House and history to be debated

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- The price of history remains a controversy among City

Council members, who will today consider moving the Huscroft House into a

permanent spot at Fairview Park.

In December, the council unanimously approved the restoration of

Huscroft House, a craftsman-style home dating back to 1912, for use as a cultural museum at the park.

The move from TeWinkle Park, where the house is boarded up and

standing on blocks, was bid at $137,707. In 1998, the city paid about

$54,000 to move the donated house from 2529 Santa Ana Ave. to TeWinkle

Park. Since then it’s been awaiting the move to Fairview Park.

Tonight, the council will consider awarding a $174,900 contract to

Alexander Associates to move the Huscroft House from TeWinkle Park to

Fairview Park. The additional money would cover placing the structure on

a foundation and making other improvements.

The council will also decide whether to begin restoring the house.

Staff has estimated the cost at $47,500 to begin the project and $189,750

for the total restorations.

Council members have had drastically different opinions on the value

of the Huscroft House.

Councilwoman Linda Dixon has said she considers the house an important

piece of Costa Mesa history.

“The important thing to remember is that Costa Mesa is only 50 years

old,” she said. “This house has been in this town for almost the same

length of time so, while it is not the oldest house in the city, it

certainly is right up there. This would be an outstanding community

project and a great way to get the community involved.”

Moving the house from TeWinkle would serve another purpose, she added.

“It would go into Fairview Park, which is on the Westside of Costa

Mesa,” she explained. “We continue to talk about improving the Westside

and bringing cultural venues there and this is the first step. This could

add so much to the community.”

Councilman Gary Monahan, however, says he thinks the house is “fluff.”

“We have much more basic things we need to spend money on,” he said.

“We don’t have money for fluff. The economy is good and we have projects

coming up that could bring in revenue.

“If someone private wanted to do this project or if someone would come

up with a way for it to make a few grand, that would be fine,” he added.

“But we do not have the money to throw around in the budget.”

Mayor Libby Cowan has previously supported moving and restoring the

Huscroft House, while council members Karen Robinson and Chris Steel have

been silent about their opinions.

None of the three was available for comment by press time.