Pasadena Unified to demolish tower at Eliot Arts Magnet, citing structural concerns
The Pasadena Unified School District, citing structural concerns, announced that it will demolish the beloved tower at Eliot Arts Magnet.
Altadeba residents said the tower has stood as a beacon for generations, and before anyone demolishes the tower, they want to make sure everything is being done to save the building.
"You wouldn't think a building would mean so much, but that tower, it just told us where we were," resident Shé Shé Yancy-Simmons said.
Residents like Yancy-Simmons said the tower symbolized their home, especially after many of the historic buildings in Altadena were destroyed in the Eaton Fire.
For months, residents said they heard that the tower could be saved. They were heartbroken when PUSD announced it would be demolished after architects and engineers deemed the building unsafe, and insurers had said they could not go forward with the tower.
"Because we are a community that is healing, in our infancy of healing," parent Victoria Knapp said. "This announcement is like the ripping out of our hearts."
Members of Altadena's Land Use Committee shared their frustration at what they call a decision that came out of nowhere.
"We weren't part of the discussion. I don't think anyone in Altadena," Nic Arnzen said. "If you pick up this dirt, this is Altadena dirt. It's not Pasadena dirt. I think you need to involve this town."
Arnzen said the committee didn't know what would replace the tower.
In a statement, the district said engineers found "significant structural concerns," which included "fire, heat and seismic-related impacts."
The demolition has not been scheduled. PUSD board member Jennifer Hall Lee said the board was not part of the district's decision to tear down the tower.
"I personally believe we're going to rebuild and reimagine it," she said.
Residents hope to restore the tower by raising funds to preserve it.
"After what's happened over the last year and a half, it's just something that would help us rise from the ashes," President of the Altadena Historical Society Veronica Jones said.
