Eckel Smith

History

Built by George Eckel, to a design by Leonard Smith

Colonel Fletcher sold land on the southern slopes of Mount Grossmont to

George Eugene Eckel⁠

and Leonard Smith, who divided it into four lots. The speculation (spec) house built on the Lot #1 in 1958 was sold the following year to Maurice Jackson, an investment banker in San Diego.

On July 6, 1962, at 2:55am, Maurice's convertible hit a post near College Ave and Highway-80 (now Interstate 8). Subsequently, Maurice Jackson’s widow, Mary Helen Jackson, traded the house to Robert K Castetter, the founding Dean of

California Western School of Law⁠

The Castetters occupied the house for the next 58 years. In 2021 after the demise of Marjorie Bruce Castetter, Robert's widow, their children sold the house to the third and current owner, John Loughlin.

Architectural Historian,

Ginger Weatherford⁠

of Historic Preservation Consulting prepared a report on the house in June, 2023.

You can read the full report here:

⁠

Historic-Site-Designation-Report.pdf

60.7 MB

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or access a condensed online version

from this link⁠

Executive Summary of Historic Site Designation Report

The Modern Ranch style dwelling, at 9508 Blair Way, was constructed in 1958 and 1959, as a Speculation House, by George E. Eckel, and designed by Leonard M. Smith. With its intact, low-slung, Rambler plan; board and batten and wide horizontal board wall cladding; clinker brick planters, skirting, and chimney; aluminum casement and fixed windows, with invisible screens; Catalina pool; and views of Mt. Helix, Grossmont, Lake Murray, Cowles Mountain, and the Pacific Ocean, the 9508 Blair Way dwelling retains a high degree of integrity and has been maintained such that the dwelling’s appearance has not significantly changed from the 1958 through 1961 construction campaigns. The home embodies the tenets and stylistic features of Modern Ranch architecture, and is an excellent example of the design skills of Leonard M. Smith, and the construction skills of George E. Eckel.

The George E. Eckel / Leonard M. Smith Spec House No. 1 is historically and architecturally significant for its embodiment of Modern Ranch domestic architecture that characterized Southern California, San Diego, and Mt. Helix in the 1950s and 1960s; for its association with post-WWII development patterns of Mt. Helix; as a masterful representation of the work of George E. Eckel and Leonard M. Smith; and lastly, for its association with Robert K. Castetter and Marjorie Bruce Castetter, important people in the growth of California Western School of Law. The property qualifies for designation under the following criteria.

V. (b)(1) for its association with development patterns of the greater Casa de Oro-Mt. Helix community in the Modern Ranch period (circa 1935-1975). The period of significance under this context and criterion is 1959, from completion of construction, through 1975, end of the Modern Ranch period.

V. (b)(2) for its association with Robert K. Castetter and Marjorie Bruce Castetter, important people in the growth of California Western School of Law. The period of significance under this context and criterion is 1963 through 1985, the Castetters’ active involvement in the school’s growth while residing in the subject property: gaining full accreditation for the school, bringing high-quality students and faculty to the school, and significantly increasing the school's reputation in the legal community.

V. (b)(3) for embodying the distinctive characteristics of Modern Ranch residential architecture in the greater Casa de Oro-Mt. Helix community. The period of significance under this context and criterion is 1959, completion of construction, through 1975, end of the Modern Ranch period.

V. (b)(3) for representing the work of George E. Eckel and Leonard M. Smith. The period of significance for this context and criterion is 1959, completion of construction.

Historical Designation

On December 4, 2023 the Historic Site Board of San Diego County voted unanimously for designation to the County’s Local Register “George E. Eckel / Leonard M. Smith Spec House No. 1” under criteria V(b)(1), V(b)(2), and V(b)(3).

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