Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Historic preservationists want a closer look at Kerful Cleaners

By Jeff Kearns

Although an independent consultant has said the Kerful Cleaners isn't worth much in terms of architecture or historical significance, the Historic Preservation Committee wants to be sure before it gives Diane Ogilvie the OK to demolish it.

Committee members asked Ogilvie to tear away part of one wall to see what's underneath, and if what's there doesn't look like much, they say they will approve the demolition.

Ogilvie wants to put a hotel on the site, at 220 E. Main St., and demolish the cleaners along with Siam Thai Cuisine and La Strada restaurants. Several years ago the committee concluded the building should not be demolished, but now members say it depends on what kind of materials lie beneath the façade.

A historical evaluation report prepared by MBA Architects of San Jose had little praise for the old building, which went up in the early '30s. "To be considered historically significant, a building must have associated with it an historic event, a distinguished owner, a renowned architect, be architecturally significant or contribute to a historic district. None of these things are true for Kerful Cleaners," the report says.

It continues: "This is facade architecture at its worst! In terms of building mass, construction system, and use of materials, the building is a disaster. Other than the fact that we're used to seeing it there, the Kerful Cleaners offers nothing to the community in an urban planning sense."

Committee member Susan Burnett disagrees and opposes demolition.

"It may not be a Queen Anne house, but it's still a part of the town," she says.

The building's closest claim to fame is that it was once operated by former Town Treasurer Jim Stoops for more than two decades, starting in the '60s.

Committee members acknowledged that the building didn't look like much, but some said that there might be a whole different building hidden underneath the stucco facade.

The Historic Preservation Committee will take a look at what's under the stucco and continue discussion at its next meeting.

Plans for Ogilvie's hotel, which have gone through several iterations since she first submitted them to the town in 1991, have been pared down. Thirteen units of townhomes have been deleted this time, leaving the plan with just a hotel.

The project should be considered by the Planning Commission and Town Council sometime this summer.

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