One of the oldest Crescenta Valley buildings demolished
One of the oldest buildings in the Crescenta Valley was demolished this week to make way for a new one-story, 1,889-square-foot, single-family home.
The small stone cottage consisted of three stone walls joined to a wood-framed structure. Historic records date it back to as far as 1905, according to a city report, but some historic preservationists claim the building has an even earlier origin — despite a lack of records to prove it.
The city of Glendale was established in 1906 and the area where the home was located was spotted with orchards and a few buildings at the time, said Mike Morgan, a Historic Preservation Commissioner, who was saddened by the demolition.
The building’s destruction, which stems back to city meetings from 2007 and 2013, was approved because the Historic Preservation Commission at the time did not consider the rock structure a historic resource because of significant changes, such as the replacement of the original roof and original front entrance.
Some preservationists said this week that they were disappointed to see the building razed.
“It was just amazing. It always took everyone’s breath away. When this was built, there was nothing there,” Morgan said, adding that it was ironic that one of the oldest buildings in the Crescenta Valley was torn down in May, Historic Preservation Month in Glendale.
As a condition of the demolition’s approval, the developer agreed to salvage some of the rocks from the structure and incorporate them into the new construction.
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