THE SIERRA MADRE EARTHQUAKE : City Officials Fear Upton Sinclair’s Home Could Face Demolition From Quake Damage

Author Upton Sinclair’s former home, damaged by the Sierra Madre earthquake, is in danger of demolition, say Monrovia officials who want to preserve it.

The Myrtle Avenue home where the late writer lived from 1941 to 1962 was knocked off its foundation by the 5.8 earthquake that rocked the San Gabriel Valley almost two weeks ago.

Community Development Director Don Hopper said owner Steve Hastings came to City Hall and talked to officials about tearing down the home.

Hastings said he had no comment about whether he will seek to demolish the two-story stucco home. He said he was forced to move out of the house after the June 28 quake.

Hopper, however, said Hastings told city staff members that engineers from his insurance company inspected the home and determined that it couldn’t be repaired.

The Spanish Colonial Revival-style home is on the National Register of Historic Places, said city historian Steve Baker. It was built in 1923.

Hopper said he wrote Hastings after his visit that the home must first be reviewed by the state Office of Historic Preservation to determine if it can be repaired.

But Ray Girvigian, chairman of the state Historical Building Safety Board, said state law only requires such a review and encourages preservation. It doesn’t prevent demolition, Girvigian said.

After the review, the owner is not obligated to save the home, Girvigian said.

Paul Sheedy, who heads Monrovia’s building department, said the home is not in imminent danger. He said building inspectors found small interior cracking and slight foundation shifting on one side. “It needs work, but it’s certainly savable,” Sheedy said.

Hopper said Hastings told city officials he will rebuild the home using the same design and some of the architectural pieces from the existing home.

But that’s not good enough for Hopper.

“The city’s interest is that we have a good number of older buildings, and the home is one of the city’s most significant buildings. Our concern is to preserve the past history of our city. . . . We want to make sure that our old buildings are not demolished if they can be repaired.”

Upton Sinclair wrote more than 100 works, including “The Jungle,” a realistic novel that exposed corruption and brutality in the Chicago stockyards. The book followed Sinclair’s conversion to socialism. He also dabbled in politics. His most notable campaign was for governor of California in 1934, when he won the Democratic nomination by offering a program to end poverty. He was defeated in the general election.