Groups Trying to Save 1929 Building from Demolition : Development: Preservationists hope to persuade the city to reconsider plans to tear down the Public Service Building.

Preservationists aim to fire their best shots next week when the City Council is expected to decide the fate of the 63-year-old Public Service Building, which has been marked for demolition.

Members of the Glendale Historical Society and other groups will ask that the city reject as inadequate an environmental-impact study that estimates the cost of preserving the six-story building at $5.5 million and pans the architectural significance of the Art Deco/Moderne-style structure.

They argue that the report, to be brought before the council Tuesday, is biased in its conclusions favoring demolition of the building at 119 N. Glendale Ave. A hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 613 E. Broadway.

The city’s three-member Environmental and Planning Board last week unanimously accepted the environmental study as adequate. Admirers of the old building, anticipating defeat before the council, are threatening to sue the city.

A $20-million replacement building is scheduled to be completed in September. Named the Perkins Building in honor of retired City Manager C. E. (Gene) Perkins, the four-story structure is being erected less than 20 feet from the old building--closer than building codes permit--because the city plans to demolish the Public Service Building and replace it with an expanded civic center plaza.

Earlier studies by the city found that the steel-reinforced concrete structure, built in 1929, would be dangerous in the event of a fire because it has a center stairwell, and outmoded plumbing and heating systems. It houses 175 employees, who will move to the Perkins Building along with several city departments now scattered in leased offices. The new building will have 95,000 square feet, compared with 36,856 square feet in the old structure.

Preservationists argue that the Public Service Building is architecturally significant. It was designed by Alfred F. Priest, a prominent local architect who designed more than 40 residential, commercial and institutional buildings in the city in the 1920s, according to historical reports. Supporters include the historical society, the Los Angeles Conservancy, the American Institute of Architects, Taxpayers to Save Glendale $Millions, the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles and several homeowner groups.

They cited favorable reports in a preliminary environmental study that found the design of the building worthy of preservation and estimated renovation costs at as little as $420,000. The earlier reports conflict with conclusions in the final report drawn by local architect Charles Walton and a construction consultant, Turner Construction Co. of Los Angeles.

William M. Scott IV, an attorney representing the conservancy, called the final report evasive because he said it does not “address the most rational alternative”--preserving the building and leasing it for office space.

Arguments have raged for months on both sides of the preservation issue. Councilwoman Ginger Bremberg, for instance, who favors demolition of the old building, declined while serving as mayor earlier this year to accept an award in honor of the building from the Art Deco Society.