Nixon Says Not to Save Old Law Office

To the chagrin of preservationists fighting to preserve Richard M. Nixon’s old law office, the former President this week told city officials not to bother.

In a letter received by Mayor James Flora on Monday, Nixon said he did not think his old haunt, where he worked from 1939 to 1942, has enough historical significance to keep it standing.

“While I am deeply gratified by the efforts a number of my friends have made over they years to preserve the office I used in La Habra as a young attorney,” Nixon wrote, “I do not believe that the historical value is sufficient that it should be permitted to stand in the way of whatever alternative plans the city has for the property.”

For the past two years, preservationists and city officials here have been at loggerheads over the fate of the brick structure.

The city has plans to tear down the nine city-owned buildings on West La Habra Boulevard, which include Nixon’s old law office and the Wester Hotel, and replace them with a community center. Flora has said in the past that the collection of buildings--long considered unsafe in an earthquake--would be too costly to restore and maintain.

Nixon’s letter will help the city’s stance, Flora said Tuesday, but it won’t dictate what ultimately will be done with the property, known as Old Settler’s Plaza.

The city is waiting for an environmental impact report assessing the historical value of the building. Flora said no decisions will be made until at least October when the report--expected to be completed this week--has been studied.

Meanwhile, former Councilman Kent Roberts, who is a leading member of the preservation group, said Nixon’s go-ahead to the city will not deter his group from continuing its fight to restore the law office. in a building, built in 1917 or 1918.