City Council Is in Dire Need of a History Lesson : Preservation: The handling of the El Cortez Hotel and the Clayton House will offer it a chance to redeem itself.

When it comes to historic preservation, San Diego is a backward town.

Citizens at large seem generally unaware as to what constitutes a building or historic site worth saving. Developers are wary of the word historic , and many don’t appreciate the contribution historic buildings can make to a city’s urban landscape or their value as cultural artifacts.

Developers and citizens at large seem generally unaware as to what makes a building or site historic, or why it is worth saving. But this wouldn’t matter much if the San Diego City Council took a consistent, informed, responsible stance toward preservation.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to matter who’s in office or what ordinances are in place. The City Council continues to let our most meaningful buildings fall, often going against the best advice of city planners or the 15-member, mayor-appointed Historical Site Board.

In coming weeks, the council’s preservation mettle will be tested once again.

The El Cortez Hotel and the Clayton House were designated historical sites by the site board last Wednesday. Developers are expected to appeal both designations within the 10-day appeal period, which expires this weekend.

The El Cortez, at 7th Avenue and Ash Street, has been a downtown landmark since its completion in 1927. The 1907 Clayton House--at 6th Avenue and Laurel Street, near Balboa Park--was designed by architect Hazel Waterman, a protege of Irving Gill.

Site board members are optimistic that the council will try to save the El Cortez because of its sentimental value, downtown landmark status and architecture.

Designed by Los Angeles architects Walker & Eisen, the 15-story building is the only San Diego high-rise bearing ornate Spanish Renaissance ornamentation. Its graceful proportions and unique layout, with angular side wings embracing the main entrance, make it especially inviting. A faithful restoration would involve removal of several elements added as part of a 1950s remodeling: low buildings now blocking the original entry, the glassed-in “sky room” and the glass elevator.

Grosvenor Industries sold the property to Minami Corp. of Japan last year. In exchange for preserving the historic tower, developer Mark Grosvenor had proposed extensive development, including four new residential and hotel towers around the restored hotel. Even though the development was more intense than allowable on the site, he received positive feedback from the Centre City Planning Committee, which advises the city on downtown planning matters.

Mark Grosvenor’s architects, Tanner Leddy Maytum & Stacy of San Francisco, had developed what Grosvenor believed to be a historically, structurally and financially viable restoration plan, one he planned to carry out, even after the sale, in his new role as “master developer” for Minami on the project.

But Minami had a change of heart. In a letter dated July 10, Grosvenor informed the city that “Minami is considering demolition of the hotel.” Grosvenor also said he would not participate in any project involving demolition.

But, under city statutes, a developer cannot demolish a building without good reason.

A July 25 letter from Minami’s attorneys to the site board confirmed the company’s intention to restudy the renovation plan.

There is cause for concern here.

Although the City Council is likely to stand up to Minami’s expected appeal of the site board ruling--given the hotel’s high profile as a recognized landmark--it needs to do more. It must strike a deal with Minami that will be economically viable, but without so much bonus development that the preserved tower becomes a visually buried artifact--the fate that befell the Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach.

The Clayton House’s historic designation came as an emergency measure last Wednesday, a day after the Vista Hill Foundation, the owners, applied for a demolition permit.

Preservationists would rather see the building purchased and restored as a single-family residence, or at least reused as offices. Ron Buckley, the city’s historic-preservation expert, said he knows of attorneys interested in buying the house and converting it into offices.

The Clayton House matter is hauntingly similar to the controversy surrounding the Gill-designed Cossitt House on 7th Avenue near Balboa Park, which teetered on the brink of disaster in the mid-1980s. A group of doctors almost converted it into offices, which would have ruined the character of this stately residential street. Then Davis and Gwen Leckron bought the house as their home, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore it. Now it has regained its old pride.

The Clayton residence, a solid Craftsman-era house designed with economical grace, is an important link in local architectural history. Because the original owner, William Clayton, was a prominent executive for the powerful Spreckels Co., it is also a key to local history in general.

So what will happen to these fine historic buildings? A look at the City Council’s recent track record is not encouraging.

* On July 5, it voted against the site board and in favor of the owners of the Crystal Pier Motor Hotel, who plan to add a parking lot and quadruple the square footage of the complex, dwarfing the delicate, arched “Crystal Pier” sign that greets beach visitors as they travel west on Garnet Avenue. Preservationists hope the California Coastal Commission will stop the project, but that is seen as something of a long shot. Local government has already had its say, and the commission has been gradually transferring its authority to local governments.

* The Aztec Brewery in Barrio Logan, including historic murals painted by Spanish artist Jose Moya del Pino, was recently torn down to make way for warehouses in an “Enterprise Zone.” Preservationists arrived on the scene too late. But at least the murals were stored for incorporation into some future building in the area.

* Period ornamentation was jack-hammered from an Egyptian Revival apartment complex near the Park Theatre on Park Boulevard after the building’s owner heard talk of possible historic designation. The council eventually voted against an Egyptian Historic District that would have included a handful of Egyptian Deco-era buildings in the area. Today, the apartments sit scarred and forlorn-looking, although a new owner has pledged restoration.

This fall, a new historic preservation plan will be presented to the council. It will include a more detailed preservation ordinance, a public information program, a long list of incentives designed to lure developers into preservation and plans for a thorough survey of the city’s historic assets.

The plan could be approved by early next year, but it won’t do any good if traditional council attitudes prevail.

Every day is a chance for redemption. In the weeks ahead, the council can seek its through the graceful handling of the El Cortez and Clayton situations, and through its enthusiastic support for the new plan, even though developers and property owners are already lobbying against it.