North Park News, January 2015

Serving San Diego’s Premier Urban Communities for 23 Years northparknews.biz/digital

Vol. 23 No. 1 January 2015

North Park and the 1915 Panama-California Exposition

BY KATHERINE HON

How the neighborhood was shaping a century ago One hundred years ago, Balboa Park was poised to enchant the world with the Panama-California Exposition. Years of vision, fanciful design, and construction (much not meant to be permanent) had transformed the central mesa of scrub and canyons into an arcaded, glowing, romanticized Spanish city on a hill.

Plenty will be said about Balboa Park

in 2015 during the celebration of the Exposition’s centennial. But 100 years ago, another enduring transformation was taking place north and east of the 1,400-acre city park: the growth of streetcar suburbs around University Avenue, 30th Street and Adams Avenue. A patchwork of subdivisions optimistically mapped as early as the 1870s finally was in the midst of urban development ini-

tiated by the extension of three streetcar lines from downtown on those thoroughfares.

What was happening by 1915 in the area now collectively known as North Park? When the first visitors to the Exposition walked across the grand Cabrillo Bridge, the concrete arch Georgia Street SEE 1915, Page 4

Home built by David Owen Dryden at the time of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.

It is at 28th and Capp streets. (Courtesy of Katherine Hon)

Passions Rising in South Park Over Target’s Plans

World’s First Tetrachromat Artist

‘Target is a Wal-Mart With Lipstick,’ says opponent B M C Y

Melissa Hendrix-Lawson, founder of Crow Thief.

FOR MEN ONLY Crow Thief offers custom clothing that’s fit Just before Thanksgiving, men’s retailer Crow Thief removed the opaque butcher paper from its windows to reveal a remodeled space stocked with versatile menswear and accessories.

The 700-square-foot store has resided at 3009 Grape St. since 2011, and South Parkers and San Diegans have embraced the continually-evolving Crow Thief thus far, if not for its custom-made clothing then for its commitment to the community.

"Something we offer that other retailers

BY COLETTE MAUZERALLE

Tensions are mounting between South Park neighborhood groups and Councilman Todd Gloria over Target’s plans to install a TargetExpress in the former Gala Foods site, an issue that has ignited passions in the close-knit neighborhood.

Care About South Park, a self-described grass roots neighborhood preservation alliance, and the Neighborhood Market Association issued a press release demanding that Gloria “serve the interests of his 3rd District constituents by blocking the planned Target store in South Park.”

“Target will forever change the neighborhood of South Park,” said Sabrina DiMinico, Care About South Park spokesperson. “We have very legitimate concerns about its impact on traffic, local business, and the long-term implications of allowing a chain in one of San Diego’s most historic neighborhoods. We met with Todd in hopes that he would validate our concerns and help us. Instead, he told us it was

SEE CROW, Page 12

Connections

ANNY RUZ

By allowing scientists to study her vision and her genetics, Antico learned it’s possible she’s seeing colors most people can’t.

Concetta Antico could be seeing an extra dimension of color

BY DAVID WAGNER | KPBS

Concetta Antico got her first set of oil paints at the age of 7. Art has been in her life ever since.

“I painted album covers, in my teens, on the walls of my room,” she said. “I was immersed in the garden all the time, making little brews of flowers and soil. And really seeing the color in all of

SEE TARGET, Page 8

SEE COLOR, Page 9

BY MARTIN KRUMING | PHOTOGRAPHS BY BARRY CARLTON

Finding café treasures on opposite sides of Balboa Park This is the story of two neighborhood cafes on opposite sides of Balboa Park that thrive because they bring something different to the table.

Joanne Sherif grew up in Hemet at a time when it was known for old folks and agriculture. Her mother instilled in her a love for reading so Joanne found joy flipping the pages of cookbooks and exploring recipes. That love never left.

“I had always wanted to open a bakery,” said the mother of five children whose youngest is 18 and whose families connect to Norway and Ethiopia. “I wanted to create a space that people could come to.”

So during the 2006 World Cup soccer matches in Germany

while staying in Amsterdam, her former husband offered her a challenge that she had been talking about for 20 years. If she didn’t open the restaurant, he would do something with the space.

Cardamom Café & Bakery In June 2008, Joanne opened Cardamom Café & Bakery at 2977 Upas St. in North Park in a space once occupied by La Salsa Chilena. Today that neighborhood is packed with restaurants, including Alexander’s, The Smoking Goat, Underbelly and Influx Café.

Since Joanne (who has a law degree) had never worked in a SEE CAFES, Page 5

Cardamom owner Joanne Sherif displays a tray of rolls from the busy restaurant.

Selling Real Estate for over a Quarter Century!

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Kensington Commons Opens Project offers 34 apartments and retail stores Residential move-ins are under way and the grand opening of Stehly Market is scheduled for January at Kensington Commons, a new mixeduse apartment and retail development located at the corner of Adams and Marlborough Avenues in Kensington.

The new $10 million project occupies the former site of an Emerald gas station.

Designed by Allard Jansen Architect in collaboration with Maple M3 Architects and architect Salomon Gorshtein, the three-story project returns classic architecture and village identity to one of San Diego classic neighborhoods.

Featuring Santa Barbara-style architecture reflecting the prevailing style of the surrounding community, Kensington Commons features 34 Kensington Commons at Adams and Marlborough avenues.

apartment units over nearly 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail space on Adams Avenue.

Retail tenants include a Stehly Farms Market, The UPS Store, and Pacific Dental.

A total of 65 parking spaces are hidden in the rear of the structure. Apartments will include one and two-bedroom flats with open floor plans, upscale amenities and generous outdoor spaces. The flats were designed to appeal to those who value the gracious style of old Kensington, but want modern kitchens, energy efficiency and security.

Apartment floor plans include one- and twobedroom units with nine-foot ceilings and “great room” designs for flexible living and entertaining.

The pet-friendly flats offer classic hardwood

floors and plush carpeting, modern kitchens with stainless steel appliances and gas ranges, washer and gas dryer, quartz countertops, large storage closets, private patios or balconies and secure covered parking.

Kensington Commons reflects the City of Villages design strategy, which focuses growth into mixed-use activity centers that are pedestrian friendly, that become centers of community, and that are linked to regional transit systems.

“Kensington Commons was designed to allow living, working and playing within an urban village setting,” said architect Allard Jansen. “Tenants will enjoy upscale living and convenient, walkable access to shopping and services. We brought in a local organic grocery store so people

can shop locally. Because the community lacks a post office, we brought in a UPS Store.”

Kensington Commons is developed by the Terrace Partners LP partnership of Allard Jansen, Hannah Devine, Rick Vann and Salomon Gorshtein. Jansen is familiar with the Kensington village as both a resident and the developer of several award-winning projects in the community.

Financing of the project is by San Diego Private Bank. Apartment rental applications are currently being accepted at www.kensington commons.com.

January 2015 | northparknews.biz/digital | 3

Ask Dr. Z Why does my child keep getting What is MRSA and how did I get lice over and over? it?

You must have a clean-headed, affectionate child! Contrary to popular belief, lice like clean good smelling hair to live in. They transfer from child to child is when their heads get close together, like when hugging, telling secrets, or wrestling.

During the school year, I recommend checking their heads once a week for nits or lice, especially behind the ears and at the nape of the neck. Also, when you treated in the past, you may have missed treating the car seats, the hoods of sweatshirts, jacket collars, the headbands, brushes and bows, hats, bicycle helmets, the back of the couch, and stuffed animals. All of those can have lice that will re-infect your child if you don’t wash or vacuum these as well.

Also, combing the hair is the only real treatment for lice. You can kill them with oils, chemicals, tea tree oil, etc. but the eggs will hatch within days and you will be back where you started. I suggest combing with a lice comb daily for up to three weeks after treatment for lice.

You will get nits out and an occasional live louse that just hatched. Keep at it and you will eventually get them taken care of.

Also, don’t forget to treat EVERYONE in the family, even if you don’t find lice on them. Unless you never hug your child, you, your spouse, other children and maybe even grandma have them too! To prevent reinfection after that, I suggest putting 1 teaspoon of tea tree oil into each bottle of shampoo throughout the school year. Lice hate strong smelling oils like that and coconut oil.

MRSA stands for Methicillin (an antibiotic) Resistant Staph Aureus. This is a type of staph infection of the skin that is resistant to the more common antibiotics. It tends to be more aggressive than other staph.

Staph lives on our skin. It is needed to take care of some of our dead skin cells. You get MRSA from touching something with that bacteria on it. All staph can cause infection when the skin is broken, like in a cut or scrape.

MRSA tends to be more aggressive about it, and it is harder for your immune system to take care of it by itself, like most small staph infections on our skin. It can be treated with some antibiotics.

After the treatment, however, you may need to use a special soap and put some antibiotic cream up your nose for a few weeks to get rid of it off your skin, so only the regular staph is there.

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4 | northparknews.biz/digital | January 2015

1915

CONTINUED FROM Page 1

Bridge over University Avenue was celebrating its first birthday. This is the bridge still seen today. It was designed

by City Engineer J.R. Comly and spans 66 feet between vertical concrete walls with arched panels echoing the multiple arches in the bridge.

The concrete bridge finished in 1914 replaced a smaller redwood truss bridge that was built in 1907 to allow the first single streetcar track to pass through a cut in the hill at Georgia Street and extend eastward as far as Fairmont Avenue. As noted by the late Donald Covington in his book “North Park: A San Diego Urban Village, 1896-1946,” “More than any other man-made feature, the Georgia Street Bridge stands as a landmark and symbol of the event that opened the northeast mesa to urban development.”

By 1915, a different bridge had conquered Switzer Canyon, a geographic obstacle to the advancement of the streetcar northward along 30th Street.

The steel truss 30th Street Bridge spanned 700 feet of Switzer Canyon. The bridge had been completed in 1908 and double tracked in 1910. The Number 2 streetcar line had been extended from downtown to join what became the Number 7 streetcar line along University Avenue by 1911, creating the “Busy Corner” of commercial development that continues today.

The Busy Corner was anchored by the three-story, multi-use Stevens & Hartley Building completed in 1913. It still dominates the northwest corner as the Western Dental Building, although it has lost its first floor transom windows and cantilevered ornamentation around the roofline. The building housed a pharmacy for more than 80 years, provided space for the U.S. Post Office in North Park, and served as the headquarters for the real estate dealings of Will Stevens and Jack Hartley. Other retail and service businesses at the Busy Corner by 1915 included Henry Berger’s hardware store on the west side of 30th Street, and Clayton Hill’s grocery on the east side of 30th Street.

Another commercial node emerged at 30th and Upas Streets where the

northbound Number 2 streetcar line had initially terminated in 1909. The stately Lynhurst Building completed in 1913 by the San Diego Construction Company provided seven shops on the ground floor and five apartments on the second floor.

Balboa Park has its iconic 198-foot high California Tower, now a symbol of San Diego. But in 1915, North Park’s beloved symbol, the 127-foot high water tower, would not be built for nearly a decade. Instead, a 52-foot high, 40-foot diameter cylindrical metal standpipe that had been built in 1910 stood at El Cajon Boulevard between Oregon and Idaho streets. Adjacent to the standpipe at Oregon Street was a partially buried, 10-foot deep concrete reservoir measuring about 340 feet long by 150 feet wide. This 3million-gallon reservoir was built in 1908.

The standpipe and reservoir would remain until 1952, when they were replaced with a 4-million-gallon, aboveground concrete reservoir. The top of this still-active water supply facility first served as a used car lot and later a tennis sports center; it is currently used for “indoor” soccer fields. The elevated water tower built in 1924, which once held as much as 1.2 million gallons of water, is now empty, but it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its rare size and design.

The ornate Spanish Colonial style of the Exposition’s structures was not reflected in the dominant architectural style for homes in 1915. At that time, master builders like David Owen Dryden specialized in wooden facade homes in the Arts and Crafts style. When the Exposition began, Dryden was just beginning to construct fine Craftsman homes within what is now the North Park Dryden Historic District along 28th Street and Pershing Avenue from Upas to Landis Streets.

Dryden finished his first house on 28th Street in June 1915. Located at the highly visible corner of 28th and Capps streets, the house is Dryden’s most extroverted expression of the oriental mode, with wooden pagoda-like trusses, an upturned roof line, and heavily bracketed veranda columns. He then built a modest one-story bungalow for his own family at 3536 28th St. and completed a classic Craftsman two-story home next

door by December 1915.

Although the Exposition had not yet influenced typical home architecture by opening day, anticipation of the event was a major factor in the marketing of nearby real estate. A Barnson for Bargains real estate advertisement from the Jan. 9, 1912 San Diego Union enthusiastically extolled the desirability of lots along Villa Terrace, Pershing Avenue, and 28th Street between Dwight and Landis Streets, with their “Unobstructable view of the mountains to Mexico, Point Loma, Coronado Islands and down over the big park to the EXPOSITION grounds.”

The event also brought new residents who started their own institutions in North Park. For example, Trinity Methodist Church was established by Rev. Walter Grant, who visited San Diego for the 1915 Exposition and decided to stay. The church now located at Thorn and Grim streets began services on borrowed land near Upas and 30th streets. Other institutions that were new in 1915 include Jefferson Elementary School on Utah Street, Garfield School in its original location south of El Cajon Boulevard, North Park Community Church on the corner of 29th and Landis Streets, and Plymouth Congregational Church at its original location across Utah Street from Jefferson Elementary School.

Want more North Park history? Go to Paras Newsstand at 3911 30th St. for Donald Covington's book, “North Park: A San Diego Urban Village, 1896-1946,” published by the North Park Historical Society. This detailed story of the first 50 years of North Park is illustrated with more than 90 historical photographs.

Also available at Paras Newsstand is the North Park Historical Society’s latest book, “Images of America: San Diego’s North Park,” published by Arcadia Publishing Company in 2014. This book has more than 200 vintage photographs and tells the whole story of North Park from 1900 to now.

Visit the North Park Historical Society website at NorthParkHistory.org or contact them at info@northparkhistory.org for more information.

(Katherine Hon is secretary of the North Park Historical Society)

Homes built by David Owen Dryden in 1915 on 28th Street. (Courtesy of Katherine Hon)

Present day Georgia Street Bridge.

The author, Katherine Hon, at the Craftsman Neighborhood sign.

Present day water tower, built in 1924.

Water tower and standpipe. 1947.

Trinity Methodist Church was established by Rev. Walter Grant, who visited San Diego for the 1915 Exposition and decided to stay.

January 2015 | northparknews.biz/digital | 5

CAFES

CONTINUED FROM Page 1

restaurant and had never gone to culinary school, she flew north for a week at the San Francisco Baking Institute focusing primarily on croissants.

Aside from the fresh ingredients and meals that are baked from scratch, a key to Cardamom’s success is how customers are treated.

Ever since she opened the doors, “I listened to everything people said,” including the artwork on the wall which

came from neighbors.

“The connections I’ve made, the friendships I’ve made; I’m so blessed to be in this neighborhood,” said Joanne.

“They’re friends. You become like this neighborhood family.” Weekends are the busiest days for breakfast and lunch, and the mornings are filled with babies at the table. Neighbors come from as far away as Alpine and Poway, and as close as walking distance. “My regulars live here.”

As for the flourishing North Park restaurant scene, “everyone is so sup-

portive of one another. It’s an amazing environment to work in. We all know how hard it is to work in.”

Café Bassam On the other side of Balboa Park is Café Bassam at 3088 Fifth Ave. It’s owned by Bassam Shamma, a Palestinian who grew up in Jordan and traveled throughout the Middle East and Europe before settling in San Diego and its weather. In the early 90s he opened up his café at Fourth Avene and Market Street years before the Gaslamp Quarter boom.

Café Bassam is no ordinary coffee house. Initially, you might think of it as an antique gallery when you first walk in with everything from paintings to rifles hanging on the walls, and knickknacks and books displayed on tables and cabinets throughout. Even the bathroom has artwork.

“I love art and antiques,” says Bassam.

“It’s my passion. When you have passion you keep going.” So it’s understandable why he travels throughout Southern California searching for these treasures.

Just like Cardamom, everything is

Jessica Meyer, a server at Café Bassam, heads for a customer’s table.

The Cardamom Café & Bakery neighborhood is packed with restaurants, including Alexander’s, The Smoking Goat, Underbelly and Influx Café.

Faith Bentley, a server at Cafe Bassam.

Cardamom Café & Bakery at 2977 Upas St. was opened in June 2008 in a space once occupied by La Salsa Chilena,

freshly baked from scratch at Café Bassam, which has a wide assortment of coffees and teas as well as beer and wine.

It’s the type of place where you can chat with a friend, read a book, type a novel or search the Internet.

And like Joanne Sherif, Bassam cares about his neighborhood. He remembers what it was like at Fourth and Market when he constantly had to pick up trash and keep the sidewalks clean.

Café Bassam’s interior resembles an antique gallery with everything from paintings to knickknacks and books displayed on tables and cabinets.

6 | northparknews.biz/digital | January 2015

COAST TO CACTUS Exhibit will help visitors discover what it means to be a biodiversity hotspot “Coast to Cactus,” an exhibit that was conceived more than a decade ago, opens Jan. 17 at the San Diego Natural History Museum and will serve as a companion to “Fossil Mysteries,” which explores evolution, ecology and extinction in Southern California.

Together, the two exhibitions tell the story of Southern California from the prehistoric era to present day.

San Diego is known for its incredibly diverse terrain, ranging from the beaches to the slopes. This terrain is what makes the region one of only 35 biodiversity hotspots in the world, meaning areas that have the highest concentration of different species of any geographic area of similar size.

“Coast to Cactus” illustrates that richness and takes visitors on a journey through Southern California’s habitats, from coast to chaparral, and from mountain forests to deserts.

Through immersive environments (hands-on interactive exhibits, live animals, life-like mounted specimens, and innovative media), “Coast to Cactus” will help visitors discover what it means to be a biodiversity hotspot: the story of why one region is home to so many species, why those species are so critically threatened at this moment in history, and why it matters.

Some of the exhibit’s main attractions:

• An oversized replica of a segment of mud from a local tidal flat. Young visitors can crawl inside, where they will discover animals that survive in the mudflats in spite of tough intertidal conditions.

• A recreation of a residential patio overlooking an urban San Diego canyon, exploring how humans share space with nature and bringing to light the impact of introduced species on native plants and animals.

• An immersive virtual storybook that tells the tale of the dynamic chaparral ecosystem and how periodic fires are a natural part of life in this signature California habitat.

• A multimedia experience that includes a real Airstream Bambi and transports visitors to the desert at nighttime, when the sun goes down, temperatures drop, and the seemingly barren landscape springs to life as animals come out to hunt.

• Exhibits highlighting the work of people, past and present, whose efforts help us better understand how the habitats of southern California have changed over time and what we can do to help sustain the plants and animals that live here.

January 2015 | northparknews.biz/digital | 7

8 | northparknews.biz/digital | January 2015

TARGET CONTINUED FROM Page 1

all perfectly legal and there was nothing he could do.”

“We didn’t elect Todd to be helpless against big business,” added DiMinico.

“We elected him to fight for our neighborhoods. There are more than 1,800 Target stores across the U.S. but there is only one South Park. And we are going to fight to preserve it.”

Asked to comment on the groups’ demands, Gloria said blocking the Target proposal in the manner suggested would be illegal.

“I am disappointed that the Neighborhood Market Association is working against this local property owner, who was a founding member of NMA and also owns several markets belonging to the NMA. The comments of NMA and Care About South Park ignore many facts: the project involves only tenant improvements and no structural changes, meaning it will be reviewed by city staff and will not be subject to City Council approval... and my support for small businesses over large corporations is well documented, most notably with my Ordinance to Protect Small and Neighborhood Businesses, which would have required big box superstores to disclose their impacts on surrounding businesses as a condition of approval.”

Mark Arabo, president and CEO of

the Neighborhood Market Association, said residents cannot let the community be “sold out to corporate interests or big-box influence.”

“Target is a Wal-Mart with lipstick, and we are committed to unmasking it for what it is,” added Arabo. I look forward to working with Care About South Park because our interests are aligned in saying that a red carpet cannot be laid out for Target. Our work with the neighborhoods and small businesses of South Park begins now.”

Gloria also issued this statement: “Since learning of the proposal for Target Express to move into the former Gala Foods site, I have been actively involved in discussions with community members, the property owner, city staff, and Target representatives, as should be demanded of elected representatives. The constructive input of active neighbors has been impactful and led to many concessions, including that Target Express will stay within the footprint of the current building, the architectural integrity of the store will be enhanced by highlighting the original mid-century aesthetic of the building, 40 percent of the store will be dedicated to groceries, and Target agreed not to include a Starbucks in the store.

In a separate update to the community, Gloria said: “Yesterday I met with representatives of Target who updated me on the Target

Express project proposed for South Park and shared preliminary designs. I was happy to see that what they had initially agreed to was reflected in their draft plans.

“The Target Express will stay within the footprint of the current building, and they will maintain and enhance the architectural integrity of the store by highlighting the beams and mid-century aesthetic which makes the building such a special part of South Park.

“The Target logo and Express lettering will mimic the same floating red that previously was used by Gala Foods and Safeway.

“Additionally, the current color palette will remain and the windows will be restored to provide a clean and clear face of the building.

“I am relieved to see that Target has listened to many of the concerns that I have shared with them on behalf of the community, especially related to the footprint of the building and necessary tenant improvements. To that end, they are in the process of looking for a local artist to add some of the character of South Park to the inside of the building.

“I was also pleased to hear that the store is being designed to serve the needs of the community. Specifically, dedicating 40 percent of the store to groceries and including a pharmacy will benefit the neighborhood. In what I feel is an important show of understanding of the

neighborhood, Target has agreed not to include a Starbucks in the store. This ensures that the neighborhood establishments we know and love can continue to be the local coffee shops for South Park residents.

“At this time, the store will also include technology, health and beauty, as well as some clothing items.

“While in town, Target representatives also met with the South Park Business Group and the Burlingame Neighborhood Association to share their plans and receive additional input from the community. They expect to submit plans to the city in early January at which time they plan to work with the Greater Golden Hill Planning Committee on a date to present their final plans to the committee and the community. I continue to stress to company representatives the need to work with the community and to be transparent about their intentions. I have asked to be provided with a copy of the final plans once they have been submitted to the city so that I can share them with you. I commit to remaining vigilant in my oversight of this proposed project as it moves forward to ensure that what is being proposed is in fact what the community receives. As always, please contact my office if you have any additional questions or concerns.

“Thank you for the opportunity to serve.”

SOHO Plans Balboa Park Centennial Celebration Exhibits, lectures, special events and tours scheduled Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO), San Diego’s regional historic preservation group, will explore the lasting impact and tangible legacy of the 1915 and 1935 San Diego international expositions throughout 2015 at the Marston House Museum & Gardens in Balboa Park, the scene of the two seminal events that transformed the San Diego region and advanced it on the world stage.

SOHO’s plans call for entertaining and educational exhibits and events inspired by the 1915 and 1935 Expositions. Most will be presented throughout the historic Marston House Museum & Gardens, the former estate of George W. Marston, a visionary civic leader, philanthropist, preservationist, and major proponent of

both expositions. Marston held decisionmaking meetings for the expos in this Arts & Crafts-style mansion, which is now a National Historic Landmark, located at 3525 Seventh Ave. in Balboa Park’s northwest corner.

SOHO’s 2015 calendar of centennial events is posted on its website. The organization is also calendaring all exposition-related events that are heritage based from organizations and institutions throughout the region at SOHO sandiego.org.

The four interrelated exhibit themes will build on each other as the year progresses. They are: • Balboa Park Exposition Designers 1915-1935: The Making of Balboa Park,

on display Feb. 6-Nov. 30, 2015.

• Souvenirs and Keepsakes: Memorabilia of the 1915 & 1935 Expositions, Feb. 6-Nov. 30, 2015.

• Art of the Park, 100 Years of Art in Balboa Park (1915-2015), in the Marston House and gardens, April 17-Sept. 21, 2015. Third Sundays from April through September, select artists will hold an outdoor art show and sale of works depicting Balboa Park.

• Exposition Memories: The music, literature and decorative arts of the 1915 San Diego Exposition, April 17-Nov. 30, 2015.

A host of related events throughout the entire year, including architectural tours, lively talks by leading experts, and a special Day at the 1915 Expo for children will mark and illuminate the centennial of the 1915 Exposition.

“We are including both the 1915 and 1935 Expositions in our programming so as not to interrupt the sweep of San Diego’s social, artistic, architectural, and commercial history set in motion by these huge international events,” said Alana Coons, SOHO’s director of education and communications. “With the opening of the Panama Canal, the1915 Exposition promoted San Diego as the first port of call on the Pacific Coast. It was so successful that it ultimately led to

the second expo and expansion of the expo grounds. Balboa Park as we know it today is a product of both expositions.”

“The 1915 Exposition was about people, art, literature, music, and historical themes,” Coons said. “Home life also took the stage with decorative arts, horticulture and agricultural emphasis for home and farms. SOHO’s four exhibitions will tell this story within the unique environment of a house museum. We think our visitors will enjoy being immersed in our intimate, domestically scaled exhibition experience and that it will be meaningful.”

SOHO’s newest publication is a tour guide to Balboa Park illustrated with the paintings of San Diego artist RD Riccoboni. The artist is a lifelong historic preservationist and calls himself the “Art Traveler” because he paints historic building and sites wherever he goes. Ann Jarmusch, former architecture critic at the San Diego Union-Tribune, wrote the guide.

SOHO’s Marston House Museum Shop, located in the estate’s carriage house on Seventh Avenue, will be transformed into a treasure house filled with unique commemorative merchandise inspired

by SOHO’s four thematic exhibits.

www.sdnorthparknews.com Serving San Diego’s Premier Bungalow Communities Chairman/CEO Bob Page BobPage@sandiegometro.com Publisher Rebeca Page RebecaPage@sandiegometro.com Editor Manny Cruz Manny@sandiegometro.com Art Director Chris Baker cbaker@sandiegometro.com -----------------------------Writers/Columnists Todd Gloria Bart Mendoza Delle Willett Anna Lee Fleming Sara Wacker

Photography Manny Cruz Sande Lollis Letters/Opinion Pieces North Park News encourage letters to the editor and guest editorials. Please address correspondence to Manny@sandiegometro.com or mail to Manny Cruz. Please include a phone number, address and name for verification purposes; no anonymous letters will be printed. We reserve the right to edit letters and editorials for brevity and accuracy.

Story ideas/Press Releases Do you have an idea for an article you would like to see covered in this newspaper? We welcome your ideas, calendar item listings and press releases. For breaking news, please call us at (619) 287-1865.

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January 2015 | northparknews.biz/digital | 9

At her studio in Mission Hills, she teaches oil painting and works on her own canvases, all of them popping with color. Color that sometimes seems out of place.

COLOR

CONTINUED FROM Page 1

this.”

Antico didn’t realize it at the time but the colors she saw in that garden could be invisible to the average viewer. By allowing scientists to study her vision and her genetics, Antico learned it’s possible she’s seeing colors most people can’t.

Antico grew up in Australia, but now calls San Diego home. At her studio in Mission Hills, she teaches oil painting and works on her own canvases, all of them popping with color. Color that sometimes seems out of place.

She paints Balboa Park with accents of purple and the night sky with glimmers of orange. Antico said she’s using these colors faithfully. To her, they actually appear out in the world.

“I am trying to portray what I see. Over there, there’s a painting of a duck,” she said, pointing to a canvas hanging in the corner of her gallery.

Strokes of orange and purple outline the duck’s feathers and thin green lines halo their heads.

“Those colors were truly there, in that bird,” Antico said. “And they were strong for me.”

A few years ago, students and collectors drawn to Antico’s unique style started forwarding her articles about a condition she’d never heard of. It had something to do with genetics and the possibility of humans possessing enhanced color vision.

She didn’t think much of it. Until she read one piece that floored her. It mentioned that women who give birth to children with color deficiencies could potentially carry the genes for this strange condition. Around that time, Antico’s daughter had been struggling to see certain colored markers on the whiteboard at school.

“So I got a pen and paper, and I jotted down the names of the doctors who were cited in this article,” Antico said.

She contacted them, and before long, she was spitting into a tube and shipping her DNA off to a lab in Washington state for testing. The results came back. She had the genes for something called tetrachromacy.

“This is a fairly new finding for me, and has changed my life significantly,” Antico said.

Let’s break down that word, tetrachromacy. Tetra means four, chroma means color. We all probably learned in high school that humans are trichromatic — our retinas have just three color receptors.

But in the past few decades, scientists have been exploring the possibility that some people have four.

How does that happen?

Potential tetrachromats have to be women. Genes that code for color receptors lie on the X chromosome. Men only have one of those, but women have two.

In her painting ‘Waddle, Waddle, Quack, Quack,’ Concetta Antico renders ducks with unusual colors such as orange, purple and green.

That means they could have two slightly different genes on each chromosome, independently producing different receptors. That discrepancy could potentially add a fourth receptor on top the normal three.

“She has a normal form on one X chromosome and this variant on the second X chromosome,” said Kimberly Jameson, a researcher at UC Irvine who's been studying Antico’s color vision.

The fourth receptor should be similar to one most people have, but shifted to respond most to yellowish, SEE COLOR, Page 10

10 | northparknews.biz/digital | January 2015

COLOR

CONTINUED FROM Page 9

rather than reddish, light.

“This is how she ends up being a potential tetrachromat,” said Jameson.

The possibility of seeing extra dimensions of color may sound psychedelic, but look beyond humans, and it’s not at all uncommon. Many kinds of birds, insects and fish have more than three color receptors — even up to 16 color receptors. And we know some animals, like dogs, have fewer receptors.

Articles and blog posts linking to Antico’s work have claimed she “can see 100 million colors,” or that she sees “100 times more colors” than average, or that she possesses “superhuman vision.”

But those headlines mask the thorny state of human tetrachromacy research.

Jameson and other scientists in this field are still wrestling with a big, fundamental question: Is this fourth receptor really functional? Do women who have it actually see another dimension of color?

Jameson has been putting Antico through a battery of tests to try and answer that very question. It’s harder than it sounds.

“Not only do the diagnostics not exist.

Any types of tools that we might use, like computer monitors or any kind of display device, they’re all based on models that have just three display primaries,” Jameson said.

These tools reproduce the world in red, green and blue for a trichromat viewer.

But their usefulness for studying people who might be seeing a world built on four primary colors is limited. Even tests that should in theory separate tetrachromats from people with normal vision have not yet delivered definitive results.

There’s also the question of how special Antico’s genes really are. More than half of all women could be walking around with some form of genetic predisposition for tetrachromacy. But their vision could still be totally normal.

Jenny Bosten is another color vision researcher, currently a visiting scholar at UC San Diego. In one study, Bosten and her colleagues at the University of Cambridge examined more than 30 women with the right genetic profile for tetra-

Kimberly Jameson is a researcher at UC Irvine who’s been studying Antico’s color vision.

chromacy. But they only found one woman who “exhibited tetrachromatic behavior” on every color test given to her.

“Although quite a lot of women have the genetic potential for tetrachromacy, we don’t yet have conclusive evidence for anyone that tetrachromacy exists,” said Bosten.

Listening to Antico describe what she sees in a dark shadow, it’s clear she believes she’s seeing colors invisible to most people.

“I see purples, and blues, and reflected colors from other things,” Antico said. “It is dark, yes, and it is gray, yes. But it is riddled with subtle pieces of color.”

Antico’s subjective perceptions are backed up by her objective performance on standardized color tests. She’s able to pick out minute differences in color that escape most viewers. But it’s hard to know what to conclude from that.

Could it mean that, through years of dedicated art practice, she’s simply trained herself to be more sensitive to color? Or is her DNA working in tandem with her training, nature and nurture combining to help her distinguish color better than most? So far, no one knows for sure.

Back at her studio, Antico took another test. Jameson had her look at tiles progressing from pink to green and arrange them into an orderly spectrum. Some of the tiles looked incredibly similar. Even people with good color vision tend to make at least a few mistakes.

When Antico finished, Jameson flipped over the tiles to check the numbers written underneath.

“Perfect, again,” she said. Antico had nailed it. Zero mistakes.

(This story was first reported by KPBS in San Diego. Reprinted with permission.)

Concetta Antico arranges colored tiles into an orderly spectrum as part of the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue test, Dec. 3, 2014. (Photo: Nicholas McVicker/KPBS)

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January 2015 | northparknews.biz/digital | 11

THE LARGEST

CRAFTSMAN E V E R B U I LT

The Craftsman has eight bedrooms and seven baths and sits on a hillside in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.

An ad man named Leonard Fenton has spent well over two decades now working on Artemesia, reputedly the largest Craftsman house ever built. And it is something.

The 13,300-square-foot mansion in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles was built a century ago

by Frederick Engstrum, a construction tycoon who built downtown’s lovely Rosslyn Hotel, according to a story last year in Los Angeles Magazine.

He hired Frank A. Brown to design the house in 1913 and made sure it had all “the latest environmental and technical developments,” including rainwater col-

The 2,000-square-foot ballroom.

Modern day living room.

lection, electric intercom, central vacuuming system, and a record-setting Murray Harris built-in pipe organ.

Just a couple of owners later, Fenton bought the house in the late 1980s and has been restoring and modernizing ever since. It has eight bedrooms and seven bathrooms, that pipe organ, a carriage house, six fireplaces, a gate house, a sleeping porch with several Murphy beds, and new “swimming pool infrastructure” on 1.79 acres.

Fenton listed the property for sale in 2012 at $12 million, but pulled it off the market more than a year ago. Now it’s back, asking $10 million.

12 | northparknews.biz/digital | January 2015

CROW

CONTINUED FROM Page 1

don’t is an experience; the experience to come in and design your own garment and have, at the end of it all, a product that you can say you were part of making. It’s a unique process,” says owner and designer Melissa Hendrix-Lawson, who founded the company in 2008 and whose designs have been featured everywhere from AFAR Magazine to Business Insider.

Inside the updated store, alongside a work table where patterns are drawn and cut, shoppers will find a mixture of ready-towear button-down shirts, tee shirts, vests, jeans and more. Prices can be affordable, such as $25 to $48 for a simple tee, and climb into the hundreds of dollars for more complex pieces and custom creations, the latter having a turnaround time of four to eight weeks.

Hendrix-Lawson has now curated a collection of other designers’ work to sell instore, including neckwear from fashion forward San Diego designer Lord Wallington and tops from Velva Sheen.

In stocking her shop, one ideal remains important: materials must be from and labor must be done locally.

“San Diego isn’t like Los Angeles, where you have a lot of resources as far as fashion apparel goes. But from day one, something I’ve always been extremely passionate about is manufacturing in the United States and keeping jobs local,” says Hendrix-Lawson.

“People have asked me why I don’t make the product overseas but I’m just not interested. I’d have suppliers laugh at me and tell me how I’m going to go out of business because I was spending so much money on labor, but being a small business, manufacturing local allows me to have shorter lead times. I can create mini-collections within a season because of that.”

Another of Crow Thief’s specialties is fit, which Hendrix-Lawson is passionate about.

Clients who take advantage of Crow Thief’s custom clothing first go through a fitting appointment, and then have their patterns put on file so that they can continue to get custom-made clothing as desired.

“One thing that makes me feel so hon-

ored and happy is when a client comes in and for their entire life, due to a unique body structure or weight, they’ve had a hard time finding things that fit properly; but we give them the custom process and they leave here with a smile because they’ve actually found something that fits them.”

Hendrix-Lawson is a native of Seattle who moved to San Diego in 2006. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles with a focus on apparel manufacturing, and then brought her expertise to brands and businesses including Forever 21 and the Hotel del Coronado. Today, she resides in South Park and is constantly inspired by the creativity that goes into running her store.

While Crow Thief is currently shoppable by appointment only — a system put into place in mid-2013 due to an influx of custom requests — plans are in place to change this limitation and the store will soon be open Wednesday through Saturday during typical business hours.

Additional future plans include selling wholesale and providing retailers with custom collections. Hendrix-Lawson will increasingly focus on ready-to-wear products, while still offering custom orders to some capacity.

“We have some fun collaborations in the works as well, because I love conceptualizing collections,” says Hendrix-Lawson. “And look out for package deals launching after the holidays.”

One thing that remains certain is that Crow Thief will stay in South Park, a result of Hendrix-Lawson’s appreciation for the neighborhood’s rare combination of small town-meets-thriving city feel.

“A lot of people ask me ‘why here, why not La Jolla?’ because the demographic is obviously different. But I feel like the people who live here support the businesses. There’s a strong community presence. They’re very aware of products and what they want and whether they're ecofriendly and locally made.”

Hendrix-Lawson’s final thought for the stylish men of San Diego: “Don’t be afraid to dress up.”

Contact Crow Thief at www.crowthief.com or at (619) 961-6210.

Men’s clothing is displayed in Crow Thief’s main shop.

Crow Thief is located at 3009 Grape St. in South Park.

January 2015 | northparknews.biz/digital | 13

14 | northparknews.biz/digital | January 2015

Tim Flannery and the Lunatic Fringe Open Live Concert Series Reuben H. Fleet Science Center second annual event The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center is ready to rock with its second annual live concert series, opening Jan. 16 with Tim Flannery and the Lunatic Fringe.

The 2015 edition of the popular monthly live concert series features five established local musical acts to entertain.

Musical genres include rock, country, blues, folk and soul to ensure that the concert series has something for everybody.

Earl Thomas

Earl Thomas had never picked up a microphone in his life until he was nearly killed after losing his footing at the edge of a 50-foot ravine. He slid all the way down, landing unconscious on a pile of broken glass and debris. Luckily, the 22year-old dental student was only bruised, but not knowing the extent of the damage upon regaining consciousness, he reflected on his disappointment at not having pursued his dream of becoming The lineup: a singer, and resolved to do just that if Friday, Jan. 16: he survived. Nine years later, he recorded Tim Flannery and the Lunatic Fringe 1991's Blue ... Not Blues, a record strongly influenced by his parents' love of blues Friday, Feb. 20: Venice and gospel music and his own affinity Friday, March 27: Earl Thomas Friday, April 17: Berkley Hart Selis Twang for '60s and '70s soul.

Friday, May 22: Steve Poltz Special guest Michael Tiernan opens Berkley Hart Selis Twang each show.

Berkley Hart Selis Twang provides a Each show features two performances: shot of California country rock and a an opening act and a headliner. There dash of folk, poured over 70s harmony will also be beer, wine and cocktails avail- with a newfound edge. Berkley Hart Selis able at the no-host bar, food available for Twang combines the country-rock of Eve purchase and the Fleet’s 100+ hands-on Selis and Marc "Twang" Intravaia (of the exhibits open for exploration.

Eve Selis Band) with the country-folk of Doors open at 7 p.m. The first perfor- Jeff Berkley and Calman Hart (of Berkley mance is at 7:30 p.m. Parking is free in Hart) to create a fresh sound, rich with the lot at Space Theater Way off Park vocal harmony and powerful lyrics. If Blvd. All performances are in the Reuben you like Crosby Stills Nash & Young, the H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park. Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, you'll love The venue is the Theater Lobby, indoors, Berkley Hart Selis Twang! standing-room only. 21+ only. Tickets are on sale now. Purchase at the Fleet Steve Poltz Former frontman of the semi-legticket counter (open daily starting at 10 a.m.), online at endary Rugburns, Steve Poltz positively sandiego.strangertickets.com or by owns a crowd when he's on stage. His phone by calling the Fleet’s Client Ser- shows are the stuff of legend-no two are vices Department at (619) 238-1233, Ext. alike-and can take an unsuspecting audience from laughter to tears and back 806. again in the space of a single song. He is a master of improvisational songwriting The Artists: Tim Flannery and the Lunatic Fringe and works without a set list to be free to When Tim Flannery isn't coaching react instantly to the mood of a room. third base for the San Francisco Giants, It's also worth mentioning that he is an he's writing some of the most gorgeous astonishing guitar player on top of everyacoustic music to roll out of California thing else. He is quite possibly the most since the halcyon days of the ‘70s folk talented, and engaging, solo performer explosion. He is a prolific and talented on this planet. That's what 250+ shows songwriter, currently preparing to release a year on three continents will do for his eleventh album in 15 years. He is a you. seasoned fingerstyle legend of Americana music with a gift for crafting potent, res- Special Guest: Michael Tiernan onant songs and delivering energetic, Michael Tiernan opens each show. He emotional live shows. hung with monks deep in desert monasteries and lived in the Vatican, but he left Venice the seminary for the higher calling of Venice’s trademarks are their har- music, and has since racked up several monies, personal lyrics and high energy, national and international awards for his communal shows. Their distinctive vocal songwriting. His acoustic blend has a sound and harmonies have allowed relaxed vibe mixed with a big city sound.

Venice and its members to perform Deep in meaning, yet playful in attitude, and/or record with some of the biggest Michael's music takes you from the temnames in the music industry, including ple to the tavern and from the beach to Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, downtown.

David Crosby, Stevie Nicks, Bon Jovi, Jackson Browne, Brian Wilson, Cher, Tickets: Don Henley, Elton John, Michael Advance sales: $27 general admission; McDonald, Phil Collins, Ozzy Osborne, $24 Fleet members, staff and volunteers.

Billy Idol, America, Heart-and the list Day of show price: $32 at the door. goes on.

Tim Flannery and the Lunatic Fringe

Venice

Michael Tiernan

Earl Thomas

Berkley Hart Selis Twang

Steve Poltz

January 2015 | northparknews.biz/digital | 15

By Bart Mendoza

Get Ready for Sleazy Barroom Rock Lots of surf-inspired bands call the San Diego area home, but few are as distinctive as Jason Lee & The R.I.P. Tides. Lee’s gravity-defying blonde hairdo draws the initial attention, but it’s his sterling fretwork that will reel you in. His music is sleazy barroom rock, circa the late 1950s, full of instrumental swagger. Backed by a trio, including sax, Lee released his debut album earlier this year, but live is where his music should be experienced. If you’re already a fan of the Ventures, Los Straightjackets or Duane Eddy, add Jason Lee & The R.I.P. Tides to your list of favorites .

Jason Lee & the R.I.P. Tides: Saturday, Jan. 17 at The Tower Bar, 9 p.m.

21 and up. www.thetowerbar.com

Adventures With Dark Globe One of San Diego’s brightest music spots during the 1990s was a small but crucial spot on Fairmount called, Megalopolis. Many of the area’s top musicians apprenticed at the bar, where top of the heap was likely Dark Globe. The psychedelic/indie rock quartet has recently reformed, with a special show set for Jan. 31 at Lestat’s.

All four original members are in place but this is no mere nostalgia fest, with new material among old favorites.

If you like your rock music on the adventurous side, this combo, named for a Syd Barrett song, is just the ticket.

Dark Globe: Saturday, Jan. 31 at Lestats, 3343 Adams Ave. 9 p.m.

All ages. www.Lestats.com.

Nobody Beats The Dickies for a Good Time

Cindy Lee Berryhill and Freedy Johnston Double Bill

There are plenty of bands in rock ‘n’ roll that offer a good time, but for sheer fun, nobody beats the Dickies. Appearing at the Soda Bar on Jan. 17, the band answers the unasked question, “what if Hanna-Barbera had designed a punk band?” The band’s cartoonish, over the top performing style — complete with hand puppets — has kept them a firm favorite with audiences around the world for nearly four decades. Whether you favor their own classics such as “You Drive me Ape, You Big Gorilla,” or their infamous recastings of such evergreens as “Nights In White Satin,” the Dickies never fail to impress either your musical senses or sense of humor.

Java Joe’s will be the scene of a terrific double bill on Jan. 23, featuring Cindy Lee Berryhill and Freedy Johnston. Berryhill is a one of the area’s greatest talents, a maverick singer-songwriter with influences from Harry Partch to Brian Wilson. She has a slew of great albums to her credit, so there will be plenty of favorites in the set, but long-time fans will be happiest to hear previews of tunes from her upcoming album. Meanwhile, opening up will be New Yorker Freedy Johnston, best known for his 1993 hit “Bad Reputation.” Touring behind his latest album, “Neon Repairman,” Johnston’s mix of folk and powerpop remains intact — for this show he’ll be in rock-duo mode with drummer. Get there early for this one, it’s a guaranteed sellout at this beloved intimate venue.

The Dickies: Saturday, Jan. 17, at The Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd. 8:30 p.m.

21 and up. www.sodabarmusic.com

Cindy Lee Berryhill: Friday, Jan. 23, at Java Joe’s, 3536 Adams Ave., 9 p.m. All ages. www.javajoessd.com

Pioneer in the Field Paul Collins Powerpop aficionados won’t want to miss an appearance by Paul Collins at the Tower Bar on Jan. 24. Collins was a pioneer in the field, laying the groundwork for countless bands to follow. A member of such legendary 70s combos as the Nerves and the Beat, Collins continues to release excellent songs that stay true to his music’s roots, most recently on the album, “Feel the Noise.” That said, it will be the first album classics such as “Rock ‘n’ Roll Girl” and “Don’t Wait Up For Me,” that will get the crowd jumping. Despite the passage of decades, Collins’ music and performances maintain their youthful spirit.

Paul Collins: Saturday, Jan. 24 at The Til Two Club, 4746 El Cajon Blvd.

9 p.m. 21 and up. www.tiltwoclub.com

16 | northparknews.biz/digital | January 2015