La Jolla Historical Society

Historic announcement made during exhibit opening reception!

(July 25, 2008) -- Today, during a reception for the opening of the La Jolla Historical Society’s By the Beautiful Sea exhibition, Ellen Clark Revelle, widow of UCSD founder Roger Revelle and namesake of her great-aunt, Ellen Browning Scripps, announced that she and daughter, Mary Revelle Paci were donating the historic 1904 Wisteria Cottage and its surrounding grounds to the La Jolla Historical Society and the community.

“What a magnificent testimony to the continuing legacy of community giving that has distinguished the Revelle-Scripps family!” the Society’s executive director John Bolthouse said. “I would venture to say that this gift is just about the most important development in the Society’s history since our founding in 1963. Owning this great historic property knowing that the Society will be here in perpetuity means the possibilities for our future as an organization dedicated to the community’s heritage are endless.”

In 2005, the La Jolla Historical Society signed a ten-year lease on the property with the Revelle family. The Society has been developing extensive plans to restore Wisteria Cottage and the property’s other two historic structures for use as a museum of La Jolla history, modern storage for the Society’s extensive archives collection, education center, gift shop, and event venue.

Thanks to the generosity of donors to the Society’s ongoing $2 million capital campaign, initial renovation of the Cottage is underway. The interior of the main floor has undergone repainting to allow for exhibit spaces and the original hardwood floors have been sanded and refinished.

Named for the iconic wisteria-covered pergola in front of the entry, Wisteria Cottage was built in 1904 by George B. and Edith M. Seaman, who owned the property only briefly before deeding it to a son. It was then sold to E. Virginia Scripps, half-sister of beloved La Jolla philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, and the Cottage remained in the ownership of Scripps family descendants until today’s historic announcement.

Known for her generosity as much as her eccentricity, Virginia Scripps first offered the Cottage as a temporary home for St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church from 1906-08 until the church could be relocated to its present site across the street on land she donated. During that time she also commissioned acclaimed architect Irving Gill to design an addition to Wisteria Cottage, completed in 1909, which added to the property’s value to a grand total of $1,375!

Although Gill’s name is not specifically tied to the original cottage, the architecture is reminiscent of the craftsman style that characterized his early years before he turned to more modern veins in the La Jolla cultural center, in buildings such as the Recreation Center and Woman’s Club. The original cottage and addition retains its historic character: a wood-framed house with a pitched hip roof. Gill’s addition and remodel included enclosing a front porch on either side to create a loggia, transforming the basement into living quarters and adding the trademark pergola. The final distinctive feature of Wisteria is the cobblestone masonry foundation, a detail repeated in the smaller cobblestone wall surrounding the entire property.

In its century-old history, Wisteria Cottage has experienced a number of uses, all important to the cultural and educational life of La Jolla. Although Virginia Scripps never used it as a private residence, her guests who visited La Jolla often occupied the house for long intervals. They included the naturalist John Burroughs who spent the winter of 1920-21 in residence.

After Virginia Scripp’s death, ownership of the property passed to her niece, Dolla, who lived there until 1942 when title went to Ellen Clark Revelle, great-niece of Ellen Browning Scripps and wife of UCSD founder Roger Revelle. Soon after, the cottage then became the Balmer School, predecessor of the current-day La Jolla Country Day School.

After the school relocated to its present location in 1961, Wisteria Cottage began a long period of use as a bookstore. From 1961-66 it was the Nexus Bookstore and from 1966 to 2005, the John Cole’s Book Shop. As John Cole’s it became a landmark noted for book signings and visits by famous personalities, including actor Charles Laughton (who loved to sit in the attic and read) and La Jolla’s own Theodor Geisel – more famously known as Dr. Seuss. It was during this time that the cottage was designated Historic Site No. 166 by the City of San Diego.



About the La Jolla Historical Society
La Jolla’s connection to its rich heritage, the La Jolla Historical Society's offices and archives are located at 7846 Eads Avenue, La Jolla. Open to the public Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Exhibit, By the Beautiful Sea: A Photographic History of Summers in La Jolla, and gift store, July 26-August 10, every day of the week, 11:00am-3pm; Free Admission; Wisteria Cottage, 780 Prospect Avenue, La Jolla. (858) 459-5335. www.lajollahistory.org.