A Piece of San Diego History: The House by the Side of the Avenue
Kudos to those in the community whose efforts have resulted in the preservation of a structure which has seen so much history in San Diego!
McKinney’s Kara Pedersen takes market research to a new level – uncovering the story behind preserving this historic structure in the San Diego market.
There used to be an old house in front of Mercy Hospital on Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest, also known as Uptown San Diego. I had walked by it hundreds of times, and always thought it looked out of place because it appeared to be on a hospital property. It had been there a long time, and I wondered why it was still there. One night I walked by the house, and the foundation had been raised up on blocks. A few weeks later, I walked by, and the house was on top of a trailer with wheels! I was curious, so I went online for more information.
According to the San Diego Uptown News, the house was owned by a “thrifty and prosperous farmer” named Henry B. Jones. Jones was born March 11, 1850, in Hudson, Wisconsin. He sold his farm in 1910 and relocated to San Diego, California, where he entered the banking and real estate professions, according to a genealogy book of the Jones family. Jones was apparently the first president of Hillcrest’s first bank, where Union Bank is currently located, at the intersection of University and Fifth Avenues.
In 1911, Jones had the house constructed for his family in front of Mercy Hospital, formerly known as 4040 Hillcrest Drive. Title to the home transferred several times until it was ultimately owned by Scripps Health. There is some speculation by SOHO (Save Our Heritage Organization) that the structure was the last home remaining from the original Hillcrest development.
On my way back into town after July 4th festivities, I drove past Mercy Hospital and a vacant lot, where the house once stood. Parts of the old foundation remained. From YouTube, I learned that the house had been moved on July 1st, 2018 to its new address: 4114 Ibis Street in Mission Hills, a nearby suburb of San Diego. The plan is to restore the home to its original “glory”, according to the Hillcrest History Guild.
I visited the house at its new location, where I met a fellow spectator and introduced myself. He told me that he actually used to work in the house as an employee when it was part of Scripps Health.
Kudos to those in the community whose efforts have resulted in the preservation of a structure which has seen so much history in San Diego!