San Diego Hardware Counts Losses in Fire but Plans to Rebuild
Bill Haynsworth, sifting through the ashes of the gutted San Diego Hardware Co., pointed a flashlight at dozens of plastic items that had been melted into grotesque shapes, and expressed awe at the fire’s damage.
“It’s like something out of the ‘Twilight Zone.’ The damage done by the heat is incredible,” said Haynsworth, co-owner of the downtown landmark that has stood in the Gaslamp Quarter, on 5th Avenue between F and G streets, for 66 years.
The fire was contained at the back of the store, mostly around the floor area where the fire started and smoldered before erupting in flames. Fire Department officials said the fire began Thursday afternoon under the floor and was probably caused by an electrical problem. Burned floor beams and singed walls covered only a relatively small area at the back.
However, the tremendous heat generated by the fire--maybe as high as 500 degrees, fire officials said--was evident throughout the store.
Office computers, telephones, copying machines and tape dispensers, far removed from the fire but encased in plastic, were melted into unrecognizable shapes. A new computer, the cornerstone of the store’s $72,000 system that tracked inventory, was melted into a hunk of solid plastic. The keys on the keyboard were glued together, but there was no evidence of the flames burning anything around the machine.
“You can sell some of this melted stuff as art deco, Bill,” said a store employee. “Just put some pastel colors on them. Someone’ll buy them.”
Haynsworth and his partner, Rip Fleming, bought the historic hardware store three years ago. On Friday, Haynsworth estimated the cost of the damage at $750,000 to $1 million. He estimated that it would take a minimum of two months “working 14-, 16-hour days” to rebuild.
“We’re going to rebuild. There’s no doubt about it. This is our livelihood and it’s something that Rip and I want to do. Besides, we have 25 people who work for us and rely on this store as their source of income,” Haynsworth said.
San Diego Hardware, which stocks 50,000 items, has a reputation for stocking hard-to-find hardware. The store, which opened in 1892 and moved to its present location in 1920, has played a prominent role in the development of San Diego County. Many of the county’s old and leading homes, including the State Street mansion now owned by former Mayor Roger Hedgecock, were built with hardware purchased at San Diego Hardware.
Much of the store’s attraction lies in its old-fashioned motif, which included turn-of-the-century rounded display windows, oak floors, plain but practical display shelves and corrugated tin tiles with fancy raised designs that adorned the ceiling.
“Our customers like the motif,” Haynsworth said. “It complements the ancient and scarcely used items that we carry because some people still use them. The flavor of the business and store pretty much dictates that we’re going to have to rebuild the store in much the same way as before the fire.”
The computer tapes that contained the store’s inventory were spared in the fire, said Haynsworth, so restocking the shelves when the store is rebuilt will not be a problem. Haynsworth and Fleming were expanding the store, extending it back toward 4th Avenue.
The new wing, which was scheduled to be dedicated in two weeks, escaped damage, thanks to a metal fire door that was recently installed. Smoke from the fire also damaged a computer supplies company on the floor above the hardware store and the vacant Windsor Hotel at 843 4th Ave., which is undergoing renovation.
