EDITORIAL

As city leaders continue to debate whether to spend hundreds of

thousands of dollars renovating the controversial Huscroft House, they

have yet to present a compelling argument about the building’s historic

significance.

The idea of a cultural museum in Costa Mesa is a worthy one. With the

city becoming more and more of a cultural center in the county, having a

home for the city’s history and cultural heritage is a fitting addition.

But the question remains: Is the Huscroft House the right building for

it?

Yes, the house has been a part of Costa Mesa for all but one of the

years the city has existed. However, Costa Mesa has been a city only

since 1953, which hardly qualifies as historic, even by America’s

relatively short-lived standards.

The house’s roots go back further, to the 1910s, but it was built in

Santa Ana and spent the first half of its life there. Again, the

significance for Costa Mesa appears thin.

What is a shame is that a true piece of Costa Mesa’s history could not

be renovated to serve as part of a cultural museum at Fairview Park. The

old Fairview Hotel, the Fairview School District’s first school house of

1912 or the Harper Store -- which had a bulletin board that served as a

focus for local information absent a newspaper -- would all have made

obvious choices, were they still around.

But just because the city may lack its own truly historic structures,

is that any reason to adopt another city’s old building?

City leaders who want to renovate the white, two-story,

Craftsman-style house with its a gable roof with exposed rafters need to

answer these questions. And they need to tell residents why, especially

as our economy shows signs of slowing, now is the time to spend such

money.