OLD TOWN – Using building plans sketched by Thomas Whaley himself in 1868, the Save Our Heritage Organisation is renovating the landmark Whaley House in an attempt to undo years of historically inaccurate modifications.
The front porch of the Greek Revival-style home was removed a few weeks ago as part of that effort, which will span 15 years and cost as much as $1.5 million, said Bruce Coons, executive director of the Save Our Heritage Organisation.
Built when San Diego was a sparsely populated backwater, the Whaley House was the first two-story brick residence built here. Now owned by the county Parks and Recreation Department and managed by the SOHO, the property is a state historical landmark and museum and is considered one of the most famous haunted houses in the nation.
Whaley, a prominent businessman, built the house 1857, and it later became home to the city's first theater and one of its early courtrooms. In 1868, Whaley embarked on an extensive renovation, the plans for which are now being revisited to correct current historical inaccuracies.
The porch had been restored many times over the years and ended up looking unlike a porch from the 1800s, Coons said.
“Everything was different on the newer porch,” Coons said. “It was half the width that it should have been and it didn't have the random-width decking the original porch had.”
Historical photographs of the property show a grassy slope in front of the porch that was also eliminated over the years and will now be restored.
The new porch is expected to cost about $250,000, said Charlie Marchesano, the Parks and Recreation Department's chief of development. Plans for its rebuilding were approved by both the county Parks and Recreation Department's historian and its historic site board. Work on this portion of the changes is expected to be completed this month.
The county has not identified additional funding for continued work, but that doesn't mean the porch is the only item that needs reconstruction, Coons said.
On a recent afternoon, Coons walked through the property pointing out various historically inaccurate details.
In 1868, the facade had five doors on the first floor and five corresponding windows on the second floor. Today, there are just one door on the first floor and three windows above, and those windows are improperly spaced, Coons said.
Coons described the shutters now on the home as “Hollywood shutters” – meaning they are flimsy, unlike the originals, and mostly for show. Also, rooms throughout the home were changed slightly over the years, updated in subtle ways that were not in keeping with the period.
The current renovation focuses on returning the home to what it looked like 1868, as that was its most historically significant period, Coons said.
The Save Our Heritage Organisation is raising money to help offset some of the renovation costs.
“It's exciting to see it come back,” Coons said of Whaley House. “The more I learned about this home, the more interested I started getting in making it more exact and accurate.”
About 120,000 people visit the house annually.
Mia Taylor is a San Diego freelance writer.
