OPEN HOUSE SAN DIEGO, MARCH 2018

BREAD & SALT - HISTORIC WEBER'S BREAD FACTORY

The fourth annual Open House San Diego was held on March

24-5, 2018. With more than eighty downtown buildings open for anyone to freely visit, it provided a great opportunity to learn first- hand about innovative architecture, urban planning, and design. San Diego became an official Open House Worldwide City in 2015 when it joined more than 40 cities worldwide who hold similar events. The buildings were chosen by the San Diego Architectural Foundation for their unique design, historic value, cultural significance, repurposing of space, and/or environmental sustainability. Twelve of the sites are registered on the National Register of Historic Sites and five are on the Local Register.

    Sites were located in Balboa Park, Bankers Hill, Downtown, Gaslamp, East Village, Barrio Logan, and Point Loma. Some required reservations, but most provided a self-guided tour upon arrival; there were always friendly greeters at the door. Brochures with descriptions, maps, and hours were available online and at designated locations.

   

HOME IN LOGAN HEIGHTS

Ron and I went on Sunday afternoon to take advantage of the opportunity to tour old buildings, meet people, and to see areas of the city that we normally don't visit. Our first stop was in Logan Heights—one of the oldest communities in San Diego. We easily found street parking and could see the San Diego Bay in the distance as we strolled south along Julian Avenue to our first open house of the day. 

  

   

HISTORIC OVEN

BREAD & SALT

Bread & Salt (1955 Julian Avenue) is an experimental center for the arts; located in the former Weber's Bread Factory that dates back to 1896. The courtyard still displays an oven and 40-foot high floor silos from the original bakery that ceased operation about ten years ago. The renovation began in 2013 with future plans to develop affordable live-work space for artists. As we walked through, we enjoyed the spacious rooms with high ceilings and unique displays by                               local artists.

    Our next stop, described as California's first urban destination

YOU & YOURS DISTILLING CO.

distillery, was You & Yours Distilling Co. (1495 G Street). It is located in the East Village, which is the currently San Diego's fastest-growing downtown neighborhood. It has a tasting room as well as a state-of-the-art production distillery, complete with a copper still. The warehouse-style includes exposed concrete and salvaged wood. A nice setting for a drink, however, we needed to move on since our time was running short.

   

AVRP SKYPORT

We then walked to the nearby AVRP Skyport (703 16^th Street), located in the historic Snowflake Bakery building (est. 1895). The outside brick facade, original painted sign, and corner entry were restored based on historical photos and earned a SDAF Orchid Award for historic restoration in 2011. We also felt privileged to meet and learn more about the new Seaport Village project directly from the architects and designers that are working on it. 

    We ended our tour at the New School of Architecture & Design (1249 F Street), which is also in the transforming East Village district. We were fortunate to meet the head recruiter for the school who gave us an excellent tour. She was so enthusiastic that I wished for a moment I attended school there.

   

BREAD & SALT

RON'S PHOTO

Each year, Open House San Diego sponsors a photo competition for best pictures taken at the event. Ron decided to submit a few of his favorites which I am sharing in this post. The official winners haven't been announced, but just entering a photo competition for the first time in your life makes him a winner—at least it does on this vintage blog.

    Our time was too short to cover as many sites as we would have liked, however, we look forward to next year's event, scheduled for March 30-31, 2019.

RON'S PHOTO - BREAD & SALT

RON'S PHOTO - BREAD & SALT