our vision is this will again be operated six days a week, not just on

the weekends," Torio said. "It will have many activities going on related

to music and art. We can again have this be a joyous place to be. It's

been dark for too long."

Built in 1887 for renowned spiritualist, writer and piano virtuoso Jesse

Shepard, the house dazzles visitors with its elaborate woodwork and

stained-glass windows. The windows depict Shepard's favorite artists,

composers and writers, such as Sappho, Beethoven and Mozart.

Many of the stained-glass pieces are found in the music room, where

Shepard gave concerts. He had a reputation as a charismatic performer.

"Shepard had very large hands. He had a great range on the piano. He also

had an incredible singing voice," said Clare Crane, the museum's first

curator.

The villa is shrouded in mystique. Shepard held séances there. Some Web

sites list it as a haunted house, but Crane (who has spent nights there as

a caretaker) flatly rejected the characterization. One of the villa's

admirers is City Council President Ben Hueso, who hung out there as a kid

and was inspired to learn how to play the piano. The museum used to host

after-school programs.

"I have seen very few homes in the state of California that have this

level of artistry," Hueso said.

"The spotlight is on San Diego in terms of what level of stewardship we

provide to this home. I think we have a very, very high responsibility to

preserve this home."

VILLA MONTEZUMA

1887: Built

1971: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

1972: Opened to the public as a museum

1986: Sustained major damage from a fire

2006: Shuttered because of safety concerns

2012: Year it's expected to reopen

End-of-Story

Story 4

Date:  Mar 03, 2009Page:  B-1

Headline:  Boon for historic house | SOHO to talk to city about taking over landmark's lease

Author:  Jeanette Steele

BALBOA PARK -- The 1906 Marston House in Balboa Park has a chance to

reopen now that the Save Our Heritage Organisation has offered to operate

the city-owned historic home.

The Marston House, a nationally registered historic landmark, closed to

visitors Feb. 15 after the San Diego Historical Society announced it could

no longer afford to run it.

SOHO, a nonprofit preservation group, operates the Whaley House museum in

Old Town and thinks it can make the Marston House pay for itself with

increased marketing and more events.

"There was a huge outcry from our members and the public of `Will you do

this?' " said Bruce Coons, SOHO executive director. "It's one that we

believe we're eminently qualified to make successful."

The group, which has a $600,000 annual budget, was expected to vote last

night to pursue a lease with the city. SOHO would like to reopen the home

as soon as possible.

The city welcomes the proposal -- the only one so far -- but might be

required to put the lease out for bid, said spokeswoman Rachel Laing. "We

want that asset in operation and available to the community. SOHO would be

a great operator," she said.

The 8,500-square-foot Arts and Crafts home was built by George W. Marston,

a giant in San Diego annals as a prominent merchant, philanthropist and

founder of the historical society. His daughter willed it to the city in

1987.

The historical society operated the Marston House as a museum starting in

1990. But as the nonprofit group struggled financially in recent years,

hours of operation dwindled until the site was only open on weekends. The

house cost the society $70,000 annually to run and brought in $12,000.

The historical society is responsible for the property until June 30.

Society Executive Director David Kahn said his group and the city could

agree to cut that lease short.

The historical society is also severing ties with the Villa Montezuma, a

city-owned 1887 Victorian mansion in Sherman Heights closed since 2006

because of disrepair.

The nonprofit group Friends of Villa Montezuma plans to make a bid to run

the site after it is restored, Chairwoman Louise Torio said yesterday.

Founded in 1969, SOHO already has one turnaround on its résumé. The group

started running the county-owned Whaley House in 2000; now it is

considered the region's most successful house museum, with 100,000 annual

visitors.

Coons said the answer is enthusiastic marketing. The Whaley House,

heavily marketed for its ghost stories, is regularly featured in shows on

the Travel and History channels.

The Friends of the Marston House auxiliary group is supporting SOHO's bid

and will join forces with it, said Co-Chairwoman Sarai Johnson.

U-T Multimedia: For slide show and video presentations on the Marston

House and two other historic properties, go to uniontrib.com/more/museums

End-of-Story

Story 5

Date:  Feb 12, 2009Page:  A-1

Headline:  HIGH COST OF HISTORY | San Diego society shedding two sites it can no longer carry

Author:  Jeanette Steele | Staff writer Roger Showley contributed to this report.

In danger of becoming history itself, the San Diego Historical Society is

cutting loose two landmark houses it operates, saying it needs to retrench

after years of draining its reserves on a far-flung network of

properties.

The group will keep the third historic property it runs, the Serra Museum

in Presidio Park, but that location will close to all but school groups.

"There's been a lot of people behaving like the boy with his thumb in the

dike, trying to keep all this going," said David Kahn, the new executive

director, who initiated the changes. "The reality is, there's probably

somebody else out there better capable of making them a go."

As of Sunday, the 1906 Marston House in Balboa Park will close to

visitors. The historical society is handing it back to the city along with

the 1887 Villa Montezuma in Sherman Heights, which closed in 2006 because

of disrepair. Both sites are on the National Register of Historic

Places.

Annually, the three properties cost the group $223,000 and brought in

$60,000.

The city, which faces a $54 million budget deficit, may be in no better

position to maintain the homes. But Mayor Jerry Sanders yesterday called

the houses city treasures and said, "We need to figure out how to maintain

them and make sure the public can see them."

San Diego officials are expected to look for new operators for the Marston

House and Villa Montezuma, though they may be hard to find.

One obvious contender, the local preservation group Save Our Heritage

Organisation, said it won't pursue the job, as several other foundering

historic sites already are clamoring for assistance.

However, long-established auxiliary groups that support the sites said

they may try to step up, and universities and cultural groups could be

interested.

Nationally, many historic homes are losing the competition for visitors,

and the governments and charitable groups that own them can't find the

money to fend off time's ravages.

"The big names seem to be able to develop the programming and the

marketing that will keep folks moving through the turnstiles, and the

smaller, lesser-known properties may be at a disadvantage in that way,"

said Anthony Veerkamp of the Washington, D.C.-based National Trust for

Historic Preservation.

The drastic measures at the 81-year-old San Diego Historical Society are

largely driven by its new director, who arrived this summer. Kahn said he

soon realized the society was worse off than he was told at the job

interview. Membership wasn't the reported 3,200, for example; it was half

that.

The financial problems aren't new. In 2004 and 2005, the city reduced the

group's Arts and Culture Commission funding because it didn't like the

continued deficit spending, which has gone on since 2001. The society took

in $1.9 million and spent $2.2 million in the 2007 fiscal year, according

to the last federal tax form filed.

By trimming its interests, the society hopes to focus on what it sees as

its core mission: telling San Diego's story at its Balboa Park museum. The

group is launching a $2 million fundraising campaign to help keep it open

and provide seed money for new programs.

At its basement research library in Balboa Park, the society has 2.5

million historical photographs and negatives. Miles of shelves contain old

city and county records, historical maps, an oral-history collection of

early San Diego and local memorabilia.

The group's costume collection is one of the 10 largest among U.S.

historical associations. It owns canvases and sculptures from San Diego's

early artists, in particular the plein-air school of painters.

But many San Diegans view the two landmark houses as gems as well.

Villa Montezuma is an ornate, Queen Anne-style Victorian home at 19th and

K streets. Its three stories are filled with stained-glass windows and

elaborate woodwork. Outside, stone gargoyles peer down from the turreted

roof.

"Being in the site is magical," said Louise Torio, chairwoman of the

150-member Friends of the Villa Montezuma. "It's not just a pretty house.

For this to be a law office, or something other than a museum, would be

criminal."

However, the original bricks that make up the foundation are crumbling and

need to be replaced, which forced the historical society to close the site

in 2006 for safety. Estimates for needed work approach $3 million, Kahn

said. San Diego's downtown redevelopment agency could devote up to

$550,000 to the project.

The Marston House, on the northwest edge of Balboa Park, is steeped in San

Diego history. It was built by George W. Marston, a giant in San Diego

annals as a prominent merchant, philanthropist and founder of the

historical society.

The house, considered an excellent example of the Arts and Crafts period,

was given to the city by Marston's daughter to be kept open for the

public. Tours were offered on weekends.

"People love the Marston House. It is part of San Diego's identity," said

Sarai Johnson, co-chairwoman of the 150-member Friends of the Marston

House. "I think the public is going to demand that it remains open."

The Serra Museum -- the historical society's original home -- is staying

in the fold because the cost to keep it open is somewhat offset by revenue

from touring school groups.

The museum attracts more than 14,600 visitors a year, while the Marston

House gets 4,400.

Fans of Villa Montezuma and the Marston House hope they can change the

homes' fate through better marketing. Some said this is one area where the

historical society fell short.

"Even promotion of activities at the sites has been reduced in the past 10

years," said Torio of the Villa Montezuma booster group. "If you tell

nobody about your site, don't be surprised if no one shows up."

She sees potential in playing up the ghostly aspects of the property,

where the original owner sometimes held seances. Ghost tours were once

offered, but were stopped because of poor attendance.

Wayne Donaldson, the state's historic preservation officer, said locations

such as these historic homes need to expand their thinking and be open to

concessions, weddings and other moneymakers. But, in the end, he said,

landmark properties should get government support.

"To me, our cultural resources are no different than our parks and

beaches. ... Cities and counties pay for these," Donaldson said. "Besides

being great recreational areas, they are places to learn and discover."

Staff writer Roger Showley contributed to this report.

U-T Multimedia:

For video and a photo gallery on the properties, go to

uniontrib.com/more/museums

End-of-Story

Story 6

Date:  Jul 30, 2006Page:  I-2

Headline:  Villa Montezuma's woes growAuthor:  ROGER M. SHOWLEY

The Villa Montezuma, the historic Victorian-era mansion operated as a

museum, may remain closed for two years while money is raised to fund

extensive repairs.

Concerned with safety issues and falling attendance, the San Diego

Historical Society, which operates the 119-year-old city-owned museum,

closed it to public tours in March. The Queen Anne-style home is located

at 1925 K St., just east of downtown.

The Save Our Heritage Organisation offered to take over operations and

supervise repairs, but the society has retained control and the newly

formed nonprofit Friends of the Villa Montezuma Inc. is lending a hand.

Chairwoman Louise Torio said that considering the time it will take to

raise money, apply for grants and complete repairs, it may not be until

2008 before the Villa can reopen.

Project architect Paul Johnson said city officials will review his

construction drawings once he submits them in mid-August. He said cost

estimates could range from about $750,000 to more than $1 million,

depending on the scope of work ultimately selected.

End-of-Story

Story 7

Date:  Mar 16, 2006Page:  B-1:R,C; B-2:E; B-3:S

Headline:  Group may take over historic mansion | Villa Montezuma museum closed to public last week

Author:  Roger M. Showley

The Save Our Heritage Organisation board has voted to take over operations

of the historic Villa Montezuma from the San Diego Historical Society,

which ran the city-owned mansion east of downtown as a museum before

closing it suddenly last week.

The society's executive committee is scheduled next week to consider the

SOHO proposal, which its board approved Monday night.

Last week the society halted weekend tours of the two-story Victorian home

at 1925 K St. Built in 1887, the Villa Montezuma has been beset with

maintenance and repair problems that the society said had become a safety

issue that the city, as owner, needed to address. The Queen Anne-style

house also has seen falling attendance and lagging community support.

While it is closed, society officials said they are checking on the

property daily and are securing valuable artifacts.

Bruce Coons, SOHO executive director, said new inspections will be made of

the property and if safety concerns can be taken care of, it could only be

a matter of weeks before the Villa reopens.

City officials also are being contacted to deal with physical problems and

to review the proposed operational changes.

"We'd be developing a whole menu of activities for the house," Coons said.

"The primary thing is getting people there." He said he would work with

tour operators, cruise lines and others to transport visitors to the

mansion Villa and eventually to hold a wide variety of events at the

house.

In recent months, visitors have dwindled to only about 1,000 on an annual

basis and the society's support group for the Villa had become inactive.

The property, which was originally built for Jesse Shepard, a writer,

musician and mystic, became a boarding house after he left. But its

intricate woodwork and stained glass windows were largely intact when SOHO

and historical society members bought it in 1972 on behalf of the city and

raised funds to restore and operate it.

David Watson, executive director of the historical society, said his

executive board will consider SOHO's proposal next week and forward the

matter to the full board the week after. But he thought it could take

several months to manage the transition and deal with safety issues

identified by his staff.

He praised Coons and SOHO for their preservation successes, including

managing the county-owned Whaley House and city-owned Old Adobe Chapel in

Old Town.

"What they do, they're better qualified than we are," Watson said. "I want

very, very much to have it have a happy ending."

However, Watson said the society intends to maintain its operations of two

city-owned properties, the 1929 Serra Museum in Presidio Park, focused on

pre-American San Diego, and the 1905 Marston House museum on the edge of

Balboa Park, dedicated to the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th

century.

End-of-Story

Story 8

Date:  Mar 10, 2006Page:  B-1:R,S,C; B-3:E

Headline:  Shutdown of historic S.D. house in disputeAuthor:  Roger M. Showley

The city-owned Villa Montezuma, an architecturally significant mansion

operated as a museum just east of downtown, has been closed because of

safety and maintenance concerns and flagging attendance, the San Diego

Historical Society announced yesterday.

But City Councilman Ben Hueso, who represents the Sherman Heights

neighborhood where the Victorian-era home is located, disputed that the

museum is unsafe, saying city inspectors have not declared the property a

hazard to the public.

"We'll look into whether (the historical society) is in default or breach

of contract with the city," Hueso said.

The 119-year-old house, at 1925 K St., has been open to public tours and

educational programs for more than 30 years under a long-term lease with

the society, whose members helped buy it on behalf of the city. Over the

years, it has been the scene of cultural and community activities set amid

its distinctive Queen Anne architectural style.

"We'd like to operate it; we love doing programs there," said David

Watson, the historical society's executive director. "But we feel there is

a great deal of deferred maintenance and work needed by the city to make

it possible to do so."

Watson said as much as $2 million is needed to repair the crumbling

foundation, shore up the chimney and attend to other details in the

two-story home, which is listed on the National Register of Historic

Places.

"We don't feel we can undertake the restoration or preservation of the

asset on our own," Watson said. "It belongs to the city, and they're our

landlord, and they need to provide us a safe place to conduct our

programs."

The society's staff will continue visiting the site daily and will

maintain its security system. Certain historical artifacts will be removed

for safekeeping.

Numerous state grants are available to cover the repair costs, but the

society will not take the lead role to raise those funds, Watson said.

Instead, the society's emphasis will be on continuing to operate other

city-owned sites -- the Marston House and the Museum of San Diego History,

both in Balboa Park, and the Serra Museum in Presidio Park.

Hueso, who met with Watson about two weeks ago, said yesterday that he was

not alerted to the closure and was "shocked."

"I definitely will look at the terms of the contract (with the city) --

who is responsible for it -- and why, at a moment's notice, they can close

the villa and now say to the city, `Now it's your responsibility,' " Hueso

said.

City code compliance officers have identified some maintenance issues, but

none serious enough to pose an immediate safety hazard, the councilman

said.

"I will make my own personal effort to make sure we can at least keep the

Villa Montezuma open to the public by appointment if they want to see it,"

Hueso said.

Designed by the noted architectural firm of Comstock & Trotsch, the Villa

Montezuma was built by a group of businessmen in 1887. They donated it to

Jesse Shepard, a musician, artist and mystic who was brought to San Diego

to inject a little culture into what was then a frontier city undergoing

an explosive real estate boom.

But within two years, the boom went bust, Shepard left town and the home

became a boardinghouse. But its sparkling interior, stained-glass windows

and elaborate woodwork somehow remained intact.

Members of the historical society and the Save Our Heritage Organisation

raised $82,000 in 1972 to buy the property on behalf of the city, and the

society agreed to operate the house as a museum. A second rescue campaign

followed an accidental fire in 1986 that caused $700,000 in damage.

But attendance plummeted from 18,000 to 1,000 per year last fall, when Old

Town Trolley Tours discontinued stops at the villa. Membership in a

neighborhood support group also dwindled.

Meanwhile, the historical society was facing its own financial problems

and has not mounted a marketing campaign to boost attendance and

interest.

With the historical society backing off, SOHO's executive director, Bruce

Coons, said his board will meet Monday to decide if the organization

should become involved in trying to reopen the house.

"We've always been interested in taking over operations at the villa, and

we feel we can make the property a viable part of San Diego," Coons

said.

SOHO operates two county-owned historic sites in Old Town -- the Whaley

House on San Diego Avenue and the Old Adobe Chapel on Conde Street. Its

membership numbers about 1,200, compared with 3,200 for the historical

society.

End-of-Story

Story 9

Date:  Dec 18, 2005Page:  I-1

Headline:  Crumbling heritage | Local house museums' holiday glow masks costly deferred maintenance, other woes

Author:  ROGER M. SHOWLEY

San Diego's many historic house museums shine their brightest at

Christmastime.

The Villa Montezuma, an 1887 Victorian masterpiece on K Street, just east

of downtown, sports a cheery tree and other seasonal trim amid a glorious

combination of stained-glass windows, elaborate woodwork and priceless

antiques dating back to San Diego's bawdiest boom time, when Jesse Shepard

conducted seances and poetry readings in the music room.

At the 100-year-old Marston House, a Craftsman showpiece on the north side

of Balboa Park, the table is set with the finest china. You almost expect

George W. Marston, the city's all-time favorite philanthropist, to come

down the stairs and break into song. (He was an enthusiastic singer as well

as a shrewd businessman.)

But behind the glow is a pile of rot -- and millions of dollars' worth of

deferred maintenance at these and many of San Diego County's 30-odd house

museums.

"The museum component is great," said Laurie Eagen, curator for the San

Diego Historical Society, which operates both properties on behalf of the

city. "It's the maintenance that's the problem."

Of course, most old houses remain in private hands, lovingly cared for by

families who don't mind cramped kitchens, warped molding and cranky

plumbing and electrical lines crying out for replacement.

Others have been adapted to other uses -- most often, law offices,

restaurants and bed-and-breakfast inns.

But the special breed of house museums, operated by historical societies,

social service and government agencies, usually generate little in

commercial income and depend on the kindness of history-loving benefactors,

fundraising events and government grants to fend off the perils of aging.

But big or small, they all face the same problems -- expensive maintenance,

ineffective marketing and faltering volunteer support.

"It's a two-edged sword for a historical group," said Helen Halmay, editor

of the Adelante, the newsletter of the Congress of History of San Diego and

Imperial Counties. "Owning one of these buildings can bring the public to

you and your organization to learn about the history of your area. However,

owning one of these buildings can be a financial burden."

The Villa Montezuma provides a perfect case study.

English-born artist and musician Jesse Shepard accepted the house, designed

to his specifications, from a group of businessmen intent on injecting a

little culture into a frontier town flooded with thousands of real estate

speculators in the 1880s.

He left in less than two years as boom times turned to bust, but the house

stayed remarkably intact through a series of ownerships. A group of

history-buffs bought it for $82,000 in 1972 and gave it to the city, which

handed it over to the San Diego Historical Society to restore and operate

as one of San Diego's early house museums.

Earlier, such facilities include the Casa de Estudillo in Old Town, built

in the 1820s and converted to museum use about 1910, and the Whaley House,

also in Old Town, built in the 1850s and opened to the public in the 1950s.

At first, the Villa Montezuma received much publicity and hosted many

popular soirees, from Valentine's Day teas to fashion shows. These were the

days before Horton Plaza and downtown revitalization, when drug deals and

murders plagued the Villa's Sherman Heights neighborhood.

The Villa then was a beacon of optimism in an urban war zone.

Surviving this grittiness, it lived on, warmly embraced by caring

preservationists and Victoriana enthusiasts, who rallied to the house's

side when in 1986 a devastating fire, traced to a faulty heater, caused

$700,000 in damage.

In recent years, interest has dwindled -- there are only 10 active members

left in the Friends of the Villa group -- and attendance has plummeted 90

percent to less than 100 visitors a week, since Old Town Trolley Tours

canceled its nightly "Ghosts and Graveyards" visits last month.

Trolley Tours manager Lorin Stewart said the ghost angle didn't sell well

with visitors, even though the Villa is thought to harbor the ghost of a

butler who purportedly hanged himself in the cupola. However, the Sherman

Heights Community Center brought out the crowds for its 11th annual Dia de

los Muertos (day of the dead) festival Oct. 29-30.

Although the public rooms remain in pristine condition, the foundation

needs more than $1 million for repairs. In just one month's time, a bucket

or more of red brick dust accumulated in one corner of the basement, and

temporary shoring beams and posts have been installed to forestall imminent

collapse.

The chimneys will cost $500,000 in seismic stabilization; a strong

earthquake could topple them and do irreparable damage to the interior

furnishings.

Watering of the south lawn caused flooding in the basement and has been

halted, turning the Victorian garden into weedsville.

The jeweled stained-glass and art-glass decorations on several windows are

buckling from age and need releading to prevent some of the pieces from

crumbling. One large piece, St. Cecelia, has been repaired but sits in

storage pending completion of the foundation repair.

There's no on-site caretaker -- the previous occupant trashed the small

upstairs apartment space -- and the city is sitting on a pre-approved

$50,000 state grant to handle minor repairs because, for the last year,

there's been no one authorized to process the paperwork, historical society

officials said.

"It's pretty sad and unfortunate," Eagen said.

There's one bit of positive news -- vandalism is rare.

Eagen said neighborhood locals routinely cross the street and walk past on

the opposite sidewalk to avoid any hexes and misplaced spells from the

Villa ghost.

Across town on Seventh Avenue, the Marston House faces not ghosts but

falling plaster from sagging ceilings.

Mary Marston, daughter of George, donated the house upon her death in 1987

to the city with the understanding the 4.5-acre property would be added to

Balboa Park and operated as a house museum by the historical society.

An active friends group of about 50 members helps lead tours on the

weekends, sponsors lectures and various events throughout the year and

raises funds to buy period furnishings.

But numerous maintenance issues plague the building -- falling ceiling

plaster in the living room and other ground-floor rooms cost $25,000 to fix

last month after a 19-month delay; brick needs remortaring in many places;

and the carriage house will cost more than $1 million to rebuild.

"We don't have enough staff and money, and neither does the city," Eagen

said.

Balboa Park gardeners keep the flowers in bloom, but the city arborist

won't trim back the 100-year-old oak, even when docents report creaking

sounds and fallen limbs.

Security problems present daily headaches, as homeless people set up

temporary camp on the edge of the property.

"Regular citizens abuse the park more than the homeless," said site manager

David Hedley, citing the mess left by dogs that their owners fail to pick

up.

House museum managers' wish lists would challenge even someone as generous

as Santa Claus.

In National City, the keepers of the 2.5-acre Stein Family Farm on F Street

want their barn fixed before it collapses and destroys antique carriages,

farm equipment and everyday objects left by the family of Charles and

Bertha Stein, turn-of-the-20th-century homesteaders from Germany.

The quaint, two-story farm house, across the street from John A. Otis

Elementary School, shows off some of the Steins' furniture, and volunteers

tend to the fruit and nut orchard and livestock. (Pinky, the Vietnamese

pot-belly pig, is a favorite with youngsters.)

"There are all kinds of cool things here," said Susan Walter, a part-time

curator hired by the nonprofit farm board to oversee the city-owned

property. "I love this little farm. It's the story of an ordinary family."

But the barn, containing vintage tractors, buggies and uncounted pieces of

farm tools and equipment, appears on the verge of collapse, and supporters

are waiting for a cost estimate for replacement.

In Escondido, Wendy Barker, executive director of the local historical

society, can count on 40 regular volunteers and 25 occasional ones to staff

one Victorian home and four other structures at Grape Day Park next to City

Hall.

But she said maintenance is in the hands of Escondido public works crews,

whose ranks have been thinned by budget cutbacks.

"A lot of things are delayed because there are so many properties they're

maintaining," she said.

Noted Bruce Coons, Barker's counterpart at the Save Our Heritage

Organisation: "If a historic site that's not well visited or utilized is

not one of their priorities, it's not going to get the attention it needs

to be kept in good shape."

Coons, who was speaking of governmental support of house museums, and his

organization took over management of the county-owned Whaley House in Old

Town five years ago from a nearly defunct organization and is implementing

ambitious plans to attract more visitors and funding.

"The marketing of a historic property is key to its longevity," he said.

"You have to have income to maintain the buildings. It's a challenge but

always an opportunity."

Even the Social Services League of La Jolla, which has operated the

historic Darlington House on Olivetas Avenue as a wedding and meeting venue

since 1968, has to scrimp and save to make budgets balance. Net income

supports the league's 57-unit senior-citizen apartment project next door.

"We figure, to open our door in the morning, whether we have an event or

not, it's $500 a day," said Nancy Wood, director of the house.

The house began as two modest cottages that were joined together in the

1920s by a wealthy New York City widow, Sybil Darlington, as a summer house

retreat. Her children sold it to the Social Services League and visit it

occasionally, said house historian Grace Brophy.

Members of the American Association of Museums have been debating the

future of house museums lately, and most agree that the old model -- buy

it, dress it up and invite the public in for a hands-off tour -- doesn't

appeal as much anymore.

"Historic houses have to completely reinvent themselves if they are going

to succeed in the 21st century," said Susie Wilkening, development director

of the Huguenot Historical Society, which operates a 38-building historic

complex in New Paltz, N.Y. "There will always be a place for the guided

tour, but it can't be the default."

Back at the Villa Montezuma, David Watson, executive director of the San

Diego Historical Society, said he and society board President Hal Sadler

plan to meet with city officials before Christmas to unstick the

bureaucratic roadblock preventing immediate repairs.

But in the long term, he said he isn't sure how the building can become a

successful house museum once again, what with its ongoing maintenance

problems, limited financial support and flagging public interest.

"It's a very sad situation," he said, "Anybody who's interested in historic

preservation is bound to feel great dismay."

Roger M. Showley: (619) 293-1286; [email protected]

End-of-Story