HALLOFSHAME
Stop the destruction of valuable resources
Roy and Dora Bennett House: 1923 Colonial Revival
The people of Kensignton and the rest of the city are mourning the loss of another dear friend: a small Colonial Revival home that everyone had grown to love...everyone, that is, except the developer.
"HERE then are a few words about a house that I love; with a reasonable love I think: for though my words may give you no idea of any special charm about it, yet I assure you that the charm is there; so much has the old house grown up out of the soil and the lives of those that lived on it; needing no grand office-architect, with no great longing for anything else than correctness, and to be like Julius Caesar; but some thin thread of tradition, a half-anxious sense of the delight of the meadow and acre and wood and river; a certain amount (not too much let us hope) of common sense, a liking for making materials serve ones turn, and perhaps at bottom some little grain of sentiment. This I think was what went to the making of the old house; might we not manage to find some sympathy for all that from henceforward; or must we but shrink before the Philistine with one, Alas that it must perish!" - William Morris, Kelmscott, October 25, 1895.
3812 Park near University; Bush Egyptian; Fox Egyptian 1931; Capri 1954; later Park
Fox Egyptian facade
Cove (1948) 7730 Girard Avenue, La Jolla; about 500 seats; remodeled in 1963
"Developers tend to be motivated solely by returns on capital,and choose to pursue only those projects that 'pencil.' ... Some properties have social and historic import to the vitality of a community, and developers must realize that finances cannot be their only consideration."
"The Cove Theater is a perfect example of property with social and historical import. ... As our arts and culture disappears, the soul of La Jolla slowly gets eaten away. It is up to the citizens of La Jolla to show the new owners that they have a moral responsibility to preserve the theater."
La Jolla grad student Hillary Hulce, La Jolla Light, Jan 16, 2003.
MISSION ABOUT US ACTION ALERTS HALL OF SHAME DOCUMENTARY PEOPLE TO CONTACT
The Egyptian Theater
The Egyptian theater, one of very few remaining egyptian renaissance architecture buildings lay dormant for several years. Instead of restoring the theater, it was essential destroyed except for the facade which now sits out of context against a high-rise condo building along park Blvd. This was clearly a missed opportunity and a huge loss for the community.
The Cove Theater
The Cove Theater was a significant part of the collective history of la Jolla and was deeply loved by the community for decades since its inception in 1948. It opened March 2, 1948, to a large crowd who attended a screening of the film "Song Of My Heart."
The Cove Theater was a memorial to theater owner Major John Haring's parents, who lived in Chicago but spent much time in La Jolla.
The theater at 7730 Girard Ave., both discontinued operations Thursday, Jan. 16. 2003
New owners, Boulder, Colo.-based HPA Properties Corporation
La Jolla grad student Hillary Hulce has begun a campaign to preserve the Cove Theater.
"Developers tend to be motivated solely by returns on capital," said Hulce, "and choose to pursue only those projects that 'pencil.' ... Some properties have social and historic import to the vitality of a community, and developers must realize that finances cannot be their only consideration.
"The Cove Theater
is a perfect example of property with social and historical import.
... As our arts and culture disappears, the soul of La Jolla slowly
gets eaten away. It is up to the citizens of La Jolla to show the new
owners that they have a moral responsibility to preserve the theater."
NEWS