By Harrison Power, Landmark Preservation Commission Chairman
April 18th, 2022 marked the return of Modesto’s Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC), its first meeting since 2020 when project plans were approved for the Southern Pacific Depot. That review ultimately yielded a productive collaboration between the City and the community to ensure the continued preservation of a Modesto Landmark.
The recent meeting of the LPC was focused on making sure the documented record of three City Landmarks accurately reflected their historical significance. Further, the 2022 Chair and Vice-Chair were selected unanimously by the Commissioners in attendance – of which Lisa Lomas was appointed Vice-Chair and I was appointed Chair. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to serve in this role, and I look forward to working with all Landmark Preservation Commissioners in future matters and preservation efforts.
The Commission adopted resolutions to update the names and descriptions of Landmarks 44 and 51 to better reference original and prominent previous owners, and of Landmark 52 to capture the greater significance of Coffee Airport’s history to what is now the closed Municipal Golf Course. With adoption of the 1910 City Charter, Modesto’s municipal airport was the first in the country to be expressly referenced in its city charter, where the City was granted the authority to “regulate the use of…flying devices.” An airport was laid out and facilities completed by 1920. Shortly after in 1921, the airfield was named in honor of Harold Coffee, a well-accomplished local aviator who while flying back to Oakland from Yosemite died at the age of 23 when the plane crashed at the intersection of Linden and Madison Streets in Modesto. After about a decade in service, the City ultimately moved the airport to its current location.
I believe the task of landmark and historical preservation is and should be an ongoing endeavor. We are fortunate many landmarks have been designated since the Landmark Preservation Program was established in 1988, and those landmarks deserve the attention needed to ensure they continue to stand as points of historical interest. Also, there are still well-loved icons in downtown and throughout Modesto’s neighborhoods with their own unique contributions to our City’s history that likely meet benchmarks for landmark status. So, if you own or know the owner of a Modesto icon currently without landmark status and think it deserves a second look, I invite you to review Landmark Preservation.
To Learn more: www.modestogov.com/1966/City-Landmarks
