Saving historic Shire building urged

By: NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer | Friday, January 5, 2007 10:05 PM PST ∞

TEMECULA ---- Deteriorating or not, the 98-year-old Shire building in Old Town still has some friends.

Despite the building owner's desire to level it, the Temecula Valley Historical Society unanimously recommended Friday that the city do everything in its power to preserve the building.

"I believe we should preserve the building as it is, completely," said Historical Society member Eve Craig. "This is probably the most historically significant site in Old Town. And it seems that Old Town is becoming 'New Town.'"

The Historical Society is strongly opposed to the destruction of the Shire building, at the corner of Main and Old Town Front streets. The 2,500-square-foot, terra cotta brick building is the oldest building in Old Town.

Richard Leigh is the owner of the building now known as the Enchanted Shire home interiors boutique. He said he has been losing money with the boutique and has unveiled plans for a three-story building to be built where the old store now stands. The new 17,000-square-foot structure with Spanish-style architecture would include retail stores and a coffee shop on the ground floor, a restaurant on the second floor and apartments on the third floor.

However, the Historical Society is just one step in the process leading up to a decision on the building's fate. The Old Town Local Review Board will also weigh in on the issue. The final decision will be made by the Planning Commission, unless it's appealed to the City Council.

Commissioner Paul Price said that when he toured the Shire building in December there was water flooding up from portions of the floor and the bricks were pulling away from the wall. Portions of the ceilings were damaged and the walls were cracked.

"The building looked unstable and is in a state of decline," Price said. "It can be repaired; it's just a matter of dollars and cents."

Price said the Shire building, as well as all other historical structures in Old Town, should be added to the federal historical preservation registry.

Commissioner Bill McBurney suggested Leigh try to build around the brick structure to retain the historical importance of the building. Commissioner Leslie Karp suggested the city assist the property owner financially to retrofit the building.

"It's not just the building, but it's also the history of the building that is important," said Darell Farnbach, who recently ended his term as a commissioner on the Historical Society.

The building was built in 1909 by Macedonia Machado, a man described by Historical Society members as a pioneer of both old and new Temecula. The store on the corner of Main and Front streets was known as the Mission Store and sold general merchandise, as well as hay and grain.

Granite was also sold from the building and numerous slabs of granite still sit behind the old store. The building was later purchased by the Vail Company and was used to store seed grain.

Sometime in the late 1960s the building became the Long Branch Saloon. It was at that time when the local legends arose of Hell's Angels bikers, Indians, cowboys and lawmen carousing at the bar. In 1979 the Hope Lutheran Church leased the building for one year, said Farnbach.

Since then the building has been mostly remembered as the Shire, which sells antiques.

"I think the people who buy historic buildings need to consider their responsibility in preserving what was, and is, the fabric of Old Town Temecula," Farnbach said.

Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.