NORTHRIDGE : Few Gather for Demolition of Bullock’s Store

Without fanfare or marked ceremony, just a few sightseers gathered behind a guarded chain-link fence Tuesday to watch the demolition of one of the icons of the Northridge earthquake: the Bullock’s department store building at the Northridge Fashion Center.

The building, completed in 1971 before stiff building codes were in place, was among the most photographed images of the devastation caused by the Jan. 17 quake. The quake tore away the facade of the store, leaving onlookers to gape at the structural collapse of the department store and wonder what might have happened had the store been filled with shoppers at the time the quake struck.

Workers on Monday began the long task of tearing down and hauling away the rubble.

Donald Fenning, executive vice president of Cleveland Wrecking Co., said it will take about a month to finish the job. A crew of about 10 started by knocking down the highest, most precarious remains of the building with a wrecking ball Monday.

The wrecking ball may make a reappearance today, Fenning said. But most of the work over the next few weeks will consist of workers sorting the debris with hydraulic equipment so it can be hauled away and dumped.

Fenning, whose firm is also handling demolition of a nearby parking garage, said no dynamite will be used in the removal.

Merle Goldstone, spokeswoman for Bullock’s, said the department store company intends to rebuild the store at Northridge Fashion Center and is negotiating with developers. Goldstone would not give an estimate of the cost of reconstruction.

The demolition provided needed diversion for Naomi Casasanta of Indiana and Annetta Koetje of Michigan, two volunteers from the nearby Red Cross emergency center who took advantage of their first day off in 12 days to come watch the wrecking process.

The volunteers were in high spirits as they raced to snap photos of the heavy equipment before a guard slowly swung the gates shut in their faces. The pictures would be shown to friends back home, they said before heading off to check out the damage at Cal State Northridge.