The Historic Resource Commission of the City of Coronado recently affirmed GenerateHope’s newly-leased transition home as an official historic resource based on a thorough review of the home’s history, architecture and community significance. The home qualified across four of five possible criteria with only two qualifications required for official designation.
GenerateHope is currently working with sponsors and volunteer contractors on significant interior electrical and plumbing renovations to the Hansen Mansion. The owners have recently started work to replace an outdoor failing brick wall and hope to start work soon to replace a rotting backyard pergola. Renovations currently underway and all future updates must follow strict preservation guidelines that ensure the home exterior will never be significantly altered from its 1927 footprint. All renovations may require special permitting processes through the City’s Historic Resource Commission. GenerateHope plans to begin using the home as transition housing for program graduates by late 2017 depending on construction and permit timelines.
“Many locals mistakenly believe the home has been an official historic site for years, but the designation only became official in April after a lengthy research and presentation process. As the future caretakers of this home, the owner’s commitment to this process sets a high bar for exactly how they expect us to care for the home and manage our impact in the community,” said Dan DeSaegher, Executive Director of GenerateHope. “Rehabilitating this home under such strict standards will be more time consuming and costly but they believed it was the first step in doing what was right to preserve not just the structure but also the spirit of generosity and giving that has always pervaded this home.”
The home as it stands today was built in 1927 for General Marshall O. Terry and his wife Adabelle. Terry was a significant figure in the Spanish American War and went on to become the Surgeon General of the State of New York. The Terrys held many social functions in the home and made many charitable contributions to the area including finalizing the funding for the San Diego War Memorial in Balboa Park.
Leo Hansen and his family purchased the house in 1950 and lived there until very recently. Hansen was President of Coronado Federal Savings and Loan and the family has been involved in local events and charitable causes for many years. The Hansens often welcomed into their home both individuals and families who found themselves needing temporary housing for various reasons.
As part of the historic designation, the home is officially declared:
- A special element of the City’s cultural and social history due to the important civic and charitable functions hosted there by the Terrys and the Hansens
- Associated with significant figures in local history
- To exhibit character defining features of the Tudor style valuable for the study of high-end residential architecture
- A notable work of the architect Edward G. Bolles and builder Carl Emil Johnson. Bolles was a friend of the Terrys from San Francisco and the home is his only known work in Coronado. After building the home, Bolles worked for a short time with his son John Savage Bolles who famously designed Candlestick Park and the first computer factory for IBM.
