San Pedro's burned out storefronts set for demolition

Demolition is expected to begin as early as this week on the string of coected storefronts in downtown San Pedro that were bued in a predawn fire on Nov. 2.

Permits for the work took longer to secure than expected, but property owner Eric Eisenberg said Monday that it appeared they would be forthcoming “within the next day or two.”

The pre-1933 masonry structure — a string of coected storefronts that rounded the northeast coer of Sixth Street and Pacific Avenue — was not salvageable, Eisenberg said.

Fire investigators determined that the cause was electrical and that the fire began in the rear of northe-most shop at 524 S. Pacific Ave. that rented out caabis-harvesting equipment. The fire began and spread through the building’s contiguous, coected attic space, collapsing roofs as the flames traveled south and then east around the coer, reaching the Waer Grand Theatre but causing only minimal damage to the historic landmark.

Demolition of the 12,000-square-foot structure could take a couple of weeks, he said.

Eisenberg said there are no firm plans to rebuild on the property. With a bid possibly going out to find an outside operator for the theater, Eisenberg said some of the area could be attractive for adjunct theater uses in the future.

Tenants displaced by the fire included a gymnasium and the popular Renz Wear art studio.

In the meantime, to prevent the area from looking blighted, a community paint-out was organized by Linda Grimes, director of the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District, just days after the fire to create large murals on the boarded-up storefronts.

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