Bungalows Razed at Chatsworth Park Elementary School

The Los Angeles Unified School District demolished two bungalows at Friday that have served as classrooms for decades.

Beverly Manasse, a second-grade teacher who taught in the structures since 1994, said it isn’t clear why the bungalows were being demolished, but said that they might not have been compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). 

“The district said it would be too expensive to bring to ADA compliance,” she said.

Preparation for demolition began on Thanksgiving Day, according to an official from the LAUSD’s Asbestos Technical Unit, who was supervising the work at 22005 Devonshire St.  He declined to give his name.

“We took out the asbestos yesterday,” he said.  “You cannot get a demolition permit unless you remove asbestos.”

He said the presence of asbestos in the classrooms did not pose a threat to students. Asbestos was commonly used in older construction. It has been used for strengthening cement and plastics as well as for insulation, roofing, fireproofing, and sound absorption. It is safe when locked into a solid material such as floor tiles or roofing materials. However, when those materials are disturbed, cracked or crushed, carcinogenic asbestos fibers can be released into the air where they can be inhaled. So, special procedures are required to remove asbestos.

It is not yet clear how the LAUSD will utilize the space where the bungalows stood.

Leonardo Cristofaro, general contractor with Asbestos Instant Response, the company demolishing the structure, said his company’s job was to simply demolish and remove the buildings.

Dan Huffman, a longtime area resident, said these bungalows may date back to the late 1930s or early 1940s.

“Chatsworth Park Elementary served as a base in World War II to service machine gun nests overlooking tunnels 25-26-27 of the former [Southern Pacific] Lines to halt any attempt by the Japanese to disable the nation's West Coast defense rail lines,” he said in an email to Chatsworth Patch.

Huffman said the demolition is part of  “Bucks for Bungalows,” an LAUSD program that gives the school $25,000 for each bungalow that is identified as unneeded.

The buildings, which were built on an elevated platform, crashed to ground minutes after the 1994 Northridge earthquake struck, Huffman said.  They were subsequently repaired.

An LAUSD spokesman was unavailable for comment.

Tears ran down Manasse’s face as the demolition crew prepared to go to work. In less than an hour, the bulldozer had knocked out the sides of the bungalows, crushed the roof and reduced the structure to a pile of splinters.  Manasse said she started teaching at Chatsworth Park Elementary in 1975, and although she taught in a number of classrooms, “this is the one I’ve been in the longest."

“It was a great room because it was so big,” she said.  “We did plays and art activities.”

Neighbor Kimberly Huffman said both her sons were Manasse’s students.

Since the bungalows were located adjacent to the school parking lot on Devonshire Street, Manasse was typically the first person to greet students as they arrived, Huffman said.