Demolition planned for three Keller buildings

The town’s favorite photo site is about to succumb to the wrecking ball; that is, if El Niño doesn’t have its way first.

The three buildings — a granary, a work shed and a garage — were once scattered throughout the 1200-acre Keller Ranch that became the Oakhurst development. The three ramshackle little buildings have served as the backdrop for countless photo shoots, including weddings, family gatherings and special occasions.

In 1991, as part of a deal with the city of Clayton, the Oakhurst developers moved the three small buildings to their present location behind the Keller ranch house across the creek from the Clayton Library. The ranch house sits on its original lot. Where the library is was once the site of the ranch’s main barn.

The city has maintained the Keller house with hopes of one day turning it into a community center.

The ranch house and the three outbuildings were deemed historically significant and listed in the California Register of Historical Resources in 2001.

In October 2015, the city hired ECORP Consulting, an environmental consulting firm, to work with the Clayton Historical Society to see if the three outbuildings were still considered historically significant.

They aren’t. The buildings have lost any connection with their original use. Time, weather and vandals have taken their toll and there simply isn’t enough left of the buildings to save. They pose a hazard to public safety and what’s left must come down.

The city has contacted a demolition company and is waiting for the final cost, which the city estimates to be around $20,000.

The CHS will salvage what they can of the old wood.