Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

North Park glory at hand

Stevens-Hartley building entered in national restoration contest

The Stevens-Hartley building and annex (note the original arches on the annex)
The Stevens-Hartley building and annex (note the original arches on the annex)

The Stevens-Hartley Annex on University Avenue was built in 1926. If San Diego wins the #VoteYourMainStreet contest, the structure would be eligible to “a share of $2 million in American Express funding for preservation projects,” according to a page on the National Geographic website. (How much that share would be remains a mystery.)

There are 24 other U.S. cities with historical structures competing to “make a difference to preserve history.” Voting started on September 25.

The annex is currently the home to Metro PCS, Gems Jewelry, and the SafeHouse (located at 2930 University Avenue). The Western Dental office located at 2948 University (corner of 30th Street) is the main building, which was built in 1913.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On September 29th, Michael was waiting for the bus in front of the annex. “It looks way different [than the original photo posted on the contest site]. I couldn’t even tell it was that old,” he said.

There appears to be stucco on top of the original structure, hiding the two two-story towers on each side of the annex and the four arches in between. The awnings and the roof tiles from almost 100 years ago are long gone, too.

Katherine Hon is the secretary of the North Park Historical Society. In 2015 she wrote a piece called “First and tallest at North Park’s ‘Busy Corner’” for the Uptown News.

Note the two towers of the annex facing University Avenue

The story was about the 1913 origin of the Stevens building (now Western Dental) on the corner and also the annex: “In 1926, Carter Construction Company built an arcaded, Mediterranean-style annex that extended to the west along University Avenue. A two-story tower unit roofed in red tile anchored each end of the annex, with four units in between.

“Henry and Daisy Leighton operated their café on the first floor and lived on the second floor of the western tower. Dan Harmer and Robert Dent operated a shoe store in the eastern tower. Other early businesses included Mrs. Head’s confectionery shop and Lee Millikan’s men’s haberdashery. When his partnership with Jack Hartley ended in 1927, Will Stevens took an office in the annex, keeping his name on the three-story commercial building.

“After 1945, a smooth ‘slipcover’ modernized the original facade of the 1913 building and its ornate annex. But the tops of the two towers (one on the left of Safe House and the other to the right of Gems Jewelry) are visible from an upper floor of the North Park parking garage.

“Imagine how grand it would be to see the whole annex restored to its original arcaded glory!"

It depends on the votes. The contest is easy. First you register and log on to the National Geographic page, then vote. One person is allowed to vote five times every day until October 31 at 8:59 p.m.

“I’m gonna vote from my phone and let my friends know,” Michael said before hopping on the bus to Hillcrest. “We may not have a football team, but we got North Park.”

According to the website: “Partners in Preservation is an initiative created by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express to engage the public in preserving and increasing awareness of America’s historic places and their role in sustaining local communities. Since its inception in 2006, Partners in Preservation has awarded over $19 million in support of more than 200 sites.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Laurence Juber, Train Song Festival, Ancient Echoes: 10,000 Years of Beer

Events November 8-November 9, 2024
The Stevens-Hartley building and annex (note the original arches on the annex)
The Stevens-Hartley building and annex (note the original arches on the annex)

The Stevens-Hartley Annex on University Avenue was built in 1926. If San Diego wins the #VoteYourMainStreet contest, the structure would be eligible to “a share of $2 million in American Express funding for preservation projects,” according to a page on the National Geographic website. (How much that share would be remains a mystery.)

There are 24 other U.S. cities with historical structures competing to “make a difference to preserve history.” Voting started on September 25.

The annex is currently the home to Metro PCS, Gems Jewelry, and the SafeHouse (located at 2930 University Avenue). The Western Dental office located at 2948 University (corner of 30th Street) is the main building, which was built in 1913.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On September 29th, Michael was waiting for the bus in front of the annex. “It looks way different [than the original photo posted on the contest site]. I couldn’t even tell it was that old,” he said.

There appears to be stucco on top of the original structure, hiding the two two-story towers on each side of the annex and the four arches in between. The awnings and the roof tiles from almost 100 years ago are long gone, too.

Katherine Hon is the secretary of the North Park Historical Society. In 2015 she wrote a piece called “First and tallest at North Park’s ‘Busy Corner’” for the Uptown News.

Note the two towers of the annex facing University Avenue

The story was about the 1913 origin of the Stevens building (now Western Dental) on the corner and also the annex: “In 1926, Carter Construction Company built an arcaded, Mediterranean-style annex that extended to the west along University Avenue. A two-story tower unit roofed in red tile anchored each end of the annex, with four units in between.

“Henry and Daisy Leighton operated their café on the first floor and lived on the second floor of the western tower. Dan Harmer and Robert Dent operated a shoe store in the eastern tower. Other early businesses included Mrs. Head’s confectionery shop and Lee Millikan’s men’s haberdashery. When his partnership with Jack Hartley ended in 1927, Will Stevens took an office in the annex, keeping his name on the three-story commercial building.

“After 1945, a smooth ‘slipcover’ modernized the original facade of the 1913 building and its ornate annex. But the tops of the two towers (one on the left of Safe House and the other to the right of Gems Jewelry) are visible from an upper floor of the North Park parking garage.

“Imagine how grand it would be to see the whole annex restored to its original arcaded glory!"

It depends on the votes. The contest is easy. First you register and log on to the National Geographic page, then vote. One person is allowed to vote five times every day until October 31 at 8:59 p.m.

“I’m gonna vote from my phone and let my friends know,” Michael said before hopping on the bus to Hillcrest. “We may not have a football team, but we got North Park.”

According to the website: “Partners in Preservation is an initiative created by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express to engage the public in preserving and increasing awareness of America’s historic places and their role in sustaining local communities. Since its inception in 2006, Partners in Preservation has awarded over $19 million in support of more than 200 sites.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Laurence Juber, Train Song Festival, Ancient Echoes: 10,000 Years of Beer

Events November 8-November 9, 2024
Next Article

Halloween opera style

Faust is the quintessential example
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader