Jackhammers, Chisels Expose Need for Restoration of Buildings

When jackhammers chiseled the delicate decoration off one of San Diego’s few Egyptian-flavored ‘20s buildings earlier this month, more than just stucco underwire was exposed.

Suddenly, in a few short hours at the Egyptian Court Apartments, 3772 Park Blvd., the city’s inadequate approach to preserving historically significant buildings was blatantly apparent. With the building not designated “historical,” the owners were free to do as they pleased.

And they did, ripping away nearly all of its unique exterior details during a three-day tear that ended with a jackhammer symphony. Initially, workers told the building’s residents they were just removing pieces that might fall and hurt someone. But when the spree was over, the building looked like one in a European city after a World War II strafing.

Those who live at Egyptian Court enter through an arch between two columns that, until recently, had Egyptian images cast on them. A U-shaped courtyard plan gives all apartments a garden view. Delicately detailed cornices are barren now. Yet only two weeks ago, the Egyptian was the finest among its neighbors, said San Diego City Planner Cory Braun, who has an apartment in the building.

Braun had been writing a report on the historic value of four Egyptian-influenced buildings in the area, including the Egyptian apartments and the Park Theatre. The report could have led to designation of the apartment building as a local historic site, which would have made it illegal for Egyptian owners Mark Brutten and Charles Miller to commit what some residents are calling “rape.”

Braun’s dream is that the four buildings can become a single protected historic district. Next to the Egyptian, at Robinson and Park, is an auto garage, where a yard of cars and bright blue and white paint obscure the Egyptian forms of the original building. Across the street from the Egyptian is an apartment complex known as The Pharaoh. Four gold Pharaoh heads look down from the side of the building, above columns that slant like pyramid walls. Farther down the street is the movie theater, recently “modernized” at the street level. But on the second story, you can still see the striations made so the walls resemble big blocks of stone.

For the Egyptian, historic designation looks like a moot point. Barring a new, extremely sympathetic owner, a restoration to original condition appears unlikely.

Brutten, the building’s owner, has his own story about the defacing Nov. 5. He says he never heard anything about the building’s historical significance until after he dispatched his workers.

“The reason I did what I did was I didn’t like the looks of the building,” he said. “I think it’s downright ugly.”

He said he is sympathetic to preservation; when asked for an example, he said the Marston Building in downtown San Diego is one project he admires. Why, then, didn’t he put the workers on hold until he could learn more about his own building?

Had the partners proposed a faithful restoration, they could have taken a historic-preservation tax credit, according to Ron Buckley, a city planner who coordinates the city’s Historic Site Board. But Brutten’s attorney told him the building wouldn’t qualify.

The Egyptian was designed and built by Paul Carle in 1926. Why is it significant? Buckley said there are only seven known buildings in the entire county with similar period Egyptian motifs. They’re relics from an era when Americans became fascinated with Egypt after the opening of King Tut’s tomb and the restoration of the Sphinx. Egyptian influences began turning up in California, a place with a similar climate. “Without question, the Egyptian (Court) had historic merit,” Buckley said.

Now it may become just another statistic on the battlefield of local preservation. Over the years, many other more significant buildings have been lost or defaced, including houses by architect Irving Gill and several buildings in the Gaslamp Quarter which had turn-of-the-century frills ripped away during ‘50s and ‘60s urban renewal.

A new city ordinance being drafted by Buckley would make it tougher for owners of potentially significant structures to ruin them. It would create a 15-member cultural heritage resource board. Once a building is up for consideration as significant, its owners could not alter it until the board made its findings.

Buildings could qualify for “cultural resource” designation on the merits of their architecture, but also if they were associated with historic people or events. Subsequent changes to such buildings would be permitted only if they are unsafe beyond repair, needed for public use or if denial of improvements would cause financial hardship to the owner. Any changes adversely affecting architecture would not be legal, and alterations would have to fit the neighborhood. The ordinance is still months away from City Council approval.

But an ordinance alone won’t solve the problem. As of yet, there is no complete inventory of buildings that should be protected. And, until recently, city officials showed little interest in approving money for such research.

This year the City Council allocated $86,000 in Community Development Block Grant money to be used for historic surveys of Logan Heights, San Ysidro (it has several significant Victorian buildings) and North Park/Mid-City.

“That’s the most that’s ever been spent in a year,” Buckley said. Still, there are hundreds of buildings not yet documented.

Luckily, not every un-surveyed building is in danger. Occasionally, a developer steps forward and shows some empathy without being told he has to.

One recent example is Mike Foote, who plans to restore the Mission Brewery at Washington and Hancock streets as part of a new mixed-use complex with offices, retail space, parking and restaurant. Visible from Interstate 5, the pinkish building is a prominent landmark on the way south to downtown. He paid nearly $2 million for it, and plans to spend $2.5 million more. A special ballot measure approved Nov. 8 will allow him to take the tower back to the original height.

“I’m tired of looking at these big glass buildings you see everywhere,” Foote said. “I think a historic building with a lot of character can compete very effectively in the marketplace.”

What will become of the Egyptian? Some of its residents believe it’s destined to be replaced with a larger building.

But Brutten said he doesn’t yet have a plan. After the makeover he’s considering, he thinks his building will attract different tenants.

“Maybe I’ll get people who aren’t a special-interest group. There’s a group there that fashion themselves architecture aficionados, de facto armchair experts. Those are the people that don’t belong in a building like that anymore.”

DESIGN NOTES:

Solana Beach architect S. Scott Emsley and Architistic Endeavors, based in San Diego, took honor awards in the 1988 Concrete Masonry Design Awards program. Emsley won for a house design; Architistic Endeavors for a concrete apartment complex in Pacific Beach. . . . Shorn & Kaminski are doing the new Arts Tix booth for Horton Plaza and working with the La Jolla Women’s Club on plans for a faithful restoration of its 1913 Irving Gill building across from the Museum of Contemporary Art. . . . Women in Architecture presents a discussion of parallels between architecture and landscaping at 7 tonight, $4, in the AIA offices, 233 A St. . . . San Diego architect Michael Wilkes is the new president of California Architectural Foundation, a nonprofit group that seeks to educate schoolchildren about architecture.