The city council of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., unanimously awarded historic landmark status to the Cucamonga Service Station, located on Foothill Boulevard (aka Route 66), reported the Contra Costa Times.
Receiving such a status does not mean the two buildings – the structure once used as a gas station that faces the street and the former garage behind it – are completely safe from demolition, but it adds an additional layer of review should owners of the property want to destroy it. […]
Mayor Don Kurth said it’s important to preserve buildings like the Cucamonga Service Station, because there aren’t many buildings older than that in the city.
“I’m really a property rights guy. I think if you own a piece of property, you ought to be able to do whatever you want with it,” Kurth said. “However, I think there are some special pieces of property that we ought to preserve for our community.”
That’s what I call sensible policy by the mayor.
A photo of the service station can be seen here.