Postcard Highlights

Built in 1894, the Red Rest and Red Roost are La Jolla’s oldest surviving structures and among the few remaining examples of the village’s founding resort era. The modern preservation battle began in 1974, when the threatened demolition of both cottages galvanized the community and helped launch La Jolla’s broader historic preservation movement.

In 1977, tenants were evicted from both properties due to safety and liability concerns, and the cottages have stood vacant ever since. Both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and have been documented to Secretary of the Interior Standards, meaning they could be authentically rebuilt—yet for nearly fifty years an owner determined to demolish them has allowed them to decay by neglect.

A fire damaged both structures, but preservation advocates argue they remain salvageable. The campaign to save them has been long, divisive, and unresolved. What makes the situation all the more remarkable is the location: the Red Rest and Red Roost stand directly opposite the Cove, in full view of the tourist heart of La Jolla—a visible and daily reminder that preservation is never permanently secured, and that the village’s oldest buildings remain, as of this writing, at risk.