Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

George Werner, left, and Greg Crum, board members of the Redwood Mutual Water Company, stand by the foundation of the new community pavilion, eight years after the Loma Prieta earthquake destroyed the old one.

Redwood Estates gets its pavilion back

Mountain community waited eight years for new facility

By Shari Kaplan

Residents of the small community of Redwood Estates in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Oct. 17--the anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake-- stopped to reflect upon the event, then looked ahead and proceeded with the building of a new community center and pavilion on the site of the original one, which was damaged beyond repair by the 7.1-magnitude temblor.

For some 70 years prior to the earthquake, the building known to many as simply "The Pavilion" hosted weddings, Boy and Girl Scout troop meetings, community storytellings, the annual Redwood Estates Halloween dance party and the monthly meetings of the Redwood Estates Mutual Water Company, of which resident George Werner is board president.

"We're building it on the same footprint as before, but the building is a different shape," says Werner, who chairs the Pavilion Project committee. "The Pavilion acted as a meeting place and really gave a sense of community."

According to Werner, residents also used the Pavilion as a recreational center, while people from neighboring mountain communities were welcome to use it for their functions as well. The original Pavilion was more like a large gazebo, which over the decades was remodeled to accommodate walls, a fireplace, adjoining offices, a kitchen and other amenities.

The foundation for the new Pavilion was poured earlier this month; most of the lumber has now been delivered, and the windows are ready as well, Werner says.

The construction company has even employed some local residents to help with some aspects of the building process. Because the Pavilion's construction is funded by monies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), it needs to be finished by the end of this year, Werner said.

"We're so excited that this has finally come to jell. After many years of planning, it's finally coming to be," says Redwood Estates resident Barbara Salazar, who works for the water company and is active on the Pavilion committee.

"We can finally have our dances and potlucks again and get our community spirit back in order. Community morale is going to be astronomically changed," she adds.

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