In the 1860s, Frank Kimball and his family rolled into Rancho de la Nacion along the southern end of San Diego Bay and decided to call it home. He built a house, bought land, and started businesses. Kimball’s legacy is alive and well more than 150 years later as the founding father of National City.
“This feels very sad, looking at the building in this condition,” sighed Nancy Estolano while standing outside the hall’s gates.
Estolano said Granger Music Hall last hosted an event in 2008. It’s been shuttered since. The City of National City now owns the building. National City Mayor Ron Morrison said the city is still trying to find the $7 million it will take to move the hall to nearby El Toyon Park. Plans to move the hall to Pepper Park were scratched after a deal with the Port of San Diego could never be reached.
“We thought it would be closed for two years during the move, but those two years have become 15 years,” said a disappointed Estolano. Torres hopes Granger Music Hall can be saved. She said it’s an important part of National City’s history that needs to be preserved alongside the house built by the city’s founder, Frank Kimball.Today, National City is the second oldest city in San Diego County, but it has the 12largest land size. It was home to the first San Diego County Fair in 1880. The city's central park is named for its founder.
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