Demolitions are usually not to be celebrated, unless they mark a rejection of the past. That wasn’t what was going on last Friday morning when city officials, donors, alumni and community members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin gathered to watch the walls come down at the Healdsburg clubhouse built 80 years ago.
Part of it, anyway. The interior had already been stripped in the days before, so the task of opening up the original 1949 building, to which later was added a gymnasium still in use, fell to the backhoe from Holly Contractors that took ever more telling bites from the wallboard and frame wall.
Which is when the cheers and applause from the attendees broke out to officially mark the start of the rebuild project.
“Today, Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin celebrated the beginning of construction on a new, state-of-the-art Healdsburg Clubhouse at 555 Piper St.,” said Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Weiss.
“For generations, the Healdsburg Club has been a second home for our youth—a place where they’ve found belonging, encouragement and opportunity. Today’s event honors our legacy while building a space designed for the future—one where all children can learn, dream and grow,” she continued.
The club serves youth ages 6-18 from all communities, with approximately 125 youth attending daily. Its affordability and availability make it attractive if not essential for working class families to continue to keep their jobs and keep their children safe. During the year and a half that construction is underway, children will have use of the Club at Healdsburg Elementary.
The new Clubhouse will feature STEM and art labs, a teen center, a performing arts room, a dance studio, a multipurpose community space, enhanced outdoor recreation areas and a remodeled gymnasium with a new floor. According to club members, they all support their mission to “do whatever it takes to build great futures by creating a space that fosters creativity, connection and lifelong learning.”
Keeping the gym more or less intact is part of the historic preservation the club is maintaining; keeping wood fixtures and features that are in accordance with Healdsburg’s agricultural past.
Weiss described the gym as having “an absolutely beautiful redwood beamed arched ceiling,” which alone sounds worth preserving. That touched a nerve, and an online reader commented that his father was one of the volunteers who built the gym, saying: “My late father said the men who donated their time carved their children’s initials on an upward facing beam corner (sky side). Glad to hear those beams are remaining in place.”
The club was opened in 1948, paid for and largely constructed by Healdsburg residents and volunteers. The gymnasium, added in 1980, remains in sound condition. The City of Healdsburg bought the club buildings in 2004, transferring ownership back to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin in 2019.
The $16 million remodel will probably begin in earnest in the spring, as the demolition continues into the rainy season. The funding of the entire project was given a late-summer boost by the annual The Crush benefit wine-tasting, held in the Plaza on Oct. 12 and raising almost $258,000.
“This organization has been serving our community for almost 80 years—that’s a lot of kids and generations,” said Parke Hafner, Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin board member. “Our goal for this new facility is to attract kids from all across the community, so they can play together, learn together and grow together—ensuring a bright future for our youth.”
To support the Healdsburg Capital Campaign, visit bgcsonoma-marin.org/healdsburgcampaign.
