News Blog
Historic Hall Set For Demolition
March 29, 2011
The Building Official of Pacific Grove has deemed the deteriorating Brokaw Hall a danger to the public, and has ordered the historic building be demolished.
The building is located inside the boundaries of what is now the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary and was built in 1914 by Del Monte Hotel manager Holden R. Warner, who is believed to have planted the eucalyptus trees favored by the famed monarchs of Pacific Grove.
The demolition order comes after several inspections over the past two months.
According to Pacific Grove City Manager Thomas Frutchey, the city will fence off the property and take the 30 days given to best decide how to go forward with the demolition and possible salvaging of the historic fireplaces and chimneys on either ends of the building.
Frutchey is working on getting a public meeting together as soon as next week in order for residents to weigh-in on how the city should proceed.
The building formerly served as housing for students and staff at the Del Monte Military Academy. The Great Depression saw the end of the academy, and the property was used as a forestry camp during the 1930s. Although it was remodeled into a duplex rental unit in the early 1990s, it was boarded up several years later and never inhabited again. It has been in a state of disrepair since that time and, according to the Building Officials report, infested with termites, saturated with water and settling into the ground beneath its rotten wooden foundation.
Photo and information furnished by Esther Trosow and the [pgmonarchconservancy.org[1]
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