NEW ROOF FOR HISTORIC MARSTON HOUSE

The historic Marston House Museum will close March 27 for three months while a new roof and gutters are installed. Reopening is expected July 1, announced Save Our Heritage Organisation, the nonprofit preservation group that operates the 1905 Arts & Crafts mansion at 3525 Seventh Avenue for the City of San Diego.

Much of the Marston House gardens and sweeping lawn with shade trees, part of Balboa Park, will remain open to pedestrians during construction.

The Marston House Museum Shop, in the estate's historic carriage house, will stay open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 5pm. The museum's offering of neighborhood walking tours of Seventh Avenue and Bankers Hill will continue to run and have been expanded to every weekend during this time.

"We are pleased the City is undertaking this much-needed roofing work to preserve and maintain one of San Diego's most beloved cultural sites," said Bruce Coons, SOHO's executive director. "We hope residents and tourists will be understanding during the three-month repair period."

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Marston House was designed by Hebbard & Gill, San Diego's leading architecture firm at the turn of the 20th century. Replacement of the wood shingle roof and repair of gutters will comply with national preservation standards: The new roof will replicate the original in materials and construction method. For example, the roof's lifespan will be extended thanks to the historic skipped sheathing technique that allows the shingles to breathe and dry out.

While the Marston House is closed, the on-site caretaker will remain in residence.

SOHO hopes to take advantage of the museum's closure for some interior restoration projects, if funding becomes available. If you would like to donate and earmark your contribution for the Marston House Restoration Fund, click HERE or call (619) 297-9327.

All year round, SOHO operates other historic sites and museums in San Diego County. High quality tours and intriguing programming are also ongoing at the Whaley House Museum and Adobe Chapel in Old Town, Santa Ysabel Store and The Feed Store - Antiques & Such and adjacent Hoover Barn in Santa Ysabel, and Warner-Carrillo Ranch House in Warner Springs.

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For more information, visit www.SOHOsandiego.org or call (619) 297-9327.