Yamada Residence Designated as Historic Resource
The San Diego, CA, home of pioneering landscape architect Joseph (Joe) Yamada and his civic activist wife Elizabeth (Liz) was designated a 鈥渉istoric resource鈥 by the San Diego Historical Resources Board (HRB) in a unanimous vote on . Joe, subject of 亚洲精品无码一区鈥檚 (亚洲精品无码一区) 2013 Pioneers Oral History, and Liz, had lived in the home from 1973 until their in May 2020. The Yamadas, who met as , were married for 66 years.
As reported in the , the designation came before the HRB in September 2022 meeting, but was found lacking. 鈥淗RB trustee Ann Woods said: 鈥業 find it ironic that we are designating the home of a landscape architect and there are no landscape components in the designation 鈥ren鈥檛 there components that should be included?鈥欌 The historic designation application, supported by the home鈥檚 current owners, Troy Wu and Insun Lee, and prepared by IS Architecture, was to include 鈥渢he front yard landscape and all other contributing landscape features identified by the consultant."
鈥淏enefits of historic designation,鈥 according to the , 鈥渋nclude availability of the Mills Act program for reduced property tax for owners to help maintain, restore and rehabilitate historic properties; use of the more flexible Historical Building Code; use of the historical conditional use permit, which allows flexibility of use; programs that vary depending on site conditions and the owner鈥檚 objectives; and flexibility in other regulatory requirements. However, houses cannot be modified significantly once they are designated historic.鈥
The historic designation of homes and designed landscapes of landscape architects is far from common, unlike that of homes by architects, which makes the Yamada residence鈥檚 designation even more important and builds a body of precedents for the legacy of other landscape architects.
The Yamadas鈥 respective work in landscape architecture and activism earned the home justification for designation under the HRB鈥檚 Criterion A, 鈥渁 property exemplifying or reflecting special elements of the city鈥檚, a community鈥檚, or a neighborhood鈥檚 historical, archaeological, cultural, social, economic, political, aesthetic, engineering, landscaping or architectural development鈥; Criterion B, 鈥渁 property identified with people or events significant in local, state, or national history鈥; Criterion C, 鈥渁 property embodying distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period, or method of construction or a valuable example of the use of natural materials or craftsmanship鈥; and Criterion D, 鈥 a property representative of the notable work of a master builder, designer, architect, engineer, landscape architect, interior designer, artist, or craftsman.鈥
About Joe and Liz Yamada
Joe Yamada鈥檚 landscape architecture career began in his , where his design philosophy was shaped by Modernist instructors , , and Lawrence Halprin, among others. After graduating in 1954, Yamada joined the San Diego office of , the city鈥檚 first woman landscape architect in commercial practice. Yamada became a partner in 1960 and retained the firm name Wimmer Yamada & Associates even after Wimmer鈥檚 death in 1980. Yamada designed numerous landmark sites in the San Diego region, including , , and the . The Yamadas , designed by Liz鈥檚 architect brother David Kikuchi, in an era when discrimination largely excluded Black, Jewish, and Asian American families from settling in the area. Their home proudly exhibits their heritage, with a landscape designed by Yamada in the style of a Japanese strolling garden.
Liz, the first Asian American teacher at San Diego High School and later a partner in her husband鈥檚 landscape architecture practice, worked for decades with organizations like the Japanese American Citizens League to preserve the memory of the chapter of history that she and her husband had survived together. While at the Poston Internment Camp as a young person, she had corresponded with San Diego librarian Clara Breed, who sent packages of books and other supplies to the children in the camps. Breed had saved her collection of letters from the camp鈥檚 children, including Yamada, and reached out to her decades later for help preserving them. Yamada donated the letters to the collection of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, where they remain.
The current owners of the Yamada鈥檚 former residence applied for designation in hopes of safeguarding the property鈥檚 integrity and honoring the lives and work of its previous owners. Consistent with the Board鈥檚 naming convention, the home will be known henceforth as the Joseph and Elizabeth Yamada House./辫濒补肠别蝉/肠颈迟测-补苍诲-谤别驳颈辞苍补濒-驳耻颈诲别蝉/蝉迟-濒辞耻颈蝉-补苍诲-尘颈蝉蝉辞鈥
