Just as rapidly as they shut the popular speedway down in 1995, they've cut down the iconic wooden stands that were blamed for its closure. The Signal's Luke Money:
I had the privilege of attending a few races at the Speedway just after I moved here in 1992. It was quite a thrilling spectacle, and I wish Saugus Speedway was operational.
Alas, it's gone now.
Could this be connected with the City's highly-contentious Historic Preservation ordinance? You'll recall that the last Council discussion of the issue ended without resolution, yet at the same time, the Speedway wasn't featured as an historical landmark like other properties.
Be sure to read the Signal's comment section on this story. You can tell where this valley's values really lie. One commenter says the City should have rescued the property, repaired the stands, and brought figure 8 and oval track racing back to the famed track. But instead, the commenter continues, we spent $29 million building a library in Newhall.
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OMG! They chopped down the Saugus Speedway stands!
Workers took chainsaws to the historic Saugus Speedway grandstands Friday, punctuating the end of the Santa Clarita Valley’s stock-car-racing era that actually screeched to a halt in 1995.
That’s when the track’s owners abruptly closed it down, saying the grandstands that lingered at least in part for nearly 20 years were unsafe.
Why out of the blue like this, 17 years after it shut down?
A 20-foot-by-15-foot portion of the grandstands was removed in October 2011 to provide more room for bands and performers during swap meets. At the time, the operations manager said the entire structure would not be removed.
Alas, it's gone now.
Could this be connected with the City's highly-contentious Historic Preservation ordinance? You'll recall that the last Council discussion of the issue ended without resolution, yet at the same time, the Speedway wasn't featured as an historical landmark like other properties.
Be sure to read the Signal's comment section on this story. You can tell where this valley's values really lie. One commenter says the City should have rescued the property, repaired the stands, and brought figure 8 and oval track racing back to the famed track. But instead, the commenter continues, we spent $29 million building a library in Newhall.
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