Category: Brick Veneer, Fake Old, And Other Horrors

Posted onBrick Veneer, Fake Old, And Other Horrors

Just A Matter of Time

by 81 Comments on Just A Matter of Time

IMPORTANT UPDATE: This post was published a little over a year ago. The title, “Just A Matter of Time” was spot on; another example of what happens when city funding for things like trees and such get diverted to things like public employee pensions and the obscene debts that they cause:

And there you have it...

 Original Post, September 8, 2010: 

200 Block of W. Valencia Dr.

In allegedly tree-friendly Fullerton, trees are more a liability than an asset when the city has no funds, or no inclination to prune the trees. Let’s consider the case of Valencia Dr. (Redevelopment area, of course) between Harbor Blvd. and Highland Ave., where the residents of this block, which features 70 year old jacaranda trees have recently witnessed a near fatal accident when a huge limb broke off and almost squashed an innocent woman and her two kids while she was driving down the street.

Unfortunately for barrio residents and motorists, there’s no money in the Redevelopment budget to trim the trees after the Agency blew its wad buying up all the low income apartments just 2 blocks to the west. And similarly, the City blew its wad on its public employee retirement plan that pays guys like Fullerton City Council candidate Pat McKinley and former disastrous Planning Director, F. Paul Dudley, over a hundred thousand bucks per year just to stay at home and watch “As the World Turns” and “ALF” reruns.

It’s only a matter of time before both the jacaranda trees along Valencia and the public employee’s retirement fund comes smashing down causing loss of life, liberty and the of pursuit happiness.

Read More
Posted onArts & Architecture

Fullerton College’s New Building Dun Goofed

by 34 Comments on Fullerton College’s New Building Dun Goofed

When this blog kicked off several years ago, one of the first subjects of our discontent was the fake McSpanish horrors being constructed at Fullerton College.

Well,  the buildings are complete and FJC students are submitting their feedback…and boy are things looking ugly. Here’s a hilarious clip of some dudes highlighting a few of the creepier features:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DAVMr9iCds
Read More
Posted onArts & Architecture

Contrasts in Architecture Are Rare in Fullerton

by 10 Comments on Contrasts in Architecture Are Rare in Fullerton

Last month I was walking Independence Mall in Philadelphia and admiring the history and reflecting on what it would have been like in 1776.  As I crossed Market Street to go look at the Liberty Bell I looked left and right scanning the streets.  Then something caught my eye.  The antique cityscape had something shiny and new nestled in between two pieces of historic-looking buildings.

The structure has jutting polished metal forming right angles and contrasts sharply against the backdrop of American history.  The building’s unusual placement on the historic Mall speaks volumes of its purpose, though no billboards announce what that may be.

As I circle the Mall admiring the formation of our Country, my mind and camera wander back to the building, now more striking than when I saw it just moments ago. Seeing the building on the Mall and recognizing the unusual beauty of its presence in that location has caused me to question the direction the City of Fullerton has traveled for decades.

A recent FFFF post brought to light the Redevelopment Design Review Committee’s selections of less than inspiring architecture.

I used to have the strong opinion that modern designs just would not work in our downtown.  After long debates and discussions with friends and my visit to Philadelphia I am confident that it can work well.

Entrepreneurs looking to raise the bar and make their place in Fullerton should look to innovative designs which will stand in contrast to our old and confused architecture.  More importantly, when every other building is a bar or tattoo parlor, business owners need to look at ways of setting their establishment apart from the rest of the herd.

Read More
Posted onBrick Veneer, Fake Old, And Other Horrors

Speaking of Fires…

by 47 Comments on Speaking of Fires…

On August 29th, 2010 at 4:28 am a three-alarm fire was reported in a building structure with six businesses at 306 N. Raymond Ave. About 80 firefighters from the Fullerton Fire Department, Brea Fire Department, Anaheim Fire Department and the Orange County Fire Authority were dispatched to bring the fire under control.

Fullerton Fire Marshal Julie Kunze told the Register “The structure itself is a total loss. We’re estimating the structure itself at probably $2.2 million with unknown content.”

The fire department has taped off portions of the parking lot, as charred debris covered the ground around the badly burned building. The roof had completely collapsed.

That was six months ago. Today the charred building is still charred and the site is now a real eyesore. How long should it take for the city to issue a notice to abate the public nuisance?

If this mess were in Sunny Hills, would it be any different?

Read More
Posted onArts & Architecture

Big Things May Be Coming. Or Not.

by 29 Comments on Big Things May Be Coming. Or Not.

This corner is where it all got started in Fullerton almost 125 years ago.

Now that Tiger Yang’s safely down the road, the building at the northwest corner of Harbor and Commonwealth is being remodeled, or as is more likely, given Fullerton’s history of downtown Redevelopment and design foilbles, remuddled.

Still, it’s hard to imagine anything worse than the aesthetic horror that’s there now – pure 1970s schlock.

Read More
Posted onBig Brother

The Wishing Well, Once A Mayor’s Crib; Now A Bottomless Money Hole

by 11 Comments on The Wishing Well, Once A Mayor’s Crib; Now A Bottomless Money Hole
The Wishing Well Apartments. Someone's wish just came true.

For those interested in obscure Fullerton history, Louis Valasquez lived in the Wishing Well apartments at 466 West Valencia Dr. while serving as the Mayor of Fullerton in 1979.

Those more curious about modern-day Redevelopment Agency boondoggles, may be interested to learn that this past week the Fullerton City Council voted to sell the Agency owned Wishing Well Apartments to an out of town “developer” for $100.

The Fullerton Redevelopment Agency purchased the ol’ Wishing Well for $1,993,433 and paid an additional $60,930 to kick out (relocate) all the tenants that resided in the 16 unit building. On top of that the Agency is going to give the out-of-towners an additional $184,347 to “rehab” the apartments, provided the developer rents the apartments to low income tenants. Here in Orange County “low income” is 50% of the median income – which for a family of 3 is $70,890. This means that people that make around $35,445 will be living in the Brand Spanking New Wishing Well. I’ll bet ya the previous tenants made less than $35,445 per year. So in reality the city kicked out the poor folks in order to replace them with richer poor folks.

Now that’s not very good is it?

And if the units were so dilapidated, why didn’t City Code Enforcement simply cite the landlord and require the units to be standard units?

I think I’ll do a follow-up post and focus on code enforcement failures under Don Bankhead’s and Dick Jones’s years of “leadership.”

Read More