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Town Hall Moves Up; An Elevator Goes In
By Regina Elling
 | | Arlene Howe will no longer have to fight the seven steps in front of Town Hall to reach the upper floor of the building.
Photos by Regina elling |
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Things will soon be moving up at the Julian Town Hall. That's because there will be soon be an elevator going into the building.
The elevator joins several other features across Julian that, together, are helping make the town more handicapped-accessible and tourist-friendly.
"I have a personal interest in trying to make the Town Hall more accessible," says Arlene Howe, a Julian resident in a wheelchair. "We use the top floor of the building for the Olde Town Melodrama plays performed in the fall season."
For Howe to reach the upper floor for performances meant that she had to get out of her power wheelchair, get into a manual wheelchair and then be lifted up the seven steps of the town hall by three to four "very strong" men.
Of course, the process had to be reversed in order for her to leave the building after each performance.
 | | Al Arredondo, left, and David Crosthwaite, leadmen with Glen Industrial, near completion on the jackhammering needed for the new elevator being installed at Julian Town Hall.
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When Howe discovered that San Diego County had grants available for such handicapped-access issues, she immediately went to work. To work more effectively, she joined the Board of the Julian Chamber of Commerce.
"We researched ramps and portable lifts for the building, and they would have cost much less than an elevator," she explains. "But, they would have required changing the exterior of the building. Because of its historical nature, no one really wanted to go that route."
The application for the elevator was approved, and funding received in July. It took a long nine months to work through the procedures to reach the final authorization stage.
"The elevator will be 'porch-lift' style," says Howe. "It will only hold about 750 pounds, which is about the weight of one person and one wheelchair."
Even after the elevator is completed, there is still work to be done on the building before it can be considered handicapped-accessible.
"For those of us who can't walk up the seven steps to the top floor, we still have to go to the side door of the bottom floor. Unfortunately, unless there is an event going on, no one is down there and the door is kept locked," Howe explains. "A call phone would take care of that part of the problem."
There are also some signs that need to be installed directing the handicapped to the proper access.
In the meantime, Howe is hard at work on other projects around Julian, such as installing more handicapped parking spaces, ramps, curb cutouts, signs and even an automatic door at one of the local banks.
"These changes don't just benefit me," she says. "Every single change makes it easier for our own handicapped population, seniors and tourists that come to town. Every single change truly benefits Julian."
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