Scripps Mercy decided last week to defer taking any action on the Jones House (4040 Fifth Avenue). They are withdrawing the application on file at the city, leaving the house in place and will not be processing any permit related to the site (at least for now)…even better news — Scripps is planning to reroof this historically designated house to prevent further deterioration.
Earlier this year at their 29th annual People in Preservation Awards in Old Town Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) added this old Hillcrest Craftsman owned by Scripps Mercy Hospital to their “most endangered list”. Henry B. Jones, Hillcrest’s first bank president, built this home for his family in 1911. The address was initially 4040 Hillcrest Drive, but the street’s name was changed in 1968 during a hospital expansion.
Two years ago Scripps Health wanted to demolish the house, but many individuals fought for its historic designation as one of the final remaining structures from William Wesley Whitson’s original “Hillcrest” subdivision. Ron May, president of Legacy 106 made a presentation to the Historic Review Board (HRB) on behalf of the Hillcrest History Guild demonstrating why this house needed to be saved and preserved.
Much to the delight of the community, on November 20, 2009 the city’s Historic Review Board (HRB) listed the two-story, shingle-sided building as Historic Resource #939 based on its excellent representation of its historic Craftsman style. Despite a weathered and neglected exterior, the house is architecturally intact and retains a warm inviting original interior. Many would like to see it restored and appropriately re-used by the hospital as a grieving and counseling center or as a museum for the Sisters of Mercy.
Hillcrest will lose a remaining fiber of the character of the neighborhood if this house is removed. The community had feared that Scripps Health would exercise its privilege as a medical institution and have the house demolished when it applied for a Site Development Permit this summer. The Hillcrest History Guild encouraged the hospital to find a small corner of their Hillcrest campus to preserve this small part of Hillcrest’s history. We thank Scripps Health for saving the house…at least for now.
