A celebration featuring vintage period garb, hors d’oeuvres, a hosted bar, and a live “Gatsby Gang” jazz band will be held on Saturday, Sept. 14 at the Point Loma Assembly at 3035 Talbot St.

The memorable event will commemorate the 110th birthday of the community clubhouse and cultural center, which was first established in 1914 by a group of 28 civic-minded Peninsula ladies as a community meeting space.

The Peninsula Beacon sat down with Point Loma philanthropist Dorothea Laub, and Assembly president Sally A. Bixler, to discuss the community hall, its history and purpose, and what it means to the community.

Bixler produced a booklet made last year containing historical photographs outlining the history of the community hall up to the present. The booklet points out annual memberships and rental income fund the assembly’s work of supporting community nonprofits like the Peninsula Shepherd Center for Seniors, Point Loma Summer Concerts, and the Point Loma Association, a nonprofit doing extensive landscaping, public art, and other beautification projects.

“A legacy fund was established in 2016 with donations from community members that supplements monthly rental income to ensure that excellent stewardship of the property continues,” noted Bixler in her booklet’s president’s message. “The future looks bright for Point Loma Assembly as it continues as a gathering place for the Peninsula community, and as a shining example of a neighborhood organization working together for the greater good.”

“The Red Cross came here during WWII and they rolled bandages,” noted Laub adding, “But the hall was used for all kinds of historical things.”

Bixler said Laub came along after 2010 and “revived the assembly” which had dwindled to 14 members and had “fallen into disrepair.” She added, “The (original) membership built the building, which we’re celebrating, which is pretty much all redwood.”

Laub said the building needed a major refresh and overhaul because it no longer met public meeting standards. “They couldn’t rent it; they couldn’t do anything, it was an asset that did nothing but eat money,” she said.

Bixler pointed out that’s when Laub stepped in to, “Rally the troops and save this building.”

“They (Peninsula leaders) bugged me to get involved, but I’d never even been in the building (until then),” said Laub adding, that once she visited the building, she fell in love with it. “People like us who are so involved, the more we get involved, the more attached we become,” said Laub, who noted the assembly building now “Is like a sacred place.”

“Our priority is maintaining the house, inside and out,” said Bixler.

Laub pointed out there was a lot of work that needed to be done to make the building usable and presentable. The overhaul included replacing carpeting with new flooring, as well as refurbishing the kitchen, bathrooms, and fixtures.

“We just wanted to celebrate our building and that it’s lasted: It is a community treasure,” said Bixby of the assembly’s upcoming party. She concluded, “Dottie’s made this happen, and is a big reason why we’re still here. Her commitment to making the building look as good as it does – it’s infectious for the rest of us to have that same mission.”

POINT LOMA ASSEMBLY HISTORY

The idea for the first women’s civic organization in Point Loma began in 1911, at a time when ladies had no clubhouse and were gathering in each other’s homes. Twenty-eight Point Loma ladies assembled to organize a local improvement society on Nov. 6, 1911, creating the Point Loma Assembly, which was incorporated on Aug. 30, 1913.

The first Point Loma Assembly meeting in the new building was held on Sept. 21, 1914. Since then, the assembly hall has been home to a group of men and women meeting monthly to promote literary, social, educational, philanthropic, civic, and artistic work in the Peninsula community.

The clubhouse soon hosted a variety of functions, everything from Campfire Girls to Sunday School and church services, parties, civic meetings, election polls, dancing classes, plays, city library deposit stations, and a Christmas party for school children, as well as assembly meetings.

In 1917 during World War I, the clubhouse was turned into Red Cross work rooms for sewing and knitting for troops overseas. Many dances were hosted for members of the United States Military.

Frank Jennings, Roseville pioneer, real estate mogul, and San Diego County Sheriff, stepped in to help Point Loma Assembly plan their clubhouse. On Nov. 26, 1935, F.S. Jennings Co. generously “sold” Point Loma Assembly, Inc. the land on which the clubhouse stood for $5.

On Dec. 7, 1941, during World War II, the assembly again became a Red Cross Distribution Center for all of Point Loma. The next 50 years saw the club grow to over 160 members. Gardening classes, annual flower shows, art exhibitions, music, square dancing, philanthropic work, and social times continued to be held at the community hub.

In 2004, the clubhouse was given an overall upgrade/update with paint, new carpeting, window coverings, chairs, and kitchen appliances. In the last few years, the carpet has been replaced with new flooring, air conditioning, stage curtains, drapes, lighting, a sound system, and wi-fi capability. The clubhouse is used extensively by Point Loma Playhouse.