CENTRAL CITY : Pieces of History Among the Casualties of Quake

Pieces of the city’s history were among the casualties of the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake as dozens of landmark buildings were reported damaged.

A preliminary list compiled by the city’s Cultural Affairs Department soon after the quake found at least 30 such structures were affected, with the damage ranging from a fallen sandstone facade at the Ecung-Ibbetson house on West Adams Boulevard to minor plaster cracks at the Auto Club of Southern California on South Figueroa Street.

Jim Childs, chairman of the Adams-Dockweiler Historic Organizing Committee, estimated as many as 36 homes in that area were damaged by the 6.6 quake and subsequent aftershocks.

“The damages to historical monuments is large,” said Childs, whose home sustained only minor damage. “The larger institutions, such as the Auto Club, had minimal damage and they have the resources to deal with it. But the individual homeowners had a lot of damage, and there is no program to help people with historical homes.”

Among the hardest hit was the Ezra Stimson House at 2421 S. Figueroa St., where the roof was severely damaged. The chimney, parapets and tower were also damaged, said Sister Mary Allen of the Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the order that moved into the house last fall.

The Masonic Temple at 4126 S. Figueroa St. was deemed unsafe by city inspectors. The 70-year-old brick-and-tile building, with elegant blue arches, was cracked throughout.

At the Watts Towers Art Center, a large wall mural was severely damaged, but the towers survived without critical damage.