Quick Take
Preserving old buildings isn’t just about history — it’s about sustainability, writes Joe Michalak, who has lived in Santa Cruz since 1974 and is on the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. Reusing structures reduces waste and saves resources while keeping the character of a community intact, he says, citing beloved local spots like the Tannery Arts Center, Rio Theatre, Old Sash Mill and Seabright Cannery. These projects prove that adaptive reuse supports both the environment and local culture. Saving buildings means saving stories — and passing them on, he writes.
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May was Historic Preservation Month and has made me think about sustainability, a term that is frequently used in property development to convey compliance with a set of standards that focus on energy efficiency, waste reduction and water conservation. It is a buzzword that appears in the developers’ checklist.
But I have another question: While these buildings are considered sustainable today, how will they fare decades from now as they age and their use changes?
Historic preservation is about long-term viability and sustainability, not just efficiency. In terms of sustainable historic preservation, buildings can be “recycled” by adaptively reusing them as their function changes. In this way, materials can be preserved and adapted without sending them to the landfill.
Santa Cruz has abundant examples. The Lezin family’s Salz Tannery, that smelly old tannery, transformed into the Tannery Arts Center, all the while adapting and reusing the existing structures and creating a showcase for housing.
Other notable places that we often forget about because they’ve existed in their current form and use for decades are the Rio Theatre, Old Sash Mill and the Seabright Cannery.
Twenty-five years ago (April 2000), the Rio Theatre was added to the City of Santa Cruz’s Historic Building Survey. The Streamline Moderne Rio, built in 1949, was celebrated at the time for its state-of-the-art, curved “Cycloramic” screen, designed to create a three-dimensional illusion of depth. By 1999, with declining ticket sales, the theater closed to face an uncertain and perilous future. The following year, Aptos resident Laurence Bedford acquired the Rio and transformed the venue into the thriving performing arts showcase it is today, giving new meaning to the phrase “people saving places.” Bedford joined the small cadre of visionary entrepreneurs who recognized the long-term financial benefits of restoring and rehabilitating historic structures.
Here are two more examples of sustainability in practice, not theory.
Leland and Marian Zeidler came to Santa Cruz from Los Angeles in 1973, after selling their share of the family’s Zeidler & Zeidler chain of men’s clothing stores. They acquired the run-down Sinkinson Planing Mill on Potrero Street with the idea of transforming the dilapidated buildings into a mixed-use commercial property, with a live-work component suited to the needs of startups and small businesses. They initially opened the Coffee Pot & Kitchen Vendor in one of the old buildings.
As a gifted storyteller, Leland would frequently offer vignettes about the merchandise, from the lowly potato peeler to the high-end espresso machine. The store was crammed floor-to-ceiling with utensils. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had a white chocolate crossbow in stock. His charming, engaging personality belied a shrewd businessman and over time the business flourished, creating jobs and tax revenue.
The Zeidlers added new buildings that sensitively complemented the original circa-1906 structures — preserving the historic character of the site, now called the Old Sash Mill. Their vision transformed a decrepit, ramshackle historic site into a thriving enterprise. By rehabilitating the historic buildings, retaining their architectural character and integrity, they succeeded in reinvigorating a deep-seated connection to a long-forgotten aspect of Santa Cruz history.
The closing of the Seabright Cannery in 1989 after 75 years in operation prompted great alarm in the Seabright community. Concern over what suitable businesses would fit with the neighborhood was quickly assuaged when local entrepreneur Richard Novak creatively filled the unusual space. Within a year, a skateboard manufacturer and a sailmaker occupied the vacant structure. Today, the cannery is home to numerous small enterprises, including a coffee roaster and an ingenious climbing gym, offering the simulated experience of navigating cliff faces and boulders in a weather-free environment.
When the Seabright Cannery opened in 1914, there were about a dozen residences in the immediate vicinity of the industrial site. Seventy-five years later, surrounded by residences, finding compatible businesses became challenging. With a few minor setbacks, the owners have successfully retained the structure’s unique integrity and transformed the building’s use while improving its neighborhood compatibility. A case study in sensitive adaptive reuse.
The Rio Theatre, Old Sash Mill and the Seabright Cannery are classic examples of sustainability. Reusing and adapting existing structures reduces the need for new construction, reduces significant energy consumption and waste generation. The original architectural features and character have been preserved as the buildings have been repurposed rather than sent to the landfill — significantly reducing waste.
Preserving historic buildings is not just about preserving bricks and mortar.
It’s about preserving the stories and memories of the people who lived and worked in those buildings, the events that took place within their walls, and the values and ideals they represent. By preserving these buildings, we honor the contributions of the people who came before us, and we pass on a tangible link of our shared past to future generations.
Joe Michalak is a member of the City of Santa Cruz Historic Preservation Commission. He speaks for himself and not for the commission. He is a retired medical database executive who moved to Santa Cruz in 1974 to work for UCSC and other software startups.