FIRE DESTROYS ABANDONED HISTORIC HOME IN LEMON GROVE

Historical Society founder weighs in on what could have been done to prevent this from happening

Story and pictures by Jessyka Heredia

Historical photo provided by Helen Ofield

View video provided by Stephan Clay

Update June 23, 2022:  The home's owner, Micfhael Perez,  in an in-depth interview with ECM,  says he's spent years struggling to secure permits from the city of Lemon Grove, and faults delays for the house being left in disrepair. He also voices frustration over the Sheriff's department regarding efforts to keep homeless people from repeatedly breaking into the property.  View article with his remarks.

June19, 2023 (Lemon Grove) -- A fire broke out early last Tuesday morning at the historic Ebon McGregor house at 3262 Main Street, next to City Hall and the Sheriff’s station.

“This is a tragedy. One of the few buildings in town designed by master architect, Alberto Owen Treganza, is no more,” says Helen Ofield, founder of the Lemon Grove Historical Society.

According to Stephan Clay, a resident next door, the homeless have occupied that building off and on for years. Clay has lived there 15 years and said the homeless recently “have been lighting fires in there to stay warm and doing drugs; it was gonna happen.”

Stephan said he has called the police several times and is often on his balcony where he said he has” to stare at this unsightly place. I saw a fire in there and that was a reason to call the police and get them out.”

Stephan and his sister, April Clay, were both home when the fire started. April said, “We heard a boom.  My brother told me that sometimes they slam doors over there.” So, she didn’t think much of it at first.  April added that the property is boarded up, so the inside was not visible to neighbors.

Stephan said, “It was fully engulfed really quick.”

The 3,000 square-foot abandoned home was last sold in 2007 for $615,000, according to Zillow. County records list the current owner as Michael Perez.

Ofield gives us a glimpse into the unique history of the building’s early years and her most recent pleas to the city to help protect this building from a fate such as this devastation.

The Spanish Colonial Revival-style home was designed by prominent architect Alberto Owen Treganza and built by  Dr.Ebon  McGregor between 1932 and 1936 on a “sweat equity” basis,with patients helping to build to repay medical bills during the Great Depression, Ofield says.  A few years ago on the  East County Magazine Radio Show, Ofield recorded a reading of  Dr. McGregor's writings, in which he reminisced about the history of Lemon Grove and his role helping to save lives here during the Depression.  Listen to audio of that recording.

Dr. McGregor was the only physician in Lemon Grove at that time and had a practice in La Mesa. He served in the  Veterans Administration (VA) under President Roosevelt through World War II and helped to instigate the use of the Wasserman Test. He twice ran for state public office, according to Ofield.

The house and a portrait of Dr. McGregor appear on page 102 in the Lemon Grove Historical Society’s  pictorial history of Lemon Grove.

An arcade connected the medical offices to the home’s private quarters. The two-story home featured an early use of solar power. Many interior features were still intact nearly nine decades later, such as the beamed ceiling in the living room and the stairwell to the second floor, the original kitchen cabinets, original bathroom, and most of the home’s exterior.

This beautiful house stood directly opposite Lemon Grove City Hall. According to Ofield, the owner, a lawyer, planned to restore the structure, but, “botched the effort by removing the steel casement windows, a huge no-no in historic preservation.”                

Later, the home stood empty as it fell into disrepair, windows and doors gone.

Ofield adds emphatically, “This could have been prevented. We asked the then-city manager Graham Mitchell and the City Council to buy the house. In adaptive reuse, carefully done to preserve original features and leave the exterior intact, the house could have contained the entire planning department, provided a larger conference room in the original sitting room, as well as offices for others. The solar feature would have been very timely.”

She recalls, “There was actually enough money at the time in the General Fund--but it would have emptied the Fund; thus, Mayor Sessom demurred. Needed were state and federal grants in historic preservation, or "other" state grants.”

Also needed were an architect to advise and an elevator to the second floor to satisfy access issues, which Ofield suggested could have been installed on the back wall and masked by the stairwell.

Ofield concludes, “For years I have feared the worst for this wonderful, abandoned old house, with vandalism and fire at the top of the list. When a community has precious sites, with fascinating history attached to them, that lend distinction to the built environment, such sites should head the list of items to be preserved and valued. What of the Main Street Project with its talk of history? The Ebon McGregor House is on Main Street.”

Andy McKeller, Public Information Officer for Heartland Fire and Rescue ,stated that the time of dispatch was 1:12 a.m. and that their crews had the incident under .control by 2:11 am.

Two of the buildings on the property were fully engulfed.

Heartland reported this was a 2-alarm fire with a total number of 36 personnel on the scene. San Diego and San Miguel Fire and Rescue provided support, along with the San Diego County Sheriff Department.

No deaths or injuries were reported.

Several days after the blaze, ECM asked  Fire Chief Bent Koch about the investigation.  He replied, “The cause is currently still undetermined. The fire caused extensive content and structural damage, hampering cause investigation.”