Join Us for a New Series of Programs Celebrating Our Region’s Legacy as a World Design Capital!
— — —
Orchids & Onions:
A 50-Year Report Card on San Diego Architecture
The 2026 Orchids & Onions Poster
A Celebration & Retrospective
with
Kevin deFreitas, FAIA, & Mike Stepner, FAIA
Saturday, October 17, 2026, 10:00 AM
San Diego History Center
Casa de Balboa
1649 El Prado, Balboa Park
Kevin deFreitas, president of the San Diego Architectural Foundation (SDAF), will keynote the Friends of San Diego Architecture’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of Orchids & Onions, San Diego’s annual awards program. It honors the best in local architecture with Orchids, while other projects that come up short – they get Onions.
DeFreitas will share the podium with Mike Stepner, who joined other architects in founding the awards program in 1975. Both speakers have been active in local groups for decades, striving to elevate the quality of San Diego’s built environment.
Besides architecture, O&O includes landscape architecture, historic preservation, lighting, signage, urban design, and public policies. Projects in the Tijuana metropolitan area as well as San Diego County are eligible.
DeFreitas and Stepner will cover the history of O&O, the 50th anniversary gala, and the current state of design in the region.
 Kevin DeFreitas, FAIA, a native San Diegan, graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.A. in architecture in 1992. He worked for various firms before starting his own in 1998. He has served as president of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects and on the City of San Diego’s public arts commission. He also was an adjunct professor at the NewSchool of Architecture & Design.
 Mike Stepner, FAIA, a board member of the Friends of San Diego Architecture, earned his architectural degree in 1964 at the University of Illinois and moved to San Diego after serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He was a planner for the city for 27 years, during which he was the official City Architect. He oversaw the revival of the Gaslamp Quarter, among many other assignments, before starting his own consulting firm. He also taught at every major college and university in the region and was a member of many boards and civic groups, including the AIA and SDAF, the official Balboa Park Committee, the Balboa Park Committee of 100 support group, and the Parks & Recreation Board.
—
PLEASE NOTE:
Our FSDA programs are being presented in a new location, the San Diego History Center.
Refreshments 10:00–10:30, program 10:30–11:30
Admission to the museum is free but donations to SDHC are welcomed.
A $5 donation to FSDA is requested.
For current parking information see: Parking Information for Balboa Park.
FSDA News of Interest
A Message from Our President
Roger Showley, President
Dear Friends of San Diego Architecture:
Our new season of lectures launched Sept. 19 with a standing-room-only community forum on the new Balboa Park Master Plan update, now under way at the city’s Planning Department. It remains to be seen how public input will be arranged, so we decided to collect our own input and share it with the planners. We handed out a questionnaire to assess support for a number projects in the current planning documents and suggestions for new ones that have received some attention over the years. The survey can still be completed and submitted online by visiting the webpage here: Balboa Park Master Plan Update Project Priority Checklist September 2026; or by using this QR code:
This month, on Oct. 17, we look forward to a presentation by Kevin deFreitas, FAIA, president of the San Diego Architectural Foundation, on the 50th anniversary of Orchids & Onions – San Diego’s annual recognition of the best design in the built environment as well as projects that fell short. This year’s results were released at the annual gala on October 2 at Liberty Station.Then, on Nov. 21, Mark Hargreaves will discuss his recently released book, The Distinct Modernism of San Diego, coauthored with Hallie Swenson.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Sincerely,
Roger Showley, president
Friends of San Diego Architecture 2026-27
FSDA Welcomes New Directors to the Board
At its annual meeting on July 18, the board of directors of Friends of San Diego Architecture welcomed two new directors to its ranks. Both Diane Kane and Drew Hubbell have presented several programs for FSDA over the years:
Diane Kane, PH.D., AICP, currently teaches Architectural History of San Diego for the UCSD Art and the Creative Process certificate program. A La Jolla resident, Diane is retired from the City Planning and Community Investment Department at the City of San Diego, where she handled large scale historic surveys as part of the long range planning process.
Drew Hubbell, AIA, leads the firm Hubbell & Hubbell Architects, where he formerly collaborated with his father, the late, renowned artist James T. Hubbell, on projects merging art and architecture in ecologically and aesthetically mindful ways. His firm specializes in sustainable architecture, green building materials and the use of alternative building materials.
PB Arts Center Phase 1 Building Restoration Underway
Pacific Beach Arts Center reported that after its successful fundraiser on June 20, it is entering an exciting new chapter, as restoration of the former PB branch library begins. The goal is rehabilitating the old Pacific Beach Library building on the southeast corner of the Pacific Beach Middle School campus and turning it into a future arts center for Pacific Beach. The group celebrated with a symbolic groundbreaking on September 2.
![]()
![]() Left: City Council President Joe LaCava addresses attendees In the Outdoor Commons area at the groundbreaking; right: Architect Matt Winter (center, back to camera) surveys the scene inside the old PB Library as attendees sign the wall (Robert Broms)
PB Arts Center (AI-generated image by Mh Designs) Architect Matt Winter of LPA Design Studios is shaping the architectural vision, bringing innovative design solutions that will breathe new life into this historic building while preparing it to serve the community for generations to come. The Center’s next event is a Maker’s Market in the Outdoor Commons on Saturday, September 19, 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Book Announcement
Keith York, the creator of the Modern San Diego website, has announced that its latest book, The Distinct Modernism of San Diego(2026), by Mark Hargreaves and Hallie Swenson, will soon go into its third printing. The Rev. Dr. Hargreaves spoke to Friends in November 2023 on “The Sacred Architecture of San Diego.” Based on Hargreaves and Swenson’s 2024 lecture series at the Athenaeum in La Jolla, the new book offers profiles of key figures in the region’s modernist history. Upcoming for Friends of San Diego Architecture, Hargreaves will present a program on San Diego modernism and do a book signing on November 21.
Keeping Track
The La Jolla Historical Society has long been an advocate for preserving the historic architecture of that community. In fact, our new FSDA board member, Diane Kane, has been an active member of the LJHS preservation committee. The Society has now re-branded itself as the Museum of History and Culture La Jolla, to reflect its expanded programming and recent history of presenting “museum quality” exhibitions. For example, set to run September 26 through January 31, 2027, is The Scientific Art of Historic Preservation, curated by Heather Crane, AIA.
Friends of San Diego Architecture Image Library – Featured Gallery
Over two decades ago, the Friends of San Diego Architecture sponsored an early effort to help develop solutions for the state’s housing shortage. In 2004, FSDA held an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Competition for California architecture and design students and professional architects and designers. There were a total of 56 entries. One goal of the competition was to convince the public that “granny flats” could be built on the average San Diego lot of 5000 sq. ft. Another goal was to offer innovative and creative designs to complement main dwellings. The new rotating gallery on the FSDA Home page shows some of the most interesting entries from that competition, such as this addition with a domed skylight, an entry in the student category by Umber Kazmi, then at NewSchool of Architecture & Design.
You are invited to visit the full gallery of the ADU Competition entries at ADU Designs.
Video Lectures
Announcements
FSDA Partner Events:
Friends of San Diego Architecture’s partner organizations have three public events scheduled in October. To keep up as events are scheduled, you are invited to bookmark the respective calendar pages:
Our Partners’ Current Activities and Exhibits:
Monday, October 5, 3:00 PM: NewSchool of Architecture & Design hosts the first of four Walk-In Campus Tours, Monday-Thursday, at its new facility at 600 B Street. See more information on their events page.
Thursday, October 15, 6:00-8:30 PM: AIA San Diego continues its 2026 Lecture Series with Daniel Baumann, Principal and Design Director, Henning Larsen, at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park. See the event page for complete details.
Tuesday, October 27, 5:30 – 9:00 PM: AIA San Diego presents Young Professionals’ Haunted Trail Event, a night out at Balboa Park. For complete details and registration, see the AIA SD YEP X SAME: Haunted Trails & Happy Hour page.
Ongoing: San Diego History Center and Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) host: Changing Terrain: Regional Artists Interpret Our Landscape, a pair of exhibits that bring together contemporary artists from Southern California and Baja California to explore a region in constant transformation. Inspired by the exhibition presented at OMA and SDHC in 2013, this group exhibition revisits the evolving field of landscape art by Southern California-based artists more than a decade later and includes 11 artists from the original 2013 exhibition. The paired exhibition opened to the public at the Oceanside Museum of Art and the San Diego History Center on August 22. For more information, visit the SDHC exhibition page or the OMA exhibition page.
Ongoing: The San Diego History Center, in partnership with the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art (SDAAMFA), is proud to present the exhibition, San Diego’s Lost Neighborhoods, at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. This immersive exhibition sheds light on historic communities displaced or erased by discriminatory practices such as redlining and freeway construction. See more information on the exhibition page.
Also for the Design Community:
 Is All That it Proves (2015): muralist Marcos Ramirez ERRE quotes Thomas Paine in the form of an eye chart at 7744 Fay Avenue.
(Philipp Scholz Rittermann)
Always Accessible to anyone in the Public Realm: Murals of La Jolla is a project of The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, initiated by the La Jolla Community Foundation. Murals of La Jolla recently celebrated the installation of its milestone 50th mural, Andrea Zittel’s Prototypes for Billboards at A-Z West, located at 7569 Girard Avenue. The organization also announced its 51st: Ampersand, a new mural by Matt Rich located at 7744 Fay Avenue. Recently, the first mural in the project’s Emerging Artist Program has debuted, Lizzie Zelter’s Southeast Exchange, at 7540 Fay Avenue. Zelter will give an Artist Talk on October 22. The latest murals are Remembrance, a new installation by Joey Terrill located at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 700 Prospect Street; and, Silverado Close-Up, by Los Angeles-based, Seoul-born artist Yunhee Min, who was commissioned to create a site-specific, original piece at 1031 Silverado Street. Note that reservations for tours are available here. Also available, a new book, Murals of La Jolla.
The big studio at the former home of the late artist James Hubbell (Courtesy Ilan-Lael Foundation)
October 8, 10:00-12:00 Noon: Ilan Lael Foundation offers more Docent-led Tours of the James Hubbell homestead and art studios inSanta Ysabel. This and eleven more tours are available in October. See the Foundation’s tour page. Ilan-Lael, near Julian in the back country of San Diego County, is the hand-built compound of renowned artist James Hubbell (1931-2024), a visionary sculptor, painter, and designer whose organic architecture and intricate mosaics, stained glass, and ironwork have graced hundreds of public and private spaces in Southern California and around the Pacific Rim. This unique property is now a member of the Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS), a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
October 18, 10:30 AM – 12:00 Noon: Save Our Heritage Organisation offers the first of its three Third Sunday Tours taking place throughout the day. For complete information on the Bankers Hill Walking Tour plus the other two tours that day, visit the registration page.
September 22: The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a building in the running for the unofficial title of Architectural Wonder of the Age, will officially open in Exposition Park in Los Angeles. See the website for full details.
October 2-11: Museum of History and Culture La Jolla presents La Jolla Modernism Tour and Architecture Week 2026. For the full schedule, see the event page.
October 15-18: In Palm Springs, CA: Modernism Week – October. The complete schedule of activities is here.
Through March 13, 2027: USC Fisher Museum of Art presents Paul R. Williams: An Architect Considered. Organized jointly by the USC School of Architecture and the USC Fisher Museum of Art, this exhibition examines Paul R. Williams’ major contributions to modern multifamily housing. Along with exhibits planned at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Getty Institute, this is one of three in-depth examinations of the career of California’s first licensed Black architect. More details are here. See also: How architect Paul Revere Williams fought racism and changed the face of Los Angeles | Architecture | The Guardian.
A proper plan serves as both an aesthetic guide and a public accounting ledger.
– John Nolen
For over 20 years, Michael J. Stepner and Mary Lydon have co-authored articles for several San Diego publications on civics, architecture, policy and design. Both have held leadership roles in the San Diego land use arena throughout their careers. They’re now on Substack – if you enjoy their articles, add them to your feed. They’re calling it, Civic Solutions.
“Quote/Unquote”
Speaking of Architecture continues to ponder the eternal truths of the built environment.
… the source of all architectural strength is the straight line, the arch, the cube, and the circle …
– Irving J. Gill
Irving J. Gill’s 1931 Americanization School in Oceanside has been revitalized as the Crown Heights Community Center, recently restored by Heritage Architecture under the direction of David Marshall. (Robert Broms)
Crown Heights Community Center Ribbon Cutting on August 15, 2026: Architects Wayne Donaldson and David Marshall are at the left. Donaldson guided the first restoration of the building in 1994. (Robert Broms)
A Quick Reminder:
Next month’s program in the FSDA 2026-2027 Lecture Series
will be Saturday, November 21:
Rev. Dr. Mark Hargreaves, Rector of St. James-by-the-Sea in La Jolla
“The Distinct Modernism of San Diego”
Metered street parking. Donation of $5 is suggested. Students free.
Come early for coffee. No reservations required–just come and enjoy!
|
|
|
|
|
