Historic Building

In response to “Hearst Hassle: Demolition of Historic Herald Examiner Building Weighed,” Jan. 10:

A small but beautifully detailed relic sits on my porch; it is a sad reminder of a fateful decision made by the Community Redevelopment Agency some years ago. It is an even sadder reminder of urban blight brought about by a lack of corporate foresight. The Southern California Gas Co. insisted that it needed to demolish the First Methodist Church to make way for new corporate offices. Today, the new corporate offices are elsewhere and the site remains a parking lot.

I am outraged to read that Southern California is about to lose another piece of its past. As a woman architect, I am furious that the Hearst Corp. is considering the demolition of this wonderful building by Julia Morgan. The Hearst Corp. doesn’t even have a seemingly valid reason for this destruction. Rather, the building has become a headache for property management and it would be easier, in the short term, to replace it with a parking lot.

Our city’s history of urban development is only about 100 years old, yet corporate interests seem to be tearing down our architectural heritage faster than we are building it.

It would be to the credit of corporate planners if they could be moved to work with the city to find an alternative use and financing to bring this monument back into public use--and public enjoyment.

JULIA TAKAHASHI, Long Beach