The Presbyterian Church of East San Diego then & now
This post continues looking at the pictures in East of San Diego: The Lost History of the East San Diego Police Department, 1912-1923, by Gary E. Mitrovich.
On page 38 is a photograph of a Presbyterian Church that was built at the corner of Pauly and Anna Streets in the city of East San Diego, now known as the San Diego neighborhood of City Heights:
Although the building is still there, it is now a family clinic instead of a church, and the street names are now 43rd Street and Polk Avenue. The current address is 4290 Polk Avenue:
Public records indicate that the building has 15,051 square feet and is owned by San Diego Family Care Inc., which bought the property in 1992. Two other land plots with this address are owned by the City of San Diego, probably parking lots for the Clinic.
I could not find any information as to when the building was built, but the picture in the book is of a postcard that has “East San Diego” written on the front of it, so presumably the Church was built sometime between 1912 and 1923, which are the years when the area was the city of East San Diego.
I tried to track down the Presbyterian congregation of East San Diego to see where they might have moved but the closest I could come was Southeast Community Church at 210 S. Euclid Avenue, 3.9 miles away. The Southeast Community Church was built in 1992, and that’s as far back as I could go with Presbyterian churches in the area.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Posted on September 3, 2012, in Halls of History, History, Photos, Then & Now and tagged 4290 polk avenue in san diego, city heights san diego pictures, East of San Diego, East San Diego Police Department, Gary Mitrovide, mid-city community clinic san diego, san diego family care. Bookmark the permalink. 15 Comments.
I love how the building is still there! Is the red from the brick?
Yes. We don’t have a lot of brick buildings in San Diego because it really doesn’t hold up well in a dry desert climate like ours. Stucco is the preferred exterior cladding here.
It’s a great color!
What a magnificent building… brick doesn’t hold up in the dry desert climate… I find that interesting.. why not? I’m assured by your business you know, and I’m really interested in the answer…
I’m not really sure but that’s what I’ve been told by people more knowledgeable than me. Although I haven’t done any extensive research on the subject, I had always thought that the reason why we don’t have a lot of brick buildings is because of earthquakes. Take a look at all the damage and deaths due to falling bricks in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, the 1989 Loma Prieta (San Francisco) Earthquake, and the 1994 Northridge (Los Angeles) Earthquake. For 1989 and 1994, any brick buildings in those areas that were left from previous earthquakes went bye bye. Also look at other areas that have earthquakes — Mexico City, for example — and notice the extensive damage to brick buildings.
to be quite honest when i was in the USA that was the reason given me as to why very little brick is used.. I just found your explanation interesting.. but can understand the earth quake analogy far better…
Brick is used, and very popular — and I like it — in areas that have greater and more even daily humidity. In my hometown of Kingsville, Texas, technically a desert, too, all we had was brick and wood. But even though it’s a desert, we got those daily afternoon thundershowers that lasted five minutes and the humidity was always stifling.
Stucco doesn’t do well when there is a lot of moisture, whereas brick doesn’t seem to have a problem. Stucco is great in deserts, which is why San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Albuquerque, El Paso……..stucco, stucco, stucco, except for adobe in New Mexico, and adobe is simply an older style of stucco.
Interesting thanks for the info… here everything is brick and wood is an exception… funny how things are done differently, and it takes a post like yours to make me think on these things…
Thank you…
I like this series on old buildings and their history. Thanks for sharing. Wallly
You have a gold mine in your current series of articles. I didn’t know that brick didn’t hold up here. You are inspiring me to do the same thing in Visalia. We have had several books written on some of the building in Visalia, but I have some pictures, and couldn’t find them in the books I have, so … aha, I thought, I’ll do what Russel Ray does – research… Love these articles!!! Still camping out…
Then and now building photos are one of my favorite things. I loved this. Well done on the research.
So glad this former church is being used so well to benefit the community!
I think it might be one of those community clinics that the Republicans want to close.
It’s a beautiful church. The color is fantastic! What’s up Zoey TCC, are you tired of historie-lessons, you only listen half eyed
LikE