Qualla: La Jolla Historical Society

La Jolla Historical Society: Introduction

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mollymcc, CC0. The 1909 cottage at 7846 Eads Avenue was scheduled for demolition in 1981, slated to make way for a three-story condominium. Instead, it was loaded onto a truck and moved to its current home, joining a collection of historic structures that together form the most improbable campus in La Jolla. Here on the former estate of philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, the La Jolla Historical Society has assembled buildings spanning more than a century, from seasonal beach cottages with wavy glass windows to a postmodern pergola salvaged from the Museum of Contemporary Art.

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La Jolla Historical Society: When a Historian Arrived in Paradise

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mollymcc, CC0. The society's origins trace to 1936, when Howard S.F. Randolph, a historian and genealogist from New England, arrived in La Jolla and grew fascinated by the community's early development. Working with the Library Association of La Jolla, now the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, ...

Image: Mollymcc | CC0

La Jolla Historical Society: Wisteria Cottage and the Scripps Connection

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mollymcc, CC0. Wisteria Cottage was built in 1904 and soon acquired by Virginia Scripps, half-sister of Ellen Browning Scripps. Between 1907 and 1909, architect Irving J. Gill made additions including the wisteria-covered pergola that gives the cottage its name. By 1916, it had become part of a...

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La Jolla Historical Society: Rescued Buildings, Preserved Stories

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mollymcc, CC0. The campus includes several other structures, each with its own rescue story. The 1909 cottage, saved from demolition through the efforts of La Jolla developer Dewhurst and Associates and the Revelle family, now serves as offices and research space with its original wainscoting, ...

Image: Mollymcc | CC0

La Jolla Historical Society: Living History on the Coast

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mollymcc, CC0. Today the La Jolla Historical Society operates as a unique historic house museum that crosses disciplinary boundaries. Programs include exhibitions, architecture tours, youth education, and annual events like the Secret Garden Tour of La Jolla and the La Jolla Concours d'Elegance...

Image: Mollymcc | CC0