San Bernardino County said goodbye to two landmark buildings in downtown San Bernardino last month.
The county began the demolition of the buildings, both built in the 1960s, that once housed the county’s Hall of Records, at 172 W. 3rd St., as well as the Public Health building next door, at 351 N. Mountain View Ave., in early July. Both buildings were damaged in a fire in 2022.
Twenty-five years ago, the county moved its Hall of Records operations to the current site at 222 W. Hospitality Lane; the Public Health department remained at the location until the fire.
Since that move, the previous building served as office space for several county departments until it was damaged in a fire in June 2022. No employees or customers were harmed in the fire, which took place on Father’s Day weekend, according to county officials.
The damage to the buildings was “irreparable,” according to the county.
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It took two years for the county to complete fire remediation and environmental and hazardous materials abatement before demolition could start because of the building’s age and modifications made before current regulations were in place, according to county officials.
Both buildings have been reduced to rubble, according to county spokesperson David Wert, and the process of clearing the site will continue into next year.
The site will then be paved over and used as a parking lot until another use for the land is identified, he said.
Nick Cataldo, a local historian and member of the San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society, said he hoped to see a more cohesive plan for the use of the land where the buildings once stood.
“If we’re going to tear down some old buildings with history, there has to be a collective effort to move forward and have a plan,” he said. “And I don’t see an overall, a solid plan.”
Cataldo said he wasn’t opposed to seeing several fast-casual and diner restaurants in the lot where the buildings would be, since it would serve the community.
“I think there needs to be a core somewhere where you have two or three businesses close together, opening up, where it’s lit up and people are going to be drawing there,” he said.
