Owner of Antique Flower Garden fears that City of Santa Clarita will destroy area history.

Manny Santana, the owner of the Antique Flower Garden, expressed some very real concerns about the future of the historic jail building that he currently occupies on Spruce Street in the Newhall area in an article he submitted to the Daily News yesterday.

All of the businesses on this Spruce Street corner, with the exception of the American Legion Hall (at least for now), have been given notices that their properties will be taken by the City of Santa Clarita via eminent domain if these owners don’t "voluntarily" sell their properties to the City in the very near future. Eminent domain lawsuits will be filed in 30 days, to be exact, after the current owners receive the City’s "appraisals" for their properties.

Manny provides some very interesting history of the old jail building that I think is worthy of sharing here. Per Manny:

Through the years, it not only served as the jail, but was used as an attorney’s office, a used car lot, a tire shop, a storage area and presently houses the Antique Flower Garden.

The concept of the jail goes back to 1888 with proposals to construct a wooden two-cell jailhouse measuring 12′x20′ for $236.25 with iron bars or a slightly larger structure 13′x22′ for $248.00 There is some confusion as to whether the wooden jail was ever built at all.

Throughout the years, some additions have been made to the front of the building; a restroom and storage cages were added and a large office area was also added to the rear of the building. Never was the original structure compromised. Its 14 ½" thick concrete walls and concrete roof seem to have withstood the test of time.

Behind the front door lies an open area once divided by bars from its high ceilings down to the floor with its associated doors each heading into the cells. To the right are three small barred windows that allowed sunlight to enter. Across from the steel door on the opposite side of the room is another large barred window designed to provide light and ventilation. Below this window is where the Constable’s desk once stood and near the desk was a potbelly stove that provided heat. A vent through the wall and roof were part of the original design and are clearly visible.

Once in the cells, you can see etchings on the walls from prisoners past; what is not considered modern day graffiti. Two concrete benches lined each cell to accommodate overnight stays; one still exists in its entirety. A drain in the middle of the floor is a reminder that, yes, it was once a working jail and it was used for wash-down. This building was a predecessor to today’s modern jails. It is believed that William S. Hart, Amelia Earhart, Tom Mix and W.C. Fields would spend rainy days playing cards in the jail with the constable.

In April of this year, Manny and the other Spruce Street property owners received two letters: One from Valentine Appraisal stating that they wanted to appraise the properties (cc’d to Barbara Stoll, Acquisition Specialist for the Santa Clarita Redevelopment Agency); and one from the City of Santa Clarita that was a "Notice of Decision to Appraise" and "Notice of Land Acquisition Procedures" (cc’d to Robert Newman, Director of Public Works; Paul Brotzman, Director of Community Development; Chris Price, Assistant City Engineer and Sarona Vivanco, Senior Management Analyst).

This second letter outlined Section 6184 of California Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Guidelines, and Section 6188 of a Notice of Decision to Appraise and Notice of Land Use Acquisition Procedures. Or, in plain English, the City’s right to force the current owners to "sell" their properties to the City of Santa Clarita. In Manny’s words, "Bottom line is that this historic site is now in the first stages of Condemnation Eminent Domain."

One of Manny’s biggest concerns is that it appears that the City of Santa Clarita is considering relocating this historical building, rather than keeping it in place. "Is this our will that we erase our history or heritage? Keep in mind that the jail has certainly earned the right to stay where it was built, but if it does survive the move, it will be just another old building in a County Park. If left where it’s at, it can become a historical site, never to be moved."

"I may be the owner of the old jail or as I like to think of it, the caretaker of it while I’m here on God’s green Earth. This jail is part of our town, our history and each and every one of us should be concerned about preserving Newhall’s history for ourselves as well as our children’s children," says Manny.

So far, the overall public interest in the plight of the downtown Newhall business owners (as well as the owners of residential properties in the area) has been lukewarm at best. Will anyone step forward to help Manny and others preserve the history of the downtown (now dubbed Old Town) Newhall area, or will the jail be moved to join the buffalo at Hart Park instead?

Manny’s wondering whether he should start circulating petitions… seems he should start moving pretty quickly on this, since word is that the appraisal letters are due to be presented to these Spruce Street property owners as soon as the Santa Clarita City Council returns from its break in late August.

Interesting to note is that the designer for the Antique Flower Garden website is "Rising Ashes Productions"… Hopefully Manny will be able to do just that!

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