Charles H. Tifal

According to the City of San Diego Biographies of Established Masters , 2020, Charles H. Tifal was a Master Builder born in 1882 in Wisconsin. He moved to San Diego in the early1920s and started working with the Master Designer and Builder, Ralph E. Hurlburt. They built many beautiful high-end custom homes together during the 1920s. They specialized in Tutor Revival and Spanish Eclectic styles. They also built in the French Eclectic, Craftsman, and Italian Renaissance Revival styles. Hurlburt and Tifal even published a booklet together entitled, Distinctive Homes, in 1926.

Charles Tifal has 15 buildings that are individually designated as historical resources by the City of San Diego Historic Resources Board. This is an impressive number of historically significant homes.

Charles Tifal built approximately 5 homes in Talmadge Park Estates Historic District (TPEHD). They are primarily Minimal Traditional styled home, which were the design style of the government’s FHA loan program during the Great Depression and build-up to WWII. One of those homes was built for his future business partner Scott King in 1937 at 4614 Constance Drive.

According to historical records (www.Ancestry.com) Charles Tifal was married with two children. He died in 1968 at the age of 86.

Tifal & King

By August 24, 1938, Tifal & King were advertising together in the Evening Tribune Newspaper. Tifal & King built three houses within TPEHD between 1939 and 1940. What they are most well-known for is the Alvarado Road Pump House. (Document #339144, San Diego Contracts, San Diego Historical Society). They last advertised together in the City Directory in 1942. Their last project together listed in the Evening Tribune was in 1944.

According to historical records (www.Ancestry.com) Scott King was born in 1903 in Wisconsin, like Tifal. He was married with two children and died in 1975 at the age of 71. His obituary said he was the co-founder of the “Travel Lodge” motel chain.