In 2006, Donald Reeves brought “The Kiss” to San Diego. The statue stands in the park directly south of the USS Midway aircraft carrier. He also helped save the Giant Dipper roller coaster in Mission Beach. His son Tim Reeves recalled his father working for more than five years on scale drawings of the 1920s roller coaster at Mission Beach’s Belmont Park before it was finally restored and put back into operation.
Donald Reeves was born in Evansville, Ind., on Oct. 20, 1936. He received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Utah in 1958 and then joined the Navy. He participated in five command tours and, as a Captain, oversaw four warships and a destroyer squadron. He served in the Reserves from 1964 to 1994.
Mr. Reeves became a licensed architect in California in 1967 and headed the firm Architect Donald J. Reeves & Associates. Among his projects were post offices in Poway, Santee, and Pacific Beach. The Pacific Beach Post Office was given numerous awards, including: an Award of Honor from the San Diego Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (Pacific Beach Post Office, 1988); the Presidential Citation of the Pacific Beach Town Council (United States Post Office – Pacific Beach Station, 1984); and, a City of San Diego Beautification Award (United States Post Office, Pacific Beach Station, 1984).
Donald Reeves was also an avid historic preservationist. In the 1970s he became active in the Gaslamp Quarter and fought numerous battles to save and restore historic properties. He had bought and restored the 1880s Louis Bank of Commerce at Fifth Avenue and E Street in San Diego. “The Louis Bank of Commerce was his pride and joy,” said son Tim. He also received several awards for this project: a Certificate of Recognition from the California Heritage Council (Historic Restoration, Louis Bank of Commerce Building, 1982); an Award of Honor from the San Diego Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (Historical Restoration of Louis Bank of Commerce Building, 1984); and, the Award of Excellence from the California Preservation Foundation (Historic Restoration of the Louis Bank of Commerce Building, 1982).
In addition to these individual projects, Mr. Reeves also had big thoughts for San Diego, dreaming up a new civic center and heading a group called “Civic Center Complex Campus Committee.” His son mentioned that, “He had this huge scale model of downtown … to show what the city should do instead of thinking small for the Civic Center … how we should think out of the box, think larger and grander. That was his way to revitalize downtown.”
Mr. Reeves served on the city’s task force on the homeless in the mid-1980s and even posed as a homeless person for a weekend so he could understand their concerns and needs. He later spoke of his experience on the CBS show, “60 Minutes.” He designed the Villa Harvey Mandell at St. Vincent de Paul’s Father Joe Village for the homeless downtown.
One of his passions was the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Among other articles, he wrote “ADA Compliance, Protect Your Business from ADA Lawsuits” (California IGCS Independent Voice, Summer 2006, p. 30-31). He also gave seminars on ADA & Access Compliance sponsored by the Civil Justice Action Committee of California (CJAC).
He and his many projects were featured in a cover story, “Architect Don Reeves,” in Ranch & Coast Magazine (November 1992, p.8-43). In addition to the cover photograph, sixteen pages of color photographs and drawings outlined his career as architect and civic activist.
Mr. Reeves was member of the American Institute of Architects, Society of American Military Engineers, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the Navy League of the United States. His community activities were many, from founding board member of the Friends of Park and Recreation, the Kearny Mesa Rotary, and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, to the E Clampus Vitus preservation group and the boards of the San Diego Lyric Opera, Gaslamp Quarter Association, Citizens Coordinate for Century 3, the San Diego Unified Port District Public Art Committee, and the city’s Historic Resources Board, among other organizations.
Mr. Reeves died of a brain virus on September 20, 2013.
Resources: Diana Bell, Roger Showley. The San Diego Union-Tribune, Sep/Oct 2013.