{"id":6875,"date":"2019-07-10T08:31:11","date_gmt":"2019-07-10T15:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=30000000486"},"modified":"2019-09-06T14:33:32","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T21:33:32","slug":"csulb-soroptimist-house-earthquake-damage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/news\/education\/csulb-soroptimist-house-earthquake-damage","title":{"rendered":"Soroptimist House at CSULB, damaged by recent quakes, closed as plans move forward for alumni center"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Cal State Long Beach was a bare, treeless expanse, the Soroptimist House opened as an unassuming but cozy student union for the new college. It was christened in January 1957 with a formal tea.<\/p>\n

Last weekend, the mid-century modern structure, already termite-infested and rotting, was red-tagged, after suffering \u201cmajor damage from the recent quakes,\u201d according to an assessment sent last weekend to campus officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe building has further settled, structural connections have been further compromised and load-bearing columns\u201d can no longer handle proper loads, Mark Zakhour, director of design and construction services, wrote to administrators. Officials closed the building and made plans to evacuate the Interfaith center, the last group using it. The Soroptimist House will likely be torn down by fall and replaced with a new 6,000-square-foot alumni center.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Soroptimist House was deemed unsafe after a pair of earthquakes near Ridgecrest on July 4 and July 5.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While campus officials had long planned to repurpose the old building, it\u2019s a sad end for a structure that figured prominently in the campus\u2019 early days. And preservationists are not happy.<\/p>\n

Lee Brown, who graduated with an English degree in 1960, recalls the ranch-style house, which has a meeting room, kitchen and tiered garden out back, as a \u201cpretty bare bones\u201d gathering place for student leaders as well as fraternities and sororities. In 2013, he told the Daily 49er the house was \u201ca generous gift to the campus \u2026 it would really be a shame if it was just allowed to turn to dust.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paula Riley, a CSULB grad who now teaches performing arts at Wilson High School, remembers doing a cabaret in the\u00a0 soroptimist house around 1998. “We had theatrical lighting and little cafe tables … it was awesome,” she said. “The perfect spot.”<\/p>\n

In the mid 1950s, the Long Beach Soroptimists raised money to design and build the structure and donated it to the Associated Student Body, an auxiliary funded by student fees. Lois Swanson, then a beloved associate dean of students, was a member, as were several staffers at the time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Soroptimist House of Long Beach. Photo appears to be from early 1960s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Soroptimists (literally \u201cbest for women\u201d in Latin) were formed to help empower women and girls and raise money for scholarships. Once a robust group with hundreds of members, the Long Beach chapter<\/a> now has about 40 members, but still raises tens of thousands a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was homelike,\u201d said longtime Soroptimist member Renee Simon. \u201cIt was for students. The campus was only about six years old, there was no place to chat in between classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we\u2019re saddened to see Soroptimist House replaced, we\u2019re pleased it\u2019s served its purpose well for so many years,\u201d said Long Beach Soroptimist past President Diane DeWalsche.<\/p>\n

The house was designed by local architects Francis O. Merchant and J. Richard Shelly. Shelly also designed the Petroleum Club, another mid-century structure with a shaky future. The Petroleum Club, built in 1958, is in escrow and its fate is uncertain.<\/p>\n

The Soroptimist House got a 700-square-foot addition in 1961, reportedly designed by Edward Killingsworth, the famous Long Beach architect who laid out much of the Cal State Long Beach campus.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Soroptimist House of Long Beach. Photo appears to be from early 1960s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the Soroptimists are resigned and said they\u2019d be OK with a plaque on the new\u00a0 Anna W. Ngai Alumni and Visitor Center<\/a>, the Long Beach Heritage people are not.<\/p>\n

\u201cA plaque is not good preservation,\u201d said Long Beach Heritage Executive Director Sarah Locke, adding the house is \u201ca significant part of the early campus history. It\u2019s the first student union.\u201d She added the Soroptimists have a legacy of support and \u201cit has significance as a mid-century residence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact that the structure will soon see the wrecking ball is a blot on an otherwise stellar record, said Locke, who called CSULB \u201cone of the most cohesive campuses in the Cal State system. It\u2019s one of the best master-planned campuses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles Phoenix, the L.A.-based author, humorist and expert on mid-century architecture Americana, said the Soroptimist House is \u201cnot only a California classic style but it is also rare. There are very few of these structures still standing.\u201d<\/p>\n

As rare as it may be now, mid-century modern doesn\u2019t always hold up well, said CSULB assistant professor Tom Tredway, who teaches architecture and design history. \u201cOne of the challenges with historic preservation is that the architects often embraced new materials like Formica and Masonite that were often cheaper \u2026 and those new materials don\u2019t wear well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Soroptimist House continued to be used as a meeting place on the growing, space-starved campus, even after the University Student Union went up in 1970. By 2012, former Associated Students Executive Director Richard Haller was telling the student senate that the building had no maintenance fund and its condition was deteriorating. Then-ASI President John Haberstroh told the Daily 49er in 2013 that \u201ceverybody has great ideas for what we can do with the building, but the issue is where we are going to get the money. It\u2019s a Catch-22.\u201d<\/p>\n

ASI spokesman James Ahumada issued a statement saying \u201cthe Soroptimist House has a long history on campus and ASI is proud to have played a part in that. Over the years ASI has invested in the 64-year-old facility as a venue and meeting space for many student organizations, departments and our alumni. Of course, as the student body grew and more venue space became available on campus, such as the USU, the use of the facility lessened over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the most utilized space at the facility was the back patio, which hosted events such as ASI\u2019s Poet\u2019s Lounge and the Alumni Association\u2019s Concerts in the Grove. The most recent structural work was completed in this area to level the pavers and install a deck.<\/p>\n

LBSU President Jane Close Conoley said the university took control of the building three years ago, not long after student leaders got an assessment that fixing the Soroptimist House would cost an eye-popping $800,000.<\/p>\n

By then there were no plans, she said, to renovate the deteriorating house, but to turn it into something new when the money came in. The new alumni center will be three times bigger than the Soroptimist House and will serve as a modern gathering place for students and alums to connect, supporters say.<\/p>\n

The president said she\u2019s open to incorporating the house\u2019s rich history into the new structure. \u201cI think we can make a compromise with them in terms of using the new building,\u201d Conoley said. \u201cWe want the new building to have a historical part \u2026 \u2018Here\u2019s the history of the university.\u2019 We can highlight contributions of the Soroptimists.\u201d But, she added, \u201cIt would be ridiculous to rebuild something that has no practical use for us now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While campus officials had long planned to repurpose the old building, it\u2019s a sad end for a structure that figured prominently in the campus\u2019 early days. And preservationists are not happy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":247,"featured_media":70492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3294],"tags":[3,52],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[3295],"class_list":["post-6875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-instagram","tag-csulb","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/247"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6875"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=6875"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}