• Home
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Digital Archives
  • Contact
    • Letter to Editor
  • Find us
Saturday, January 23, 2021
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
San Diego Downtown News
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Theater
  • News & Features
    • News
      • Downtown Briefs
    • Featured
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Chris Ward
        • Mara Elliott
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
  • Food & Drink
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Food & Drink Blotter
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the editor
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Health & Fitness
    • Travel
  • Business
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Best of Downtown
    • Expert Advice
    • Sponsored Links
  • Neighborhoods
    • Balboa Park
    • East Village
    • Gaslamp
    • Horton Plaza
    • Little Italy
  • Calendar
  • Experts
San Diego Downtown News
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Theater
  • News & Features
    • News
      • Downtown Briefs
    • Featured
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Chris Ward
        • Mara Elliott
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
  • Food & Drink
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Food & Drink Blotter
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the editor
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Health & Fitness
    • Travel
  • Business
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Best of Downtown
    • Expert Advice
    • Sponsored Links
  • Neighborhoods
    • Balboa Park
    • East Village
    • Gaslamp
    • Horton Plaza
    • Little Italy
  • Calendar
  • Experts
No Result
View All Result
San Diego Downtown News
No Result
View All Result
Home Features

Horton Plaza’s restoration back in action

February 6, 2015
in Features, Horton Plaza, Neighborhoods, News, Top Story
4
Horton Plaza’s restoration back in action
0
SHARES
103
VIEWS

By Delle Willett

After a 12-month hiatus, the rehabilitation and restoration of historic Horton Plaza is back underway, with a budget of $17,677,382 and an opening planned for late fall 2015.

The restoration plan includes a revival of the existing 20,000-square-foot park and the creation of a new, approximately 37,000-square-foot public plaza in place of the former Robinsons-May building.

All combined, the new Horton Plaza Park will cover 57,000 square feet and will become a hub for outdoor public civic and cultural events in the heart of Downtown San Diego.

Originally named for Alonzo Erastus Horton — one of Downtown San Diego’s early developers — the park is expected to be an economic catalyst for the surrounding neighborhood, with a transformational effect on Downtown.

2014-03-29 06.18.16webtop
Construction of the Horton Plaza Park, after a yearlong delay, is moving forward.
(Photo by Delle Willett)

The park dates back to 1910, when Irving Gill, one of San Diego’s most prominent and innovative architects, completed his design of the Horton Plaza Park and fountain. After years of misuse, mismanagement and disrepair, the park fell from grace, but it returned to the spotlight in 1985 with the construction of Horton Plaza shopping center.

At that time, the historic park was also renovated to replace the grass and benches with shrubbery in an effort to deter loitering. In 2008, water conservation efforts led to the fountain shutting down with a fence erected around it.

Because the site has historical significance the rehabilitation will return the area to grass, reintroduce the iconic early 20th-century lighting, and reincarnate the park’s centerpiece — the now out-of-use fountain — that may not even operate because of the drought situation.

The Horton Plaza Park fountain gets a facelift (Photo by Delle Willett)
The Horton Plaza Park fountain gets a
facelift (Photo by Delle Willett)

The new pavers will closely match the original terra cotta colors that Irving Gill used in 1910, and even the decorative lighting built into the fountain will be brought back to life.

Restoration of the fountain, the first art object in the city collection, was awarded to Echo Pacific Construction, who in turn, subcontracted the project to Spectra Co. of Pomona, California.

Founded in 1985, Spectra’s core focus is restoration, preservation and conservation of the country’s most cherished architectural, historical and cultural landmarks, utilizing environmentally safe products in all its preservation and restoration practices. Some of their clients include The Gamble House, Pasadena; Hoover Dam in Nevada; the Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles; and the Catalina Casino, Catalina Island.

“The Horton Plaza Fountain is a true historical gem and an important artistic and cultural monument for downtown San Diego,” said Troy Parry, Spectra’s project manager.

“It’s an honor and a privilege for us to be entrusted with this project, and as is the case with all of our work, we are approaching [it] with the utmost care,” he continued. “Our team of talented artisans will spend the next several months bringing the fountain back to its original glory. When we finish the work, it will once again be a piece of history that everyone in San Diego will be proud of and people will want to visit.”

With a budget of $450,000, Spectra will be doing some of the work at their Pomona plant and some on site at the plaza.

Tasks performed at their plant include everything bronze (dome latticework, column capitals, filigree border and plaques); copper (cupola, ribs at lower dome); ferrous metals (bell/guideposts, stanchions and chains); prismatic glass; and moveable objects.

The park’s fountain is being restored. (Photo by Delle Willett)
The park’s fountain is being restored.
(Photo by Delle Willett)

Projects conducted on site include everything granite, marble and concrete, and will also include the following detailed list of line items: remove bird excrement, dried wasp nests, brown and black stains, biological growth, sulfacation and grime; carefully remove unsound and loose mortar, fill gaps with mortar tinted to match the color of the adjacent granite and marble; clean the surface and preserve as much of the stable patina as possible; chemically passivate areas with “bronze disease”; replicate and replace any missing elements to match historic features; repatinate bronze elements to further passivate any exposed bare metal; match all replicated glass to historic glass in size, finish and color; and chemically remove lead-based paint.

The restoration and rehabilitation of the park is a result of a complex public-private partnership negotiated by Civic San Diego, working on behalf of the former Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego, and Westfield Horton Plaza. It is consistent with goals within the adopted 2006 Downtown Community Plan, which guides the development of the urban parks, open spaces and historical resources in the Downtown area.

—Delle Willett has a 30-year history of designing, writing, and marketing. She is currently PR advisor to the American Society of Landscape Architects, San Diego chapter. She would love to hear from you and can be reached at dellewillett@gmail.com.

Next Post

San Diego Bay – a winter fishing wonderland

Comments 4

  1. Pingback: San Diego News Room | Horton Plaza’s restoration back in action
  2. Kenneth Dart says:
    6 years ago

    This is the worst mall I’ve ever visited. It’s confusing levels and terrible for window shopping. It’s no wonder why the foot traffic at this mall is so terrible. It’s too bad its labelled historic because I wish they would tear the entire structure down and build something like the promenade in Santa Monica. I avoid Horton Plaza like the plague (or like measles these days).

    Reply
  3. K. Wargo says:
    6 years ago

    Who was the architecture firm who redesigned the Plaza. I don’t see that anywhere in the article.

    Reply
    • Jen Van Tieghem says:
      6 years ago

      Hi K.,

      Delle has more information in an article she published last year: https://sandiegodowntownnews.com/reviving-horton-plaza/

      She notes that the project was designed by landscape architects rather than architects.

      Hope that helps!

      Best,
      Jen Van Tieghem
      SDCNN

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

San Diego Downtown News

© 2019 San Diego Downtown News. All rights reserved. • San Diego Community News Network (SDCNN)

Navigate our site

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • A&E
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Theater
    • Art
  • News & Features
    • News
      • Downtown Briefs
    • Featured
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
  • Food & Drink
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Food & Drink Blotter
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Health & Fitness
    • Travel
  • Business
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Best of Downtown
    • Sponsored Links
    • Expert Advice
  • Neighborhoods
    • Balboa Park
    • East Village
    • Gaslamp
    • Horton Plaza
    • Little Italy
  • About
  • Contact
  • Calendar
  • Advertising
  • Archives
  • Experts

© 2019 San Diego Downtown News. All rights reserved. • San Diego Community News Network (SDCNN)

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In