Whittier : Historic Bricks Won’t Be Used to Reface Apartments

The old bricks used to build Whittier’s historic Harvey Apartments more than a century ago will not be used in the reconstruction of the building, one of many structures destroyed in the 1987 earthquake, because local preservationist groups were unable to come up with enough money to cover their share of expenses, the City Council decided Tuesday night.

Although the building, on the corner of Greenleaf Avenue and Hadley Street, will be covered instead with yellow-white stucco, not all was lost for local preservationists who for months asked that the bricks be reused in the apartments. City officials agreed to find ways to use the bricks in other structures, such as a monument or the new gallerias, scheduled for construction soon.

“It’s a wonderful compromise,” said Regina Phelan, whose grandfather helped make the bricks with mud from the San Gabriel River. “It will all be put together in a very positive way. The gallerias are supposed to be done very beautifully and appropriately. (The main issue) is that the bricks be used in some capacity.”

When debate about the bricks started several months ago, council members agreed that they could not hold Jack Ashley, apartment structure owner, responsible for refacing the building with the old bricks because he was financially strapped. Ashley said he was spending $420,000, about $120,000 over budget, to rebuild the apartments.

As a result, the council said at the time that the city would donate $30,000 to reuse the bricks in the structure if the Whittier Conservancy and the Whittier Historical Society matched the funds.

When the Historical Society decided not to participate in the agreement and the conservancy failed to suggest enough ways to pay for their share of the cost, including architects’ fees and labor expenses, the City Council voted Sept. 5 not to donate the $30,000.