Our Mission and History
01
What is the "Heart of Bankers Hill"
Heart of Bankers Hill Historic District is a small residential district in the Uptown community of San Diego. The district encompasses 35 acres and is located approximately two miles north of the downtown civic and commercial core and about one-half-mile west of the western edge of Balboa Park.
Arroyo Canyon transects the center of the district, effectively dividing it into east and west halves. These halves are connected by the 375-foot-long Spruce Street suspension bridge. The pedestrian bridge and neighborhood have become a favored San Diego attraction.
The district contains 90 resources (homes and the suspension bridge) of which 68 contribute to the historical significance of the area. Two of the resources are already listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
02
Location and Setting
The district's surrounding area is well-established and consists primarily of detached, low-scale residential buildings, with some commercial and institutional uses and larger multi-family residential buildings clustered along the area’s principal thoroughfares. The district’s irregular shape is largely dictated by the irregular nature of the local topography. Like much of San Diego, the surrounding area consists of broad, level mesas that are periodically transected by canyons and ravines, which divide the mesas into smaller, geographically discrete neighborhoods. The generally flat district adheres to this pattern. Its west and south boundaries, as well as a portion of its north boundary, conform to adjacent canyons that forge sharp physical barriers. These canyons have the effect of secluding the district from other development in the vicinity. The east boundary is not defined by topography and includes resources along the east side of Front Street, beyond which development becomes less cohesive. Near the center of the district is a natural chasm (officially named Arroyo Canyon, and sometimes referred to as Kate Sessions Canyon), which runs north-south and divides the district into two contiguous, yet disparate sections. These two sections are connected by a pedestrian suspension bridge (#92, Spruce Street Suspension Bridge), a unique attribute of the district that contributes to its sense of cohesion. The suspension bridge was built in 1912 to facilitate pedestrian access between blocks west of Arroyo Canyon and former streetcar lines that operated on streets to the east of the canyon. It is 375 feet long and rises 70 feet above the canyon floor. Despite the presence of canyons and other geographical anomalies, the district is organized around a rectilinear street grid. This circulation network is an extension of the grid that originates in downtown San Diego and extends into established neighborhoods to the north and east. Several streets within the district are cut short and terminate in culs-de-sac as they approach canyons, averting the flow of through traffic.
East-west streets within the district—Spruce, Thorn, Upas, and Walnut—are named for trees, while most north-south streets—Albatross, Brant, and Curlew—are named for birds. The sole exception is Front Street, a northward extension of a street that originates downtown. Relatively wide streets are scaled for local traffic. Streets are paved with asphalt (except for the southernmost section of Curlew Street, paved with concrete), and are accompanied by streetscape features including concrete gutters and curbs, scored concrete sidewalks (many of which are stamped with contractor names and installation dates), and narrow parkway strips. The parkway strips are generally planted with strips of grass and various types of street trees. While there is not a uniform street tree scheme within the district, Queen palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana)—common in San Diego’s older neighborhoods—occur with the most regularity. The district is composed of residential buildings that are similar in scale, massing, and style. These buildings are set back from the street at relatively consistent depths, resulting in visually cohesive streetscapes that evince a sense of time and place from the district’s 1905 to 1961 period of significance. Front setbacks are generally planted with lush lawns, mature trees, and other vegetation, and vary based on the whims of their respective owners. Several buildings are located on lots that are slightly elevated from the street and have concrete, stucco, and/or masonry retaining walls that span the front lot line. A small number of buildings are fronted by non-original perimeter fences, walls, and/or hedges that obfuscate their visibility. The canyons that occupy the interstitial spaces between many of the district’s buildings are undeveloped and are generally reserved as urban open space. These open spaces consist of native chapparal and are also peppered with non-native tree species including a preponderance of eucalyptus trees, which were introduced to San Diego around the turn of the twentieth century.
03
Architectural Styles
Various architectural movements and styles are represented in the district and are reflective of its incremental development over the span of five decades. This mélange of visually compatible movements and styles is a common characteristic of San Diego’s early suburban neighborhoods. Each key style that is represented within the district is discussed in detail below. Buildings with the earliest construction dates are designed in Late Victorian-era styles. Two (#90, 305 W. Walnut Avenue; #91, 321 W. Walnut Avenue) are designed in the Queen Anne style. Originally located outside the district, both were relocated within the district in 1911 to avert demolition. Loose references to the Queen Anne style are also evident in some Craftsman style houses that were constructed in the first decade of the twentieth century; these buildings are evocative of the transition from Late Victorian-era architecture to the Arts and Crafts movement at this time. Buildings constructed in the early 1900s and 1910s are generally designed in styles associated with early twentieth century American movements. Most common is the Craftsman style (twenty buildings); there are also examples of the Prairie School (four buildings) and American Foursquare/Classic Box (four buildings) styles, both of which developed contemporaneously with the Craftsman style and are also derivatives of the broader Arts and Crafts movement. A plurality of buildings in the district are designed in early twentieth century Period Revival styles that ascended to prominence after World War II. Period Revival styles are generally expressed in buildings that were constructed between the late 1910s and 1930s. The Spanish Colonial Revival style (nine buildings), Mediterranean Revival style (five buildings), and Italian Renaissance style (four buildings) occur with the most frequency—a reflection of California’s Spanish Colonial and Mexican past, as well as parallels that were often drawn between the mild climate of Southern California and that of the Mediterranean region.2 Other Period Revival styles expressed in the district include Colonial Revival (seven buildings), Tudor Revival (two buildings), Classical Revival (one building), and Pueblo Revival (one building).
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The district was an incubator and testing ground of early experiments in Modern architecture. Specifically, it contains a relatively high concentration of buildings (seven in total) designed by the maverick San Diego architect Irving J. Gill and his nephew, Louis J. Gill, in their signature style that is regarded as a progenitor of American Modernism. All buildings were constructed between 1905 and 1924. Six of these Gill-designed buildings were conceived as part of a planned development around Arroyo Canyon that aimed to leverage the natural landscape and integrate buildings with the rugged natural terrain. The Gills’ unique style (referred to throughout this document as Early Modern) consists of cubist building forms, simple geometric lines, chaste exterior walls of white stucco, and stripped ornamentation that often incorporated arches and other vague references to the context and climate of early California. The Gills’ style marked a sharp departure from prevailing styles at the time, most of which were influenced by past traditions. District buildings constructed in the early post-World War II period (late 1940s and early 1950s) are also designed in styles associated with the Modern movement. There are six examples of the Mid-Century Modern style in the district, and seven examples of the Ranch style. Most are custom-designed, architecturally distinctive, and complement the district’s collection of earlier buildings. The district is noteworthy for the quality of its architecture, with contributing buildings exhibiting a high degree of detail and articulation. Many were designed by some of San Diego’s most noted architects of the early twentieth century. In addition to Irving and Louis Gill, the district features works by architects Henry Lord Gay, William Sterling Hebbard, William Templeton Johnson, Frank Mead, Charles and Edward Quayle, Richard Requa, Hazel Wood Waterman, Emmor Brooke Weaver, and Carleton Winslow, Sr., and designer Ralph Hurlburt. Post-period of significance noncontributing buildings are generally designed in more modest iterations of the Mid-Century Modern and Ranch styles. They are distinguished from contributing buildings by their smaller scale and relative lack of architectural detail. Ten noncontributing buildings constructed since 1981 are designed in idioms that make loose reference to the earlier architectural styles represented in the district, distinguished from them by their use of more contemporary massing, materials, and construction methods.
