Wisteria Cottage

   

About the La Jolla Historical Society


Our Story

The La Jolla Historical Society is a 501c3 nonprofit public benefit corporation whose mission is to inspire and empower the community to make La Jolla’s diverse past a relevant part of contemporary life, encouraging exploration of the past in ways that inform the present and shape the future.  The Society preserves and shares La Jolla’s distinctive sense of place, and serves as a community resource and gathering place where residents and visitors explore history, art, ideas and culture.

Unique in its role as a historic house museum, the Society develops projects that engage disciplinary boundaries and explore the relationship of culture to society, collaborating with guest curators, artists, architects, and other cultural producers.  Programs include exhibitions, presentations, symposia, discussions, interviews, architecture tours, youth education, and annual community events such as the Secret Garden Tour of La Jolla and the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance & Motor Car Classic. The Society consults with the City of San Diego regarding landmark designation of properties located in La Jolla.

The Society operates a campus of three historic buildings it owns and maintains within the Scripps/Gill cultural zone. The 1904 Wisteria Cottage, gifted to the Society in 2008 by Ellen Revelle, has been restored and rehabilitated with expanded, museum-standard gallery space for changing exhibitions and educational programs. The Society also operates a 1909 cottage as offices and providing public research space, and a 1916 carriage house retrofitted for state-of-the-art storage of the Society’s archival collection, which includes historic photographs, public records, private documents, and newspaper archives.

Board of Directors

Matthew Mangano, PE, President

Laura DuCharme Conboy, AIA, Vice President

Mark Muñoz, Treasurer

Richard Wildman, Esq., Secretary

Suzanne Sette, Immediate Past President

Marouane Abdaoui

Nick Agelidis

Johnny "Bear" Contreras

Alicia Calhoon

Ann Craig

George Coles

Meg Davis

Laura DuCharme Conboy, AIA

Heather Crane, AIA

David Goldberg

Jahlel Hunter

Molly McClain, Ph.D.

Anna Palmer

Stephen Rose

Roger Sammon

Melanie Showalter

Bryn Young, AIA

Staff

Lauren Lockhart, Executive Director

Dana Hicks, PhD, Deputy Director and Collections Manager

Karla Cook, Office and Events Manager

Carol Olten, Historian


EIN: 95-6116290

Financial Statements