UPPER LAKE — A nearly 75-year-old building at the Mendocino National Forest Upper Lake Ranger Station was demolished Friday to make room for construction of a new ranger station.
Tamara Schmidt, a public affairs officer for the forest, said the building, which was constructed in 1938, was a residential structure that was converted into an office.
“Due to modifications that were made, the building did not meet standards for historic preservation,” Schmidt said.
This was the second building demolished to make room for the new ranger station. Schmidt said a gas shed, which was also constructed in 1938, was demolished approximately two weeks ago.
She said two more structures will be removed: a garage constructed in 1938 that is being used as a conference room and the main office, which was constructed in 1967.
Schmidt said there was discussion of some people interested in moving the buildings to save them but no one followed through. She said the buildings were offered up for sale, which is federal government procedure.
“They were advertised for sale,” Schmidt said. “Nobody bid on them.”
She said the buildings were destroyed because it was too expensive to move them. She said it was estimated to cost $40,000 to move the buildings 20 miles on the back of a flatbed truck; demolition of the building cost approximately $8,000.
Four more buildings constructed in 1938 remain at the ranger station. Schmidt said University of California, Davis personnel will move one of those structures to a site in Lakeport following the construction of the new ranger station while the others will remain onsite.
Schmidt said the demolished 1938 buildings had numerous health and safety issues.
“It came to management”s attention that people were working in a warehouse environment without climate control or plumbing,” she said. “Conditions were poor.”
She said remodeling the existing structures was not an option because they needed more space.
Schmidt said construction of the new building, which is estimated to cost $1.74 million, will begin soon and is estimated to be completed by next summer.
“We tried to design the new building”s architecture to be sensitive to the historic nature of the remaining structures as well as the town of Upper Lake,” she said.
The 10,000-square-foot building will house an estimated 68 employees upon completion.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14. Follow on Twitter: @KevinNHume.
