Fort Stockton Line Prairie Restoration
Location:
Mission Hills, San Diego, CANathan Rigdon Spec. House, designated as Fort Stockton Line Historic District Contributor #822-81 in 2017
This Prairie-style house was built on speculation by master builder Nathan Rigdon in 1916. Banker and businessman F.A. Garetson and his wife Julia were the first owners and residents of the property, which they acquired in August 1916.
The front of the house underwent significant changes in 1960. The front porch was enclosed and the entrance was relocated to the south corner of the building. The second story balcony and the port-cochère were both removed, and a window replaced the second story balcony door.
In 2012, the current owners began to research the historic nature of their home and found a 1930s photograph and Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of the house that showed the original design of the front elevation. A Secretary of the Interior’s Standards-compliant reconstruction of the front of the house began in 2014, returning the porte-cochère and front porch designs, relocating doors and windows to their original locations, and designing replacement doors and windows where necessary. Construction was completed in 2016.
In 2017, IS Architecture brought the house before the City of San Diego Historic Resources Board and secured a status change from a non-contributing resource in the Fort Stockton Line Historic District to a contributing resource. The property is now designated and eligible for the Mills Act Property Tax Reduction program.
The project was awarded a Mission Hills Heritage Design Award in 2016 and the homeowners were awarded the Save Our Heritage Organisation People in Preservation Award in 2017.