FSDA’s 2025-2026 Lecture Series

The Friends of San Diego Architecture presents inspiring lectures on architecture, design, and the built environment by speakers who stimulate thoughtful, community-centered discussions. After more than 40 years, the conversations continue.

Join Us in Celebrating FSDA’s 40th Anniversary and Our Region’s Legacy as a World Design Capital!
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The Role of an Arts Center in Building a Community

The old PB library (Robert Broms)

PB Arts Center
The Old Pacific Beach Library
4606 Ingraham Street
Pacific Beach
San Diego 92109

An admirable adaptive reuse project is taking shape in Pacific Beach. Actually, the shape is already there, in the form of the old PB library. This fine Midcentury Modern building sits on the southeast corner of the superblock that comprises the Pacific Beach Middle School campus. The library opened in 1951 and served the community for almost half a century until it was supplanted in 1997 by the Pacific Beach / Earl & Birdie Taylor Library, a new branch over twice as large, located less than a mile away.

Now, an effort is underway to adapt the building to a new use, as a community space connecting artists, students, and residents. The PB Arts Center is a project of Beautiful PB, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with a mission to improve the community through arts, mobility, and green spaces. Beautiful PB, among many other projects, is also working on the creation of a PB Arts District.

The Arts Center itself is being supported by the grassroots involvement of the community. A leader of that effort, Jennifer Tandy, helped organize a community mural project with the assistance of artist Hilary Dufour. During the Community Paint Day on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, residents, including San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava showed up to transform a shipping container adjacent to the building into a work of art.

Now that the site has been secured with an agreement with the San Diego Unified School District, fundraising is the other focus of the group. Tandy says she “would encourage people to learn more about the project and to consider supporting the project financially. We are actively seeking donors and financial partners to help us bring the PB Arts Center to life.”  For more information, here is the website, PB Arts Center. The promotional video shows the type of creativity such a center can foster. And the video on the webpage of the Community Paint Day clearly shows the level of community support.

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PLEASE NOTE: Our regular FSDA programs are being presented in a new location, the San Diego History Center, and at a new time. Refreshments 10-10:30, program 10:30-11:45. Admission to the museum is free but donations are welcomed. A $5 donation to FSDA is also appreciated.

Please RSVP on the FSDA website if you will attend

Friends of San Diego Architecture Image Library of the Month

Southwestern USA

Enjoy our collection of historic architecture, maps, and more in this featured Southwestern USA gallery.

FSDA News of Interest

Missed a lecture? Check out our videos: Since September 2017, FSDA has been videotaping our lectures. They have been a work in progress. If you missed one of our lectures, you now have a chance to view them here. Architect Manuel Oncina talks about Libraries: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow; Architect Hal Sadler and Modernist Keith York have a dialogue about Evolving Styles: From the Sixties; Architects Ken Baldwin and Andy Darragh discuss From Labs to Libraries; Landscape Architect Vicki Estrada revisits San Diego Design Decisions, and, Architects Kathleen McCormick and Ted Smith present An Alternative Practice. We have now added our September and October lecture videos. We would love to have your comments.

November 2019: Diane Kane – Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Irving Gill: Modern Architecture Emerges

February 2020: Glen Schmidt – Mission Valley: An Open Space Renaissance

January 2022: Panel of Speakers – San Diego-Tijuana: World Design Capital 2024

The latest video now available and one you won’t want to miss!

UC San Diego: Billions in Development

FSDA Image Library: Our image library continues to grow with new images added often, so you might want to bookmark this link. We started with the Ned Paynter Collection and have now added the Diane Kane Collection, Competitions, Exhibits, and FSDA Events. This image is from the Southern California Gallery in the Diane Kane Collection.