Despite Protests, Historic Site Is Being Razed to Build Drugstore

Demolition has begun on a historic building in Eagle Rock that residents had tried to save.

“Some of us are extremely depressed about the building; we did everything we could,” said Mary Tokita, a board member of the Eagle Rock Assn.

Piles of lumber and scrap metal covered the property Friday, pounding was heard through the building’s broken windows and graffiti-covered scaffolding lined the sidewalk.

A developer wants to replace the building with a new Walgreens drugstore.

The Streamline Moderne-style building once housed a Shopping Bag grocery store, a 31-store chain in Southern California.

In January, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan to build a 14,065-square-foot Walgreens near the corner of Colorado and Eagle Rock boulevards.

Opponents say the design violates the area-specific plan, which calls for storefront businesses that would increase pedestrian traffic. The intended design for the drugstore includes a large parking lot that faces the street.

“The name of the game is ‘Do it cheap,’ and they don’t even care how ugly it is,” said Pamela Lansden, 59, a 12-year Eagle Rock resident.

To the best of Walgreens’ knowledge, the design complies with the area-specific plan, a company spokeswoman said.

“Ultimately, what the City Council approved does comply with the specific plan,” said city Planning Director Con Howe.

He said the developer was also required to build a separate retail business facing Colorado Boulevard on the same property.

Early in the morning Monday as a large orange crane pulled the structure apart and piles of brick and rubble grew, demonstrators blowing whistles and carrying “WalGREED” picket signs rallied on the sidewalk in front to stop the destruction.

The demolition stopped momentarily because the contractor, CST Environmental Inc., did not have a permit to wreck the building with a crane, said Bob Steinbach, a spokesman for the Department of Building and Safety.

But demolition complying with the hand-wrecking permit has resumed and an additional machine-wrecking permit has been granted, CST site manager Francisco Morales said Friday. He said the building should be leveled within two weeks.

Now, some residents hope to convince the developer to design a Walgreens that fits in with the look of the community.

Los Angeles City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa said he plans to meet with officials from Rich Development Co. later this month.

“I want to sit down with developers and encourage them to work with this community,” he said during a telephone interview Friday.

Officials from the development firm in San Pedro were unavailable for comment Friday.