News

Wires cause Hanawalt House fire

James Zuvella and Dave Hammock, workers for Lockwood Construction, tear down and demolish the burnt parts of the Human Resource Building. Hammock mentioned, “The only reason the house will be rebuilt is because it’s a historical building.” The house was destroyed by a fire on Dec. 19. The University is trying to find a permanent home for the HR department. / photo by Reina Santa Cruz
James Zuvella and Dave Hammock, workers for Lockwood Construction, tear down and demolish the burnt parts of the Human Resource Building. Hammock mentioned, “The only reason the house will be rebuilt is because it’s a historical building.” The house was destroyed by a fire on Dec. 19. The University is trying to find a permanent home for the HR department. / photo by Reina Santa Cruz

Tom Anderson
Arts Editor

University of La Verne students and staff returning for the new year received an unpleasant surprise when they found out the historic Hanawalt House, most recently home to the human resources department, had suffered significant damage from a fire that broke out shortly after the start of winter break.

According to reports, the house, located at 2058 Second Street, caught fire at approximately 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 19. Units from the La Verne Fire Department, headquartered just seconds away, responded quickly, dousing the flames by midmorning and leaving between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., according to Chief Human Resources Officer Frank Montalvo.

Investigators were apparently unable to reach a definite conclusion with regard to the cause of the fire, but they said the most likely explanation was that a wire in Montalvo’s first floor office shorted out.

Fortunately, because of the time the fire occurred, no one was inside the building, and no fire fighter were injured during the blaze.

Additionally, most of the HR department’s data was recovered.

“We managed to save about 90 percent of our personnel files,” Montalvo said. He said that all computerized data was backed up on a remote server, and that an outside specialist is in the process of restoring some of the hard drives and paper files.

The Hanawalt House, constructed in 1905 as the residence for former ULV President W.C. Hanawalt and his family, was the oldest building on campus, and one of the oldest buildings in the city.

At the time of construction, the Lordsburg Hotel, the University’s first building, stood across the street on the site of the present-day Wilson Library. Ironically, a plaque commemorating the structure’s centennial had been created shortly before the fire, with the intent of mounting it on or near the building sometime this year.

The Hanawalts moved out of the house in about 1909, said University archivist Marlin Heckman, but a widowed Mrs. Hanawalt returned a number of years later. The house remained in family hands until the early 1970s, when it was purchased by the University and converted into a child care center. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places shortly thereafter.

Debris removal is still in progress, and there are sheets of plywood and stacks of lumber on the porch, but it is not clear what will be done with the building’s remains.

“I know the Board of Trustees and the city would like to rebuild it,” said Charles Bentley, the University’s public relations director. But Bentley, with other administrators, was still unsure which actions will be taken.

As for the HR department, it has been temporarily relocated to the old post office at 2180 Third Street.

“We’re kind of in cubicles right now,” said Maria Sapien, one of the HR department’s administrative assistants. Bentley said the department might be moved to the AAIC building before finally moving into portable offices.

Tom Anderson can be reached at tanderson1@ulv.edu.

Tom Anderson
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