HUNTINGTON BEACH : Vandals Taking Toll on Old Buildings

For three years, two historic buildings have sat on wooden blocks behind Newland Center, boarded up and encircled by a chain-link, barbed-wire fence.

And while the city continues to study how and where to display the relics of its past, vandals have been taking a harsh toll on the weathered structures. Officials say that portions of the old church and house already are unsalvageable, and they fear they may not be able to save the buildings unless restoration gets under way.

Since 1988, the structures have been perched atop Ted W. Bartlett Park, a bluff overlooking Adams Avenue and Coldwater Lane, where they were moved after being forced from their downtown locations by the city’s redevelopment efforts.

Preservationists have lobbied city officials to turn the park into a haven for historic structures, anchored by the vintage house and church.

But the city, lacking funds to restore the buildings, let alone create a historic village around them, has been able only to conceptualize what might occur.

The structures have remained, unoccupied, unattended and unlighted behind a shopping center. Loitering, minor vandalism and three fires--which officials say were started by transients seeking refuge in the buildings--have accelerated the aging process.

For reasons unknown to police and other officials, the buildings have taken a particularly savage beating during the past month.

The 1920s-era church has suffered the most. Brick chunks lie at the foot of the building, apparently used as projectiles to punch holes in the plank siding.

Next to the church lies an overturned stairway and a pile of wooden rubble, the splintered remains of the church’s steeple tower.

“The tower is hopeless. It can’t be saved,” said Jerry Person, chairman of the city’s historic resources board. An adjacent storage building, once used as an outhouse, is also in bad condition, perhaps beyond repair. The house, built in 1906, has stood up better against the elements, but it is starting to decay.

“Almost all of this has happened just within the last month,” Person said. “But there’s not much we can do about it without any money.”

Ronald Hagen, who last month took over as the city’s community services director, said he is making a new effort to secure financing that would salvage the restoration project. He said the city may be able to dip into redevelopment funds because the buildings were moved from a redevelopment area.

If the historic village is to become a reality, officials must first decide whether Bartlett Park is the best location, how to restore and maintain the buildings, and whether they will be modified into museums, shops, meeting rooms or other uses, Hagen said.

“No one has tackled those issues yet. And we can’t do anything until these things are discussed with the council,” Hagen said.

He plans to discuss various proposals with the historic resources board next month, and hopes soon after to present a proposal before the council.

“The best thing we can do” to curtail vandalism, Hagen said, “is figure out a program, get (the buildings) in the ground and restore them.”