Demolition Starts On Clara Bee Lodge

The bulldozer tore the Clara Bee Lodge into pieces Thursday after a 70-year run .

Palm Springs resident Amanda Nelson arrived early to capture the former housing complex before it became history.

“A lady that worked with my grandmother used to live here,” she said. “As a child, we used to come and drop her off.”

Other residents believed the demolition was long overdue.

“We went and bought juice and donuts. We’re going to set up our chairs,” said Andy Cardenas, who has lived across the street from the lodge for 11 years.

Cardenas said the lodge, which opened during World War II, was an eyesore and a danger. The homeless congregated there, and last year’s suspicious fire just made matters worse.

“On [Calle] Encilia, they pulled the fence apart,” he said.

After the August fire, the lodge continued to be a hotspot for vagrants. Then, it fell prey to gangs and politicians. Gangs tagged the walls; politicians left behind their old campaign signs.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians are taking charge of the tear down. The lodge was built on indian land.

BIA Representative Kim Snyder said he’d been trying for a year to determine Clara Bee’s fate, even before the fire broke out.

“I had to try and bring all the Indian landowners together and ask them: ‘What do you want to do with the building? Do you want to keep it? Do you want to get rid of it?’ I need an answer.”

The landowners have not decided yet what’s next for the soon-to-be vacant property.

But, Andy Cardenas can wait for that decision.

“In three days, I’ll actually have the mountains,” he said. “For the first time since I’ve lived here, I’ll have a mountain view all the way around me.”

The demolition and cleanup is expected to last through next week.