Bankers Hill in San Diego in San Diego County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

La Barranca Encantada

Photographed by Liam Williams, May 7, 2026

1. La Barranca Encantada Marker

Inscription. In 1924, San Diego socialites and patrons of the arts, Miss Alice Lee and her partner, Miss Katherine Teats, commissioned renowned architect Louis Gill to build this historic home. Gill's design for a distinctive “Canyon House” features interior rooms radiating from a grand three-story circular oak staircase. Lee also enlisted her friend, master horticulturist Kate Sessions, to terrace the canyon with gardens. Sessions had worked previously with Gill to create the Balboa Park and San Diego Zoo landscapes; here she complemented Gill's design with an array of exterior "rooms" cascading down the canyon from native stone staircases. This house was conceived as a continuation of Lee and Teats' vision for a circle of homes sharing a deep canyon garden interconnected by paths, stairs and terraces. They initiated their plan in 1912 with architect Irving Gill, building four homes across the canyon. Conceptual drawings by landscape architect Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, included a tree-lined boulevard passing beneath the Spruce Street Bridge and providing access to the ocean. During the 1930's and 1940's Howard B. Bard,

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Mayor of San Diego, lived here and hosted many civic, religious and political events on the canyon terraces, prompting it to be widely known as "La Barranca Encantada" (The Enchanted Canyon).

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Horticulture & Forestry. A significant historical year for this entry is 1924.

Location. 32° 44.441′ N, 117° 9.899′ W. Marker is in San Diego, California, in San Diego County. It is in Bankers Hill. It is at the intersection of Front Street and W Upas Street, on the left when traveling north on Front Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3372 Front Street, San Diego CA 92103, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Peninsular Ranges.

It is also in the American Borderlands

and on the Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

on the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are

Photographed by Liam Williams, May 7, 2026

2. La Barranca Encantada Marker

within walking distance of this marker: Spruce Street Suspension Footbridge (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Quince Street Footbridge (approx. 0.3 miles away); First Avenue Bridge (approx. 0.4 miles away); Waldo Dean Waterman (approx. 0.6 miles away); Waldo D. Waterman (approx. 0.6 miles away); Balboa Park West Mesa (approx. ¾ mile away); Cabrillo Bridge (approx. 0.8 miles away); El Indio Shop (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Diego.

Also see . . . Alice Lee (civic leader) (Wikipedia). Overview:

Alice Lee was born on May 27, 1853, in Westport, Essex County, New York, and died on February 18, 1943, in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, living approximately 89 years. As one of the most influential figures of the Social Movement, she had a same sex partner, Katherine Teats, who died in 1952. They were both aspects of the social environment by hosting two U.S. presidents and their wives at their San Diego, California, residence. Lee and Teats are, according to the San Diego Historical Resource Board, "one of the first documented domestic partnerships in San Diego,"
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being documented living together in various Census records; in the 1930 Census, Lee was the Head of Household and Teats was Partner (and not Lodger while often used in such cases). Together they owned various real estate properties in San Diego, had an active civic and social life, and were accepted as a couple.

(Submitted on September 28, 2026.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 28, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 27, 2026, by Liam Williams of Irvine, California. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 27, 2026, by Liam Williams of Irvine, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.