The San Diego History Center received a grant to implement a Junípero Serra Museum Interpretive Master Plan. The plan includes an exhibit chronicling the efforts of George W. Marston who conserved the San Diego Presidio and funded the construction of the Serra Museum in 1929 as the original headquarters of the San Diego Historical Society, now the San Diego History Center. George Marston was the President of the San Diego Chapter Sons of the American Revolution in 1914 -15. He was also instrumental in organizing the 1915-16 San Diego Panama–California Exposition. In 2005, the SAR California Society dedicated a plaque near the Serra Museum that honors the 1780 financial contribution of Presidio Soldados and Native Americans to Spain’s war effort against England during the American Revolution.
Visitors will gain a new appreciation of the landscape surrounding the Serra and how various groups have existed in and around Presidio Hill throughout time and the interplay of the San Diego River over time. Leveraging the sweeping views afforded by the north-facing exterior terraces, new signage will highlight the importance of the river to inhabitants throughout history.
Funding for this exhibition is provided by the San Diego River Conservancy and State Coastal Conservancy through Proposition 84, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Qualify and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006.
In 2005, the San Diego Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution hosted the annual California Society Sons fo the American Revolution Board of Managers meeting at a San Diego Old Town hotel. A major feature of the meeting was the dedication of a commemorative plaque at the Serra Museum (see photo to the right). The plaque honors the financial contribution of the Presidio Soldados and Native America to Spain’s war effort that assisted the colonies in winning the American Revolution. The plaque was mounted on the flag pole that flies the American Flag (see photo). The San Diego Chapter hosted a second CASSAR commemorative program at the Serra Museum during the 2011 CASSAR Board of Managers meeting.
Although viewers of the Serra Museum often think the building is a church, the building was built as the headquarters for the San Diego Historical Society in 1929 by George W. Marston, a prominent San Diego businessman. George was a long-time member of the San Diego SAR Chapter and served as the Chapter President in 1914-15. President Marston purchased the site where the San Diego Presidio was located so that the Presidio ruins could be preserved. Sometime later he presented the Presidio lands and the Serra Museum to the City of San Diego as a gift.