Threat to history

It’s a small red cottage with a yard and a picturesque view from its living room similar to many homes in Huntington Beach. What sets it apart is that it may be one of the city’s oldest, and it may not be standing for long.

The city bought the house Feb. 6 for $900,000 to make room for an expansion of the Garfield Avenue and Delaware Street intersection. Relatives of the former owner of the house at 7761 Garfield Avenue say they were forced to sell under threat of eminent domain.

Bruce Gabrielson, grandson of former owner Helen Gabrielson, claims that when his father was fixing up the place, he found that the nails were the old square type, and there was no insulation in the walls ? suggesting origins in the late 19th century. Gabrielson is worried the city may now try to demolish the cottage without trying to save it.

“They’ve [the city] been promoting the Newland House forever,” he said, referring to the 1898 Victorian cottage long thought to be the oldest home in Huntington Beach.

Gabrielson thinks the city does not want to find out if the Garfield cottage predates the Newland house. “The Mexican community around there knows that it’s the oldest house. The nails that came out of the house are 1800s, we were told,” he said.

The Garfield cottage’s location behind a bigger house has led skeptics to believe that it was probably an outhouse or the maid’s quarters. No one knows the historical significance of the cottage, but Kate Hoffman of the city’s Historic Resources Board believes it was probably missed because of its hidden location when the city started to survey historical structures in the city.

The Gabrielson family bought the home in 1967 and were told by their Mexican neighbors that it was the oldest house in Huntington Beach. Although the family has sold the house, they say the cottage may predate the Newland House by almost a decade, and its architectural style ? with wide vertical boards for walls ? reflects the late 1880s.

Nonetheless, the house will probably be demolished, said Janeen Laudenback, superintendent of recreation, health and cultural services.

Laudenback said representatives of the Historical Society of Huntington Beach have taken a look at the house and decided that even if there was a desire to move it, the house doesn’t seem to be in a condition for traveling.

“From the Historical Society’s observation, the house is quite old, but the city currently doesn’t have a program to move, relocate and maintain the house. So it does appear that the house will be lost,” she said.

City officials are willing to work with residents who are interested in saving the cottage, said Steve Holtz, the city’s real estate manager, who cited past instances of such cases.

Holtz said roadwork on Garfield Avenue will continue through the summer, and he plans to ask the Public Works Department to submit an application to the Historic Resources Board to review the cottage. hbi.20-oldhouse-kt-CPhotoInfoEO1Q3G3720060420ixy59kncKENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT(LA)This house on the corner of Garfield Avenue and Delaware Street could be one of the oldest in Huntington Beach. It will likely be razed due to the expansion of the intersection.