La Jolla's seven-mile stretch of coastline property
is technically within the San Diego City limits.
Incorporated in 1850, and the town itself is just
15 minutes north of downtown San Diego. Archaeologists
have found artifacts along the La Jolla shoreline
that indicate the existance of Native American settlements
over 3,000 years ago. There were no permanent settlers
in La Jolla until Daniel and Samuel Sizer bought
two 80 acre plots of La Jolla land in 1869.
 Frank
Terrill Botsford, known as "The Father of La
Jolla," became the area's first property developer
when he surveyed, subdivided and auctioned off parcels
of the property he purchased in 1886. In the 1890's,
once the railroad was extended to La Jolla, developers
began to construct hotels and resort facilities.
|
|
|
|
At the turn of the 20th century La Jolla's growth was
also fueled by noted La Jolla residents, such as Anna
Held, who hosted renowned artists and writers, and newspaper
heiress Ellen Browning Scripps, who gifted to the La Jolla
community both financial support and institutions such
as the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the Scripps
Memorial Hospital and Metabolic Clinic.
Between 1900 to 1920, tourism became La Jolla's primary
economic base, as more and more discovered the peace, tranquility and beauty of La Jolla, and took to the roads in their
new "automobiles" to vacation by the sea.
|
 |
|
During the 1920's boom after World War I, La Jolla's
population grew from 350 to 4000. In 1928 Cornelio Rodriguez,
an accomplished potter from Tomatlan in the state of Jalisco,
Mexico, came to La Jolla where he discovered the perfect
clay deposit, otherwise known as "barro." He
purchased this land and founded La Jolla Canyon Clay Products
Company. The company produced handmade roofing tiles,
unglazed floor tiles and adobe brick until the 1950's
for the local commercial and residential construction
industry. During this period of growth in the 1920's was
when Casa Ladera was built, utilizing these handmade roofing
tiles.
|
By the 1930s, and throughout the 40's and 50's, La Jolla
developed into a beautiful and desirable resort town with
breath-taking beaches and homes, attracting Hollywood
stars, artists, novelists and celebrities. After World
War II many Navy service families, who had been introduced
to La Jolla during their war duties in Coronado and San
Diego, came back to live in what they had come to know
as "The Village." By 1960 the town's population
had reached 17,000.
|
 |
 |
It was at this time, in the early 1960's, that the widow
of a Navy Doctor and daughter of a Vice Admiral, purchased
Casa Ladera as a home for herself and her daughter. She
surrounded herself with furnishings collected from four
generations of Naval Officers' world travels, especially
from China and Japan. She enjoyed planting her gardens,
designing and constructing the lower terrace and paths,
and growing her roses. Over the next forty-five years
Casa Ladera became her and her daughter's beloved "Hillside
House" on Mt. Soledad.
|
All
black and white photos, except the Admirals, courtesy of the
San Diego Historical Society |
| |
|
|
|
© 2006-8 casa ladera
www.casaladera -lajolla.com |
site by:
|
|
|
