La Mesa’s new state-of-the art police station looms large at the confluence of University and Baltimore avenues—the largest, most complex and costliest public building ever in our city’s history.

Of course, the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s “Orchids and Onions” jury found the new station to be a bit of an aesthetic “stinker,” bestowing a 2010 Onion Award on its practical but austere façade and site plan. Its designers noted that the new station reflects its practical law enforcement functions (no windows needed for holding cells and evidence lockers) over decorative architectural statements.

Looking back at how La Mesa has housed its peace officers, we see a pattern of similar functional approaches.

According to the La Mesa Historical Society's Pat Kettler, we can trace our first La Mesa-based peace officer to 1908 when Ross Orsborn was named as an “acting marshal” for the Mission Township.  

After incorporation in February 1912, law enforcement fell on the new city.  The city’s first “city marshal” was A.C. Baldwin, who held the job from 1912 to 1917.  A series of short-term marshals followed until the hiring of B.L. “Jack” Mercer in April 1921.  Mercer would hold the job until his retirement in 1940 and convert the City Marshal’s Office into a police department.

Before 1925, the city didn't have its own City Hall/administrative building, renting out space in local buildings for offices and meetings.  In 1925, La Mesans voted for the construction of a new City Hall to be on the east side of Spring Street between Allison and Lookout (La Mesa Boulevard). 

Jack Mercer’s “police force” occupied a room on the first floor of the new two-story City Hall with the second floor used for council chambers and, as necessary, a police court.  By World War II, the Police Department took over occupancy of most of the building’s first floor and became City Hall’s largest “tenant.”

The City Hall had little room for expansion and in 1927 the city added a small one-room jail cell under the exterior stairs of the city’s two-story Fire Department building.  The fire station was across Spring Street and the railroad tracks on Nebo Drive.  The cell was on the south side of the building facing the back alley just north of the businesses fronting La Mesa Boulevard.

In a small town of a few thousand, this simple arrangement worked well enough for Mercer’s force of himself, three officers and police matron Arvilla Beckman (charged with watching over La Mesa’s children and young ladies) until the boom times of World War II and beyond. 

The rapid growth begun during World War II forced the city to recognize that postwar La Mesa would require additional police services, staff and facilities.  In 1946, 32-year old Glenn Adams took over as chief of police for the growing city and expanding police force (La Mesa's population in 1940 was 3,912; in 1950 it had grown to 10,946).

Although City Hall had been given a remodel and upgrade in 1950, the building’s limitations for meeting the city’s growing departments and their staff needs were apparent.  Subsequently, Chief Adams and the city called for separate police facilities to accommodate the growing force—by 1952 it would boast 12 officers and a chief.

In September 1951, the City Council approved the plans of architect Jack R. Lewis for construction of new police and fire stations at the frugal cost of $85,000 for both.  The new, functionally modern but relatively small and austere-looking stations would be on city-owned land on the north side of Allison near the corner of University. 

On June 7, 1952, the two new buildings were dedicated in a ceremony featuring Mayor Miles Nagel, Chief Adams, numerous local dignitaries and the new Helix High School’s band. The City Council was very proud of these civic buildings, as they were able to finance the construction without bonded indebtedness.  The new police station featured the latest in modern law enforcement facilities including photo lab, fingerprinting lab and dedicated radio room.

However frugal the financing, the city staff and station designers apparently did not anticipate the exponential growth of the city during the next decade.  By 1962, La Mesa’s population topped 30,000 and the Police Department now consisted of the chief, a lieutenant, eight sergeants, 24 patrol officers and three administrative secretary/matrons.

Chief Adams, new Mayor Ray Fellows and City Manager Glenn Kendall all recognized the need for a much larger, and even more modern station.  With the development of the Civic Center complex surrounding the previous station, including the new City Hall, Library/Theater and Helix Water Co. buildings, the 1952 station site had few options for adequate expansion.

In 1965, the city hired local architectural firm Des Lauriers-Sigurdson to design a much larger and modern police station. The firm had proven success in designing schools, churches and other public buildings as well as being deeply involved in the city’s "Town Center" redevelopment plans of the 1960s (Fletcher Hills Presbyterian Church being one of Des Lauriers-Sigurdson's notable local Modern designs).  

A site on the south side of Allison between Date and Nebo was chosen for the new police station.  The City purchased the lots and demolished the remaining old houses and commercial buildings to make way for the new station.  In lieu of a typical groundbreaking, Mayor Fellows and Manager Kendall ceremoniously set some of the fires used to clear the site of the buildings--and provide training for the City’s fire department.

Construction of the $200,000, two-level police station building was started in January 1966 with move-in begun in December.  On March 4, 1967, Mayor Fellows led a public dedication ceremony.  The Modern-style structure featured a sublevel with six-cell jail and an indoor firing range within its 15,000 square feet of space needed to accommodate the growing staff of more than 40 officers and administrative police personnel.

The 1966 police station provided a much longer period of functional use than its 1952 predecessor, accommodating the doubling of the force since the 1967 opening.  Although by the 1990s the growing staff had taken all available space and the need for a much larger and technologically updated facility was necessary.

Those needs instituted plans for the current police station, and in 2004 La Mesa voters approved bonds to fund the new facility.   Completed in fall 2010, the new station, which includes nearly 45,000 square feet of office/station space and 49,000 square feet of subterranean garage space, cost roughly $14.7 million but can easily accommodate the current force of over 100 staff plus 50 regualr volunteers, with room for future growth. Clearly, the La Mesa Police Department is now housed and equipped to meet the needs of protecting and serving our public safety well into the future.

Yet it is helpful to look back and see that functional, austere facilities are traditions for housing our civic peacekeepers.  So if some outside critics may have wished for a more elaborate architectural statement, it is good to remember that functional and austere has served La Mesa well—and may just be more our town's “style.”