City condemns iconic Decade rock club building in Oakland
Over the years, many bands have brought down the house at the Decade in Oakland. Now the city says parts of the old rock club are literally crumbling.
The city has posted a condemnation notice on the three-story building at 223 Atwood St. The notice cites violations of the city code relating to “unsafe structures” and “unfit for human occupancy.”
In a report on its CivicCentral website, the city stated that the reasons for the violations were “concrete ceiling falling from rear of structure, along with various electrical violations.”
The condemnation notice gives the owner the choice of demolishing or repairing the old club, which once hosted the likes of Bruce Springsteen, U2, the Police, and the Iron City Houserockers as well as countless other national and local acts.
It’s a situation that brings to mind Mr. Springsteen’s tune “Wrecking Ball.” Or maybe “Demolition Man” by the Police.
But in an interview, Neal Scoratow, president of the National Builders and Acceptance Corp., the building owner, said he has no intention of razing the structure. He stressed that he is committed to making the necessary
repairs to the property to bring it into compliance with city standards.
The overall structure, Mr. Scoratow said, is safe. The violation related to the ceiling, he said, involves a flat roof atop a one-story structure at the back of the building.
Some concrete near the top of the roof has deteriorated, causing pieces to fall. The problem, he said, doesn’t affect the rest of the building, most of which is three stories. “The condemnation has nothing to do with the overall structure of the building and has everything to do with the rear flat roof,” he said.
He maintained that the electrical violations involved junction boxes and a panel box that didn’t have covers. The city cited both as violations, along with improperly fused extension cords.
Mr. Scoratow said he is now waiting to see if the city will approve a report submitted by his engineer recommending ways to make the repairs and address the violations.
If he gets the go-ahead, he said he’s prepared to start the work regardless of the cost involved.
Still, the condemnation notice has complicated Mr. Scoratow’s attempts to sell the building, which is now home to the Garage Door Saloon. The University of Pittsburgh apparently has had some interest in it in the past, though a spokesman recently stated that Pitt “does not intend to purchase this property at this time.”
Pitt bought an adjacent building at 229 Atwood late last year for $2.1 million, lending fuel to speculation the university could be interested in the old rock club.
Mr. Scoratow said he currently has a letter of intent with a “commercial real estate venture” interested in buying the building. But he added that the letter of intent is “contingent on the bar being reopened and the repairs being made.”
The Garage Door Saloon has been closed because of the pandemic.
Mark Welshonse, the bar owner, said he has been waiting since spring for repairs to be made so he can reopen.
“All we want is to be able to run our business like we have for the past 15½ years, let our employees (who are more like family) get back to work, and give Oakland its self-evaluated No. 1 customer-service bar back,” he said.
The Decade closed in 1995 after a run of more than two decades. Over the years, it attracted legions of die-hard rock fans, performers and celebrities, including Bruce Willis, Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito.
Mr. Springsteen jammed at the club with Joe Grushecky of the Houserockers. Jon Bon Jovi took the stage with Norman Nardini and the Tigers. Other big acts to play the club included Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.