Iconic school building to start demolition

Robins Hall, the venerable building at Newport Harbor High School whose clock tower has served as a visual symbol of the school for 77 years, is set to be demolished starting Thursday morning.

Deputy Supt. Paul Reed said the wrecking ball was expected to start work at 8 a.m. The building, which formerly housed the school’s theater, classrooms, administrative offices and more, closed in 2003 due to seismic concerns.

A near-identical version of the building is one of the projects listed for Measure F, the $282-million school bond that voters passed in 2005. Reed said the demolition would take approximately six weeks and work on the new building would start in the late fall.

He said the district anticipated a crowd to watch the wrecking ball in action and advised onlookers to stay on the opposite side of the street for safety reasons.

“After five years of preparation, everyone, both at the site and in the community, has been anxiously waiting for this day,” he wrote in a memo to colleagues.

“So many good people have worked so hard to get the project to this point.”

The district has set up a webcam online that will show snapshots of the demolition in progress.

The link can be found at www.nmusd.us/cameras.

— Michael Miller