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Volume 8 Issue 190
Santa Monica Daily Press WAR’S OTHER CASUALTIES SEE PAGE 7
We have you covered
THE JUNE GLOOM ISSUE
Greyhound sign disappears
COMMUNITYPROFILES
MAGGIE HALL
BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
DOWNTOWN Nina Fresco was waiting at a
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com
HALL
Emeritus College dean retires after 35 years BY MELODY HANATANI
traffic stop on Colorado Avenue one recent day when an odd yet familiar sight caught her attention. Tied to the back of a truck heading south on Lincoln Boulevard was the Greyhound Bus sign that for decades stood on top of the terminal at 1433 Fifth St. “It just drove away,” Fresco said. A member of the Landmarks Commission, she immediately called the city staff liaison who deals with historic preservation matters, asking if there was any information about where the sign was headed. “It looked like it was tied in a way where
they were trying not to hurt it,” Fresco said.“It was not like it was being taken to the dump.” The disappearance of the sign, which is composed of a leaping greyhound above the word “bus,” was recently the topic of discussion at the commission’s meeting last week when officials debated whether to jump-start the process of historically designating the building’s iconic marker. But landmarking could prove difficult for a sign that is no longer in place. “We can’t file an application for something that’s not there,” Fresco said. The sign was taken down on May 28 — the same day the commissioner saw it — by the building’s new tenant, Comerica Bank, which is planning on opening its first Santa Monica branch in 2010. Alfredo Padilla, spokesman for Comerica Bank, said the sign was moved during reno-
vation in order to prevent damage. “The sign was removed with great care, placed upon pallets and shrink wrapped to be stored in a safe and secure location,” Padilla said. “We care about the sign and we know it’s very iconic in our community and we wanted to make sure there was no damage to it.” Comerica is planning on renovating the building, not demolishing it. “We’re doing some exterior upgrades and at the end of the day, we’re going to make sure it’s a good-looking branch for Comerica Bank,” Padilla said. Mark Romney, whose family has owned the property since developing it into a terminal in 1955, said he was well aware that the tenant was going to remove the sign SEE SIGN PAGE 8
Daily Press Staff Writer
SECOND STREET There are reminders every day that Maggie Hall will soon close out a 35-year career with Emeritus College, from the potted white orchid sitting on the conference table, to the bag of freshly-baked cookies on the desk, a gift from a student. Then there’s the giant poster hanging in the elevator, showing a smiling Hall, below it an invitation to an upcoming send-off. Her eyes well up with tears and voice wavers as she speaks of the support received from students over the past six months, hearing stories of how the college changed their lives, and in some cases, saved it. It was a reaction that Hall was not expecting. “You can’t put that much energy into something and not feel it made a difference,” she said. “The reaction of the students has been overwhelming.” The 62-year-old will retire at the end of this month, finishing a chapter of her life that started with Emeritus College’s founding as a secretary, working her way up the ladder to the associate dean. Born and raised in the Sunshine State, Hall, who always had dreams of being an educator, taught art at Pompano Beach High School in Florida for three years before relocating to California in 1971, working as a training assistant for Dean Witter for another three years. Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com
SEE CP PAGE 9
GONE? A Greyhound sign that stood atop a property at 1433 Fifth St. has recently been removed to preserve it during renovation.
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