Battle Brews Over Fate of 3 Displaced Pier Shops : Preservation: They sit in inland exile while various Huntington Beach factions debate whether they merit inclusion in plans for the new pier.

For decades, the three small buildings commanded a million-dollar view. Perched on the edges of the Huntington Beach Pier, they had vistas of ocean and miles of beach.

Today, however, the three little shops sit ignominiously at the rear of the city’s vast work and storage yard at 17371 Gothard St., 4 miles from the ocean. The brown-and-cream-colored buildings, with their fanciful roofs and wall decorations, look like displaced toys. Weather-worn signs tell their names: the Tackle Box--Tackle, Bait, Rentals; Captain’s Galley--Fish, Chips, Chowder; Neptune’s Locker--Beer, Sandwiches, Smoked Fish.

For three generations, thousands of people from all over the world stopped in these shops on the pier. And now, as the tiny buildings sit in inland exile, they have become the objects of a preservation fight.

On Sept. 4, the city removed the three buildings from the pier, which is scheduled to be razed by late October and rebuilt. Preservationists vow to see the three old shops returned to the new pier.

Barbara Milcovich, archivist for the Huntington Beach Historical Society, said: “These buildings very much were a part of the character of the old pier. When the old pier is destroyed in a few more weeks, these buildings will be the only remnant left, and they should be preserved. With a little cleaning, and some windows restored, they’d be charming on the new pier.”

A city advisory group, the Pier Design Committee, overwhelmingly disagrees with Milcovich. By an 11-1 vote, the committee decided that it would not be feasible to restore the three former pier shops to the new pier.

Councilman and committee member John Erskine said: “These are nice buildings, and maybe they can be saved and placed somewhere else in the city, but the committee believes they’re just not safe for the new pier. These old buildings are just held together right now with tape and baling wire. We just don’t want to put unsafe buildings on the new pier.”

Councilwoman Grace Winchell, also a member of the Pier Design Committee, argued that the old buildings “would not be beneficial to the shape or harmony of the new pier. It’s different when you have buildings on a street. In this case, however, you’re removing the basic structure--the old pier--that the buildings once were part of.”

Jerry Person, chairman of the city’s Historic Resources Board, was the only member of the Pier Design Committee to vote for keeping the old shops. He disagreed with Erskine’s contention that the buildings are unsafe.

“These buildings are in good shape,” he said. “And what better way to incorporate a historical look into the new pier than by using some of the old pier itself? These are Art Deco buildings, and there are very few Art Deco buildings in this city.”

The three shops reflect the geometric style of Art Deco in their tiered blocks and decorative circles. The old bait shop features the curious mix of a mansard roof--a 17th-Century French design--on a 20th-Century Art Deco building. Milcovich believes that the eclectic combination of styles adds to the shop’s charm.

“These three buildings date back to the 1920s, and they’re an important part of the city’s history,” she said. She also noted that the city received a $1.3-million federal grant for the new pier and that the funding is contingent on the city’s incorporating a historical element into the pier’s design.

Milcovich is leading a letter-writing campaign, through the city’s Historical Society, to pressure Mayor Thomas J. Mays and the rest of the City Council to save the buildings.

Mays said that he is sympathetic to the idea but that the city must have hard evidence that the old buildings are safe and of actual historical value. He said the city is hiring an expert to make such an assessment.

“Actually, this is a decision that probably won’t be made until about a year from now,” he said. “It’s something the new council members being elected this fall will have to decide, after the city gets a report from the expert.”

In the meantime, the three old buildings wait for the verdict. Humble as they are, Milcovich said, the little shops are city treasures.

“You can read a city by its commercial buildings,” she said. “These are interesting old parts of our old city. No city should wipe away the memories of its past.”