Sightseers Flock to New Valley ‘Attractions’

The Northridge Fashion Center, heavily damaged in last week’s earthquake, became the most popular photo opportunity in Southern California on Saturday, judging from the hordes of camera-toting sightseers who flocked there.

“I just want to get some of this on film,” said Jeremiah Jennings of Acton, peering into the eyepiece of a video camera pointed at the wreckage of the mall’s parking structure.

Jennings was one of thousands of people visiting the mass destruction over the weekend. Motorists cruised the damage route adjacent to the mall along Nordhoff Avenue, taking advantage of every pause in the backed-up traffic to jump out of their cars and take snapshots.

Another popular tourist destination was the site of the Northridge Meadows apartments, where 16 people died. As if the residents in the surrounding area, cleaning up after the quake, were invisible, people strolled down the streets toting video and still cameras. They took pictures of cracked walls, broken windows and shaky stucco facades.

Some who came by apparently felt guilty about intruding on the misery of others and offered to pitch in and help quake refugees haul and load furniture onto the moving trucks that lined the street, said Mindi Renner, whose grandmother lived in one of the buildings.

Some visitors, however, claimed a valid reason for coming by. Jennings said he came to help his daughter, who lives nearby, dig out from the temblor. His pictures of the collapsed mall structures were a bonus.

Simi Valley residents Susan and Paul Opel came to find out if Northridge suffered as badly as news reports described. They felt their city, which also was hit hard, has been ignored in the crush of coverage focused on the San Fernando Valley.

“We feel much better now,” said Paul Opel, as he gazed at the growing mountain of twisted steel and concrete being formed from the demolition of Bullock’s and the adjacent parking structure.

Weary Los Angeles police officers directed traffic, trying to keep cars from slowing or stopping along streets clogged with moving vans and residents trying to clear out.

“We’re just doing a great, big circle around the mall trying to keep traffic flowing,” said Officer Sean Meade, as he and partner Dave Tulk pushed motorists along, like cowboys moving a cattle herd.

Frank Espin of Westchester and Kathryn Boorer of Mar Vista admitted that they came out to the Valley to view the effects of the quake for themselves.

“I wondered if people would hate us if we showed up,” Espin said, fiddling with a camera that hung from his neck. “We don’t feel that comfortable about doing this.”

But for some of the evacuees in the 19000 block of Nordhoff Avenue, gawkers were hardly the problem, according to Sid Whittert, who lost his home of 22 years and a lifetime of mementos.

“We don’t pay attention to it, we’re just concerned with ourselves,” said Whittert, carrying stereo equipment to his car from his battered condominium.

“We came out alive, and that’s all we want,” he said.

Carol Weiss, who was helping her elderly parents move from their devastated condominium to her home in Newbury Park, noted that the looky-loo phenomenon was hardly unique to earthquakes.

“Just look what happens whenever there is a fender-bender on the freeway,” she said.

“Everybody stops.”