Route 66 in the News
Drive-In to come down in Azusa
2004-09-21 16:37:08
For years, Dean Vonn of Sa-Vonn Computer Service has been waiting for the walls of the former Azusa Foothill Drive-in to come down.
His wait won't be much longer.
The laborious, painstaking process of photographing and documenting each corrugated sheet- metal panel is about to begin.
"It's time. It looks shabby and degrades the area," Vonn said. "I want to see students move in. I see them as potential customers."
Azusa Pacific University bought the 18.5-acre property for $6.1 million on Aug. 17, 2001. The private Christian university plans to build dorms and classrooms on the property at 675 E. Foothill Blvd.
The plain panels will be taken down one by one and stored. The property has been added to the state's California Register of Historic Places, so university officials are playing it safe in case the wall has to be put back together again.
The 4-foot- by- 12-foot panels stretch the length of four football fields and have deteriorated. University officials say the wall has become a hazard.
"We have had a number of incidents where sheet metal panels ... have blown off in high- wind conditions. We are concerned about the safety of citizens walking and driving on Foothill near the drive-in property as well as students, employees and guests who park in the drive-in lot,' said APU General Counsel Mark Dickerson.
Yvonne Vargas, a loan processor for Castlerock Realty directly across from the former drive- in, said during the last winds she saw panels fly off the wall.
"It was very scary. If it can't be repaired to keep its historical meaning, yeah, go ahead and take it down if it poses any threats or danger,' Vargas said.
Digna Orozco, owner of Silvia's Bridal Boutique, agrees with her neighbors.
"We're afraid. Always with the winds, it's too easy to come off,' Orozco said.
Not everyone is happy to see the pinkish tinged walls come down.
Azusa Mayor Cristina Madrid fought to keep the university from tearing it down along with the historic marquee and screen.
"The drive-in, what a loss. We are losing our sense of place," Madrid said. "This is a resource for the entire world based on Route 66, the car culture and the great American dream of being under the starry starry nights of Southern California. We think modern is better, yet we lose who we are in the process."
The preservation and restoration of the marquee are still under review.
The single-screen, 1,600-car drive-in hasn't operated in its original capacity for years. In 1961, it opened with great fanfare with the showing of Disney's "Babes in Toyland.' The last remaining of Los Angeles County's 50 drive-ins is the Vineland in Industry.
~ Marianne Love, Pasadena Star-News
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