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Fall 2023: Villa Montezuma Museum Restoration - Next Phase

Thank you former State Senator Ben Hueso for getting the State funding allocation to the City of San Diego that will allow for the exterior restoration of the museum. Details pending.


November, 2016: Villa Montezuma Museum Backyard Wood Fence Replaced

Thank you District 8 Council Member David Alvarez and the dedicated staff at City of San Diego Park and Recreation for providing the new wood fencing in the back yard. The work was done by South Bay Fence. (The very old vintage fencing will be repurposed on the site.)


June 27, 2015: Villa Montezuma Museum Reopens for Quarterly Tours free to the public

A major milestone! The City will allow the Friends of the Villa to open the museum quarterly, free to the public, while we work on funding for Phase 3 restoration (repainting the museum exterior). Next no-cost tours: Saturday, June 24, 2017. Details on how to register will be posted on the home page of this website as soon as the City posts the tours on its registration site.


May-June 2015: Villa Montezuma Museum punch list complete & yard cleaning underway!

Now that the construction work for Phase 2 is done, the yard clearing has begun! All the overgrown vegetation will be removed and wood chips will be put down (so as not to maintain the lawn in this time of drought). The Villa is being prepared for a special event in June. See the home page for details on that upcoming event!


February 2015: Villa Montezuma Museum Phase 2 - ADA path installed in back yard!

The foundation is restored, the new roof is on, the west chimney has been rebuilt to make it structurally safe, and now the concrete ADA pathway that leading to the Bistro door in the back yard has been poured. Only miscellaneous punch list work for Phase 2 is still to be done. Want to be a sponsor? Help the FOVM with Phase 3 to fund the exterior repainting of the museum. Join the Friends of the Villa Montezuma, Inc. (FOVM) and contribute to the cause. We’re a 501-3-c nonprofit corporation, and your donations are tax deductible. The FOVM can reopen this museum as soon as the City allows it. Become a part of this amazing team! Learn more at the FOVM Annual Meeting on April 11, 2015.


January 2015: Villa Montezuma Museum Phase 2 - major work completed!

The scaffolding is down! Major work is done. Look for the Villa to look like its old self again.






Thank you to the City of San Diego Engineering and Park & Rec Departments, and to Council member David Alvarez and his staff for caring so much about the museum. Thanks for FOVM members for all you’ve done to support our work to fund, restore, and reopen the museum! Above: the City Team at work!



PHASE 2 RESTORATION STARTED

March 31, 2014

The Phase 2 work is in progress! Torres Construction is the prime contractor, working under the direction of City Engineering. This work is being paid for by a federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for $882,000; Phase 2 will fix the foundation, the roof, and the chimneys. The FOVM was happy to be asked to work with City grant writers on this grant. This restoration work will be completed by November 2014. Phase 3 restoration work will be the repainting of the museum. Find out how you can help the FOVM acquire the next grant that will provide this needed exterior protection. Thank you to all the City staff members at District 8, Park and Recreation, and City Engineering for their dedication to this important and beautiful Queen Anne house museum! Let’s get the museum reopened by Spring 2015!


Sewer Restoration completed May 2013

Never have the words “sewer restoration” brought smilies to so many people who love the Villa Montezuma Museum! City of San Diego City Engineering has issued the Notice to Proceed to begin replacement of the collapsed sewer line at the museum. This is the start of restoration work which will then allow for other restoration work to proceed.

To celebrate the start of this long-awaited work, District 8 Council member David Alvarez, City Engineering and Park & Recreation staffers, the San Diego Police Department Central Division Captain Mark Jones and members of the Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP) team who protect the Villa, and the Friends of the Villa Montezuma Museum gathered with the contractor on site. All work was completed in May 2013.


2010-2013 Restoration Work


Platt/Whitelaw Architects is the firm hired by the City to design the restoration plan. This experienced firm has a team of experts who have investigating all the needs of the museum, in order that all major repairs can take place. The City’s goal is to provide a complete, quality restoration that will make the Villa strong and secure for at least the next 25 years. Platt/Whitelaw has provided construction drawings so the City can put the restoration construction work out for bid in Fall 2013.


In December 2011 the State of California decided that all redevelopment agencies with the state will cease to officially exist by February 1, 2012. Throughout 2012 the FOVM has worked with staff from Civic San Diego (the successor agency of CCDC) to be sure that the funds for the restoration of the museum are on the enforceable obligations list so that they are not taken by the State of California. Unfortunately, as of July 1, 2013, the funds have been taken. The FOVM continues to seek replacement funding.


Also great news! In January 2013 the City started the first phase of the restoration: the replacement of a collapsed sewer line under the museum.  This work was completed in May 2013. See the photos above.


The FOVM appreciates the intense efforts by the City staff members at City Engineering, Parks and Recreation, the Historical Resources Board, and City Council member David Alvarez’s Council District 8 office. All these staffers have shown their devotion to this important historical resources.


Restoration of the tower window and waterproofing of the tower was completed by Owen Sutton of San Diego Home Restoration and Remodeling in early 2010. Replacement of the protective acrylic over the Sappho window was completed by Home Restoration and Remodeling in fall 2011.