Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Oppose the Demolition of the California Theatre!

It's no secret that I have a strong distaste for many in our local government of late. The same guys who think a tax-funded parking garage belongs in Balboa Park, the same people who basically offered Spanos a $1 lease for life on land most recently valuated at $180 million, and the same people who continually hire Ortiz to fix our roads and sewers (only for their streets to crack, sink, leak or otherwise fail, like clockwork, 2-3 years post construction). Needless to say, I don't have much faith in them doing right by the people and resources of this City. Maybe the Historic Resources Board will be our last hope, against City staff recommendations. This could be the last chance to stop the demolition of the California Theatre and the Caliente mural in one fell swoop.


More eloquent words from my friend, Jaye McCaskill, President of SOHO:

Please do whatever you can to support the preservation of San Diego's California Theater -- the city's only remaining grand theatre of the 1920s that has yet to be restored and brought back to life. Out-of-town millionaire developers are claiming "financial hardship" as their reason to demolish the theater, and are instead proposing to build a phony-baloney quasi-reconstruction of only some of the historic architectural elements (which we know from multiple past experiences is all talk and never comes close to looking like the original). To add insult to insult, once again the fix seems to be in at the City, with Historic Resources Staff supporting this horribly flawed development project. If you can make it to the Historic Resources Board hearing on Thursday morning, please let the members of the HRB board know that you expect them to adhere to higher ethical standards than City staff and to do whatever they can to protect this severely endangered historic resource. If you can't attend the meeting, there are other things you can still do. Please read below and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! (And also please note that the venue for the HRB meeting is not the usual place or at the usual time.)

You can read the full text of SOHO's e-mail here.

Most importantly, plan to attend the HRB meeting at 9:30am on Thursday, January 26, in the North Terrace Rooms, City Councourse, 202 C Street.

Please act now by contacting the HRB and other officials to oppose this unlawful demolition of a grand San Diego landmark. We also need you to attend this crucial HRB meeting. Your emails and your presence at the meeting matter! At the meeting, you also can either speak or cede time to SOHO.

Take Action Now. Write:

  • Historical Resources Board (historicalresources@sandiego.gov)

  • HRB Secretary Shannon Anthony (SAnthony@sandiego.gov)

  • Mayor Faulconer (kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov)

  • and your City Council member HERE.

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