The loss of history and heritage at Fresno’s Armenian Town resulted from city’s neglect

On the morning of June 4, two early 20th century cottages burned in Fresno in what appears to be an arson fire. The houses were part of the Armenian Town Project, which included five residences and a summer kitchen located at M and Santa Clara streets.

The exteriors of the homes had been faithfully restored by the Redevelopment Agency (thereafter called the Successor Agency) as mitigation for a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit, using approximately $1 million of public funds. The completed project was awarded a Mayoral Historic Preservation Award in 2015 in a ceremony held in the Fresno City Council chambers.

The buildings have sat vacant since 2015 waiting for a developer to finish the interiors. There was no security or fire suppression system in place. Neighbors complained numerous times about the houses being open and with homeless activity.

Other historic property owners and developers have successfully protected their investments by installing inexpensive security systems, adding blinds to the windows, and ensuring through vigilance.

The two burned homes, the Alijian-Hoonanian Residence (circa 1906) and the Damirgian Brothers Home (circa 1904), were remnants of the once thriving 60-block “Armenian Town,” which developed here between the two World Wars, due in part to the restrictive covenants that precluded settlement by Armenians in other parts of Fresno.

As with the other three residences on site, these working-class homes were excellent examples of a more restrained Queen Anne architectural style, with spindlework friezes, Chinosserie style wood balustrades, horizontal wood siding and dormer windows with fish-scale shingles. The “Armenian Town Project” celebrates a slice of Fresno’s ethnic and working-class history not found anywhere else in the city.

The loss of these homes is a classic example of “demolition by neglect.” Under the minimum maintenance provision of the city’s Historic Preservation Ordinance, both public agencies as well as individual property owners of historic resources are required to protect the resource “against decay and deterioration” and to prevent demolition of the resource through neglect and vandalism (FMC 12-1626).

Civil and criminal penalties may be imposed, although this provision of the ordinance has been difficult to enforce over the years. The two burned residences are not individually listed on the Local Register, although the entire complex, along with several other commercial and residential buildings, are included in a 2016 “Proposed Armenian Town Historic District,” which pulled both designated and non-designated historic buildings into a district that would provide additional protection and potential monetary benefits for the property owners.

The houses are also adjacent to the John Schmidt Home (circa 1905, Historic Property #055) which could easily have burned had the fire department not responded so quickly.

The district nomination, which includes the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church complex as well as the Valley Lahvosh Baking Co., was reviewed and approved in public hearings held by the city’s Historic Preservation Commission, approved as to form by the Planning and Development Department and the city attorney, and was scheduled for a City Council hearing in early January 2017. The agenda for that council hearing was changed and the consideration of the district was never rescheduled, although no reason for this omission was ever forthcoming.

A local preservation advocate later circulated a petition asking the city to respond to the district nomination. Close to 5,000 people signed this petition, but the petitioner never received a response from city officials.

Why our city has such a casual attitude to its history, and even to ordinances and regulations it has adopted, is baffling. We can do better. History has cache — it sells. The complex should be, and still could be, a source of community pride and a draw for heritage tourism.

It is imperative that the remaining three homes and summer kitchen on site be protected from vandalism and fire. It should be noted that since the fires occurred, the Successor Agency and the Armenian Town Project developer are working in tandem to provide security for the site.

This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 11:20 AM.