Ginty, John, House
Why it's listed
This two-and-a-half-story wood-frame house at 1568 Ninth Avenue sits at the top of Cortez Hill in downtown San Diego. Built around 1886 in the Victorian Stick style, it was enlarged on its south side between 1889 and 1899, when a five-sided corner tower and an extended wrap-around porch added Queen Anne character. It has a flat-topped hipped roof, cedar shingles, horizontal shiplap siding, knee braces, brick chimneys and tall, narrow windows with rounded tops. The house was moved two blocks from its original Seventh Avenue site in 1999 and rehabilitated under the Secretary of the Interior's Standards. It was listed for architecture because it shows both styles and the transition between them. It is also the only survivor of the first four large homes built on the hill, once called Prospect Hill, during San Diego's 1880s boom. A 2002 garage on the lot is not counted as historic.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a well-preserved example of the Victorian Stick style with transitional Queen Anne elements, illustrating the shift between the two styles. It is also tied to San Diego's 1880s residential development on Prospect Hill (Cortez Hill), where it is the only survivor of the first four elegant homes built there.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 06001157, listed December 18, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1568 Ninth Ave., San Diego |
|---|---|
| County | San Diego County |
| Listed | December 18, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06001157 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Stick, Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used as a single dwelling; relocated and rehabilitated in 1999-2000, and a 2002 garage is noncontributing. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 32.72341, -117.15774 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 06001157.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q5754258
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.