OCEAN BEACH – Local historian Eric DuVall is one of the proud recipients of Save Our Heritage Organisation’s annual People in Preservation Awards.
DuVall, who has served as president of the Ocean Beach Historical Society for the past eight years, accepted SOHO’s Culture Keeper award on behalf of both OBHS and the La Playa Trail Association, a nonprofit historical group focused on the La Playa Trail in San Diego.
SOHO’s PIP Awards each year honor outstanding individuals, organizations, and community groups whose work in historic preservation has enriched the cultural and architectural fabric of San Diego County.
DuVall was among four beachfront individuals and properties honored by SOHO in this year’s PIP awards. The group also included Crystal Pier Hotel & Cottages, Paradise Point in PB, and The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center in Liberty Station.
“SOHO celebrates these remarkable individuals who demonstrate what’s possible when dedication, skill, and vision are applied to the ongoing work of protecting our past,” said Bruce Coons, executive director of SOHO. “Their achievements remind us that preservation takes many forms, each essential to safeguarding the identity, pride, and authenticity of San Diego’s communities.
“This year’s awardees demonstrate how historic preservation not only saves our built heritage but sustains the places and stories that fuel our economy, our cultural tourism, community pride, and long-term prosperity.”
DuVall, who moved to OB with his family at age 4, was always interested in history. He noted that it was “old” sidewalks that initially piqued his interest in local history, which ultimately led to his joining OBHS.
“I’d be working in my yard and Ray and Kathy Blavatt (of OBHS) used to walk past my place on Sunset Cliffs and I would tell them about the old sidewalks (in OB), which has been a thing of mine since I was a teen, when I used to skateboard around looking for the oldest sidewalks I could find,” noted DuVall. “The oldest I ever found in OB were from 1906. And those are long gone.”
DuVall also served as past president of the La Playa Trail Association.
The oldest commercial route in the Western United States, historically connecting the harbor at Ballast Point to Old Town and beyond, the La Playa Trail was first used by the Kumeyaay and then by European settlers. It was the primary route for commerce, with goods like cattle hides being transported to ships and supplies being brought back from them.
The trail has been recognized for its historical significance, with 70 registered historic sites and the La Playa Trail Association working to preserve its legacy.
DuVall is also a columnist who writes stories about Peninsula history. He talked about one particular story that was particularly special to him.
“I wrote about Church Row being one of the cornerstones of OB,” he said, adding that he has also been keenly interested in the local movement to save historic Point Loma United Methodist Church –which had been operating as Water’s Edge Church at 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. – from being sold for development.
That property was saved from sale earlier this year when the California-Pacific Conference of the United Methodist Church took control to restore a ministry presence in the community.
“You can’t just tear down an old church that’s almost 100 years old,” said DuVall.
Why is chronicling history important? Many reasons.
“It adds to the sense of place,” said DuVall. “When historical places get torn down, you lose that. And that tends to be the beginning of losing things that make places not only livable, but better and more interesting places to live.”
DuVall issued this warning about historical preservation in the Peninsula: “If people don’t stand up to protect historical things, and they go by the wayside – we will lose part of our culture and heritage.”
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