Out of Wreckage, Rebirth

At the San Fernando Valley’s only public four-year university, time still seems measured against the Northridge earthquake. More than four years ago, the magnitude 6.7 quake devastated the campus of Cal State Northridge--ruining buildings and casting the lives of students, faculty and administrators into chaos. Slowly, reminders of that destruction disappear as repairs and demolition projects give the campus a new shine. With them, though, small pieces of the school’s past disappear as well.

Last week, for instance, the seven-story University Tower Apartments began to fall under the wrecking ball--a $1-million project to finally dismantle a building that suffered more than $35 million in quake damage. Although the Northridge temblor crippled the University Tower, it had been out of use since 1991 because of plumbing and asbestos problems. University administrators confessed that the earthquake was something of a blessing, giving them a final reason to tear down the looming brick and concrete structure.

In many ways, the building helped transform CSUN from a suburban college of 10,000 students to a metropolitan university with an enrollment of 30,000. Until University Tower was built in 1969, CSUN primarily served local students. Valley residents still make up the bulk of CSUN’s student body, but the university draws from across the country--a testament to its academic and athletic programs. So with each destructive swing of the wrecking ball, the past falls away to make room for the future.