He Built a Future With an Eye to the Past

In August 1983, a Holly Sugar plant was torn down in Santa Ana.

It nearly broke John Loomis’ heart.

“It was a historic factory that had the potential, on a smaller scale, to be something like the Cannery or Ghirardelli Square. The developers chose to do something else. In the history of Orange County, there are lots of examples of major historic resources that have been demolished. And once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.”

Loomis, a 51-year-old architect who specializes in historic restoration, has been finding ways to make old buildings commercially viable as a founding partner of Thirtieth Street Architects in Newport Beach.

Along with four other architects in his firm, Loomis has rescued historic buildings from the brink of demolition and turned them into moneymaking shops, restaurants, hotels and the like. The economic potential of a historic site often makes the difference between rebuilding or bulldozing, he said.

“Listings on historic registers really don’t prevent alteration or demolition, but they usually require some kind of a waiting period, so that other options can be considered,” said Loomis, a Laguna Beach resident who lives in a cabin originally built to house athletes during the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. He’s done a lot of remodeling over the years, aided by his woodworking skills.

“People think that you have to have a pit of money and be willing to burn it to implement historic preservation. Sometimes, that is true. Preservation can be very expensive. But my job is to find a way to encourage preservation that makes economic sense.”

As an example, Loomis points to the former bait and tackle shop that sat empty for many years at the end of the Balboa Pier. His firm converted the building into the first Ruby’s restaurant, which opened in 1982, just down the street from his somewhat ramshackle Newport Boulevard offices.

“We respected the building and also added to it a little bit, and it became the theme of their entire chain. For years that shack sat there and nobody would touch it. These guys [Ruby’s founders Doug Cavanaugh and Ralph Kosmides] had the vision to take the risk and go for it, and look what they have today.”

Before starting Thirtieth Street Architects with partner Jim Wilson in 1976, Loomis worked for Newport Beach architect Rolly Pulaski on the restoration of the San Juan Capistrano train depot, adding on a restaurant and bar. The 1896 masonry building had been abandoned for 15 years.

In addition to new construction, his firm has taken part in more than 600 historic restoration projects throughout Southern California during the last 22 years. In Old Town Irvine, they converted a vintage silo into the La Quinta Inn, and a blacksmith shop into the Knowlwood restaurant. In Fullerton, they transformed a Union Pacific train depot into a Spaghetti Factory restaurant.

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Loomis and colleagues do not limit their work to the commercial conversion of historic buildings. He says the most challenging project of his 28-year career is the ongoing restoration of the 192-year-old Great Stone Church of Mission San Juan Capistrano. He’s been working on the $7-million restoration since 1987 as project manager, and estimates it could take another 10 to 15 years to complete.

Despite the near disintegration of church walls by the elements, Loomis said the restoration team decided not to build a new roof to shield the structure. The original roof collapsed in 1812 during an earthquake, leaving the walls unprotected from the rain for nearly two centuries.

“Putting on a new roof was one approach we decided was way too invasive and would totally detract from the appearance of the Great Stone Church. We’re trying to keep the rain out by putting a cap on top of the walls that are exposed. It was definitely a ticking time bomb, there’s no question about it. Major pieces of stone have fallen off it during rainstorms.”

An international team of experts was gradually assembled for restoration of the church. So far, the east wall has been secured with an internal steel support system and concrete beams. It is the only mission church in California made of stone instead of adobe, and Orange County’s third-largest tourist attraction, behind Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm.

“We’re trying to use very subtle techniques of restoration, which means coordinating solutions which had never been developed before. It’s been a real steep learning curve.

“A lot of the tenets of preservation are either illogical or conflicting, or both. I never had a class in historic preservation. And there are still probably not more than a dozen schools that teach historic preservation. It’s something you learn by doing.

“The best compliment we could have is that when we’re finally through, nobody will be able to tell that we were ever there. The goal is to make our work invisible.”

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Profile: John Loomis

Age: 51

Hometown: Natick, Mass.

Residence: Laguna Beach

Family: Wife, Sheila; one teenage son; three grown children

Education: Bachelor’s degree in architecture, Syracuse University

Background: Design work on a new Logan International Airport terminal in Boston, 1970-71; architect, Rolly Pulaski & Associates, 1971-76; founding partner of Thirtieth Street Architects; lecturer on historic restoration; assesses buildings for historic significance; member, Orange County Cultural Resources Advisory Committee; consultant on preservation of Tustin Marine Corps Air Facility blimp hangars; avid woodworker

Historic restoration projects: The ongoing restoration of Mission San Juan Capistrano; La Casa Del Camino hotel, Laguna Beach; Modjeska Historic Park; Fullerton Spaghetti Factory; conversion of Old Town Irvine silo and blacksmith shop into a hotel and restaurant; downtown Santa Ana revitalization; conversion of Balboa Pier bait and tackle shop into first Ruby’s restaurant; restoration of San Juan Capistrano railroad depot

On preservation: “I consider myself to be a practical preservationist. I try to find new uses for old buildings that will give them a whole new life cycle.”

Source: John Loomis; Researched by RUSS LOAR / For The Times