Two La Jolla properties with ties to important local figures were designated as historic at the San Diego Historical Resources Board’s meeting March 27.
Both designations were approved on the consent agenda, meaning there were no presentations or discussions.
2710 Bordeaux Ave.
The Elsa and George Feher/Frederick Liebhardt/Joseph Yamada House at 2710 Bordeaux Ave. in La Jolla Shores near UC San Diego was listed under three HRB criteria: Criterion B (indicting the property is connected to people or events significant in local, state or national history) with periods of significance of 1968-97 and 1967-2017, Criterion C (indicating it embodies distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period or method of construction or is a valuable example of the use of natural materials or craftsmanship) and Criterion D (indicating the property is representative of a notable work of a master builder, designer, architect, engineer, landscape architect, interior designer, artist or craftsman) with a period of significance of 1967.
The designation includes the original detached garage, pool and relevant landscape design elements.
City staff recommended designation under Criterion B for the home’s connection to the Fehers, who were prominent scientists and educators. George Feher was a founding faculty member of UCSD who helped establish the physics department and founded the biophysics program.
Staff recommended designation under Criteria C and D for the property’s connection to Liebhardt and Yamada.
Liebhardt, a master architect, worked with Frank Lloyd Wright and was credited with embracing the “San Diego regional modernism” style and being one of “the people who best represent what is unique to San Diego.”
Liebhardt, who died in 1999, received master architect status when one of his La Jolla properties was historically designated in 2020.
“The subject property is representative of a notable work of [Liebhardt’s] in the post-and-beam style while also embodying organic principles such as integration with nature and a site-specific design,” according to a staff report. “The property features an extensive natural material of wood, and its siting takes advantage of views, providing an indoor-outdoor connection. Additionally, the property represents a phase in his career when his work primarily involved private residences before he and his firm shifted to deg more institutional, commercial and multi-family projects.”
Landscaping on the property was designed by one-time La Jolla resident Yamada, who designed for institutions such as SeaWorld and UCSD.
The landscaping, the report stated, “represents Yamada’s notable landscape design work in the context of a residential mid-century property. Several features are unique to Yamada’s design, such as a convertible sandbox, a custom mailbox and tributes to [former Yamada colleague] Harriet Wimmer which includes shrub plantings of green and white flowers.”
“His site-specific design of plants and planters complements the residence and enhances the indoor-outdoor connection,” the report added. “Contributing landscape elements included in the designation are located in the interior yard, along the entry path and at the perimeter of the residence and garage.”
7934 Prospect Place
The Helen Copley/Henry Hester House No. 2 at 7934 Prospect Place in La Jolla’s Village was designated with a period of significance of 1987 under HRB Criteria C and D.
According to a staff report, the house is “representative of a notable work of [Hester’s] and retains integrity as it relates to the original design. … The resource illustrates Hester’s late design evolution, showcasing a break from his early modernist mode of design to accommodate postmodern design motifs alongside the needs of an important client [Copley].”
Copley, once the matriarch of the publishing family that included San Diego Union and Evening Tribune publisher James Copley and their son David, lived in La Jolla until her death in 2004.
The Prospect Place home was built to be a guesthouse. Since its construction in 1987, it has been minimally modified, the report stated. A deck on the third-story flat roof was added in 2007 and rooftop solar s were added in 2010.
“The resource embodies the distinctive characteristics through the retention of character-defining features of the postmodern style and retains integrity from its 1987 period of significance,” according to the report. “Specifically, the resource mixes two distinct materials with the exaggerated use of wood shingle and oxidized copper, showcases geometric asymmetry with the setback front entry and projecting balconies, features stacked and offset partially cantilevered balconies and uses bold, block-like forms alongside decorative ornamentation.”
The neighboring property at 7932 Prospect Place — also designed by Hester and owned by Helen Copley — was designated in 2020 under the same criteria.
Benefits of historic designation include availability of the Mills Act program for reduced property tax for owners to help maintain, restore and rehabilitate historic properties; use of the more flexible Historical Building Code and the historical conditional use permit, which allows flexibility of use; and flexibility in other regulatory requirements. However, houses cannot be modified significantly once they are designated historic.
The San Diego Historical Resources Board meets monthly. To learn more, visit sandiego.gov/development-services and click on “Public hearings, meetings and notices.” ♦
