Centennial Celebration Planned for Historic Torrey Pines Lodge
The 100th anniversary of the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve’s landmark adobe lodge, once the gateway to San Diego, will be celebrated from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 8, 2023.
Members of the press are invited to visit the lodge on or before the day of the celebration. Interviews are available by appointment with rangers and members of the reserve’s two support groups, the Torrey Pines Conservancy and Torrey Pines Docent Society. Background materials, including historic and contemporary photographs, are available upon request.
The one-story, pueblo-style adobe building served as a gateway to San Diego on the original paved road linking the city with cities to the north from 1923 to 1933, when North Torrey Pines Road opened to the east.
Originally costing $33,000, the lodge was designed by San Diego architect Richard Requa and largely funded by La Jolla philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps. A $5 million restoration and rehabilitation are planned to start later this year.
The reserve annually draws 3 million visitors who hike and take docent-led nature walks. The only other place where the rare pines grow naturally is on Santa Rosa Island off of Santa Barbara. The species was first identified in 1850 and a city park was established in 1899. It joined the state parks system in 1959.
After North Torrey Pines Road opened in 1933, the lodge went through a variety of uses, from a restaurant, snack bar and gift shop to a canteen for soldiers training at nearby Camp Callan during World War II. Proprietors lived onsite until the park joined the state parks system. Today it serves as a visitor center and museum.
An informative historical exhibit about the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is currently on view at the La Jolla Historical Society.
The centennial events, planned by the conservancy and docents, will include:
- An old car parade
- Presentations and proclamations by VIPs and elected officials
- Tours of the historic lodge
- Photographs, exhibits and docents in costume
- Ranger talks and guided nature walks
- Activities for kids, including a sketching class
- A ceremonial cake
- And more!
Parking will be at the south beach lot with vans transporting visitors to the top of the reserve, starting about 9:30 a.m. With all the rain experienced this winter, the pines and wildflowers will be especially beautiful. Members of the press may park near the lodge by showing their credentials at the ranger kiosk in the south beach entrance.
The reserve is open daily from 7:15 a.m. to sunset and the lodge’s museum and shop are open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. during daylight saving time).
For further information, visit torreypines.org (conservancy), lajollahistory.org (La Jolla Historical Society), torreypine.org (state natural reserve and docent tours) and on Facebook, @torreypines.
(Note: The historic lodge is different from the Lodge at Torrey Pines hotel that opened adjacent to the Torrey Pines Golf Course in 2002.)