Historical Society Waits in Wings for New Home to Be Renovated

Jerry Welker, 74, feels at home with Azusa history. The only problem is that Azusa history doesn’t really have a home.

Nearly a year has passed since the Durrell House, a two-story Spanish Colonial home, was dedicated as a city museum and official home of the Azusa Historical Society. Yet most of the historical society’s archives and artifacts are still in storage, as the group’s members wait for city officials to come up with enough money to finish restoring the house.

“I’m the curator, but right now I’ve got nothing to curate,” Welker said.

“We have heard promises for three years and nothing has been done,” said Jack Williams, president of the historical society. “I understand that government can move very slowly, but it can get disheartening at times.”

Williams, 73, whose family came to Azusa in 1886, says his main concern is keeping the society going. “I’d hate to see it lost,” he said.

The historical society, which began more than 75 years ago and now has about 100 members, established its first museum in City Hall in 1970. Three years ago, when City Hall’s west wing was remodeled, the museum was asked to move out temporarily until a new location could be found.

At about the same time, the Durrell House, built in 1923 for Moses Thompson Durrell, Azusa’s first mayor, was donated to the city by Durrell’s family for use as a museum.

In April, 1987, the house was moved from its original location at 575 E. Foothill Blvd. to the park behind City Hall.

Restoration work began the following fall. The house was formally dedicated on May 13, 1989, even though the second floor still needed renovation, and still does. Its hardwood floorboards have been ripped up and must be replaced, the walls need a new coat of paint and doors lack doorknobs.

“We moved in some of the larger pieces of furniture for the dedication, but until the house is completed we can’t move in the rest,” Williams said. “When you have workers coming in and out, you can’t have valuable things lying around. We can’t be here every day to make sure no one takes anything.”

Fred Diaz, the city administrator, said refurbishing the building was intended to be a “multi-year project.” Because of other funding priorities, he said, this year’s budget didn’t include any money for renovation.

“There are a lot of competing interests vying for money. . . . We have to have priorities,” Diaz said.

Moving the house and refurbishing the first floor cost $220,000, Diaz said. He said he is unable to estimate what it will cost to revamp the second floor.

Mayor Eugene Moses promised to push for action on the renovation.

“No one brought this to my attention. Now that I know, I will definitely put it on the council agenda,” Moses said. “I think (the historical society) is a healthy thing. . . . We have to preserve our history.”

The house was donated by Durrell’s daughter Bernice, 78, who lived in it before she donated it to the city in 1986. She said she cannot understand why the renovation has taken so long.

“They have been very slow in fixing the house,” Bernice Durrell said. “They dedicated the house when it really wasn’t ready yet, and I don’t think the historical society should move in until everything is ready because they have too many valuable things.”

Welker, an Azusa resident for 40 years, has an unlimited supply of lore about the city, which was home to Shoshonean Indians before Spanish explorers and settlers came to the region.

“Did you know that the Andrews Sisters recorded a song called ‘Azusa’? We have that album,” Welker said.

The society’s historical artifacts, some dating back to the late 1800s, are still in storage at the city yard. They include farm tools, cooking utensils, dishes, silverware and clothing. The society also has hundreds of pictures and documents.

“We have high school annuals going back to the early 1900s,” Williams said. “A lot of people would come to see the annuals looking for their old friends. . . . All this stuff is packed away now and no one can get to them.”

Tony Ramirez, chairman of the city’s Cultural and Historical Landmark Commission, said the historical society is “a tremendous asset, and it is not forgotten about. . . . It is at a standstill until funds are available.”

In the meantime, Williams has been trying to keep the society together. Its members hold meetings four times a year in the city library.

“It’s really tough keeping it going when you don’t have a place of your own,” he said.

Williams, a 30-year member of the group, has also been trying to make sure the community doesn’t forget about the past. When the museum was operating out of City Hall, it provided tours to local schools, clubs and retirement homes and was a research base for high school and college students working on history projects.

Now Williams takes the museum to them. With two boxes full of pictures dating back to the turn of the century and an endless supply of stories about Azusa’s past, he visits local high school history classes.

“We have to go to them to preserve the history and keep the kids interested,” Williams said.

Welker, meanwhile, says he worries about the future: “Most of our members are older, and a lot of them have died within the past few months. . . . I sometimes wonder if we’re going to be around to see this new museum.”