Nixon’s Law Office Targeted for Demolition

Workers are preparing to demolish former President Richard M. Nixon’s first law office, despite efforts from residents to spare what they regard as a historical landmark.

At the behest of the City Council, demolition workers are clearing trash and removing water meters this week from around nine condemned buildings along La Habra Boulevard in preparation for the razing.

Destruction of the buildings, including Nixon’s former office and the Wester Hotel--both built in the early part of this century--is a blow to a group of residents who fought for more than a year to save the structures.

“The city has made a decision to not preserve history,” said Kent Roberts, whose grandfather bought the law office building in the 1930s and owned it until 1966. “Seventy-five years of history will disappear with those buildings, and there’s nothing we can do. We’ll be left with vacant lots for years.”

There are no specific plans for the site, although the city expects to build a senior and community center there, said Edward Evans, director of economic development.

The buildings, long considered an eyesore, were determined to be unsafe because they do not meet earthquake standards. At one point, the city toyed with the idea of restoring the buildings and turning the area into a heritage plaza of specialty shops. Officials said the cost of such a project was too high.

But Esther Cramer, whose family helped found La Habra, said the city did not meet with preservationists to work out ways to reduce the cost or raise special funds.

“We had help from all sorts of preservationist organizations. I think if the city was really interested, there could have been a solution,” she said.

A report submitted to the council in March by county architectural historian Diane Marsh noted the significance of the law office and hotel and their possible eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places.