San Diego Historical Society

Founded in 1928 by George Marston and a group of civic-minded San Diegans, SDHS was first located in the venerable Junípero Serra Museum overlooking Old Town. Now, the City of San Diego is giving the Society several wonderful birthday gifts involving maintenance of the sites.

Junípero Serra Museum: Scaffolding will soon envelope almost the entire Serra Museum, located high atop Presidio Hill in Mission Valley, and the old, leaky roof will be replaced. The City specially ordered new roof tiles to complement architect William Templeton Johnson’s design for this 1929 building. Due to the construction, the Serra will be closed and school programs will be restricted. The Serra Museum will reopen in early October 2008.

George White and Anna Gunn Marston House: City crews have been working hard to bring the gardens surrounding the Marston House to perfection, just in time for Family Garden Day on June 22. A highlight of Family Garden Day will be introduction of “Kate Sessions,” a newly developed geranium variety, named after the “mother of Balboa Park.” The Marston House is located adjacent to Balboa Park at 3525 Seventh Avenue and during the summer is open for tours on the hour on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. until last tour at 4:00 p.m.

Villa Montezuma: The Villa Montezuma also will be getting scaffolding, in order to conduct repairs to its tower. In addition, the City has replaced failed plumbing pipes and this summer will undertake a full conditional assessment of the foundation. The 1887 Queen Anne mansion is located in the Sherman Heights Historic District and was designed by Comstock and Trotsche for noted pianist, Spiritualist, and author Jesse Shepard. These repairs will bring closer the reopening of the Villa Montezuma for public tours and historic programming.

The Museum of San Diego History, located at 1649 El Prado in Balboa Park, continues to be open to the public daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The San Diego Historical Society is a tenant of the City of San Diego in all of the buildings where the Society operates.

We are grateful to the City for these 80th birthday gifts, for being a good landlord, and for taking the necessary steps to preserve these sites so that the public may enjoy them for years to come.

Come see our new installation of the story of the San Diego Historical Society at the Museum of San Diego History!

We will also be installing the stories of our sites at the Marston House Museum and Junipero Serra Museum. Check back for details!

Celebrating 80 Years!