Once a hub of activity and business, the building at 3033 N. G Street is now just a memory.

Crews late last week began the process of tearing down the old Merced Sun-Star building, signaling the final chapter of a 54-year-old structure that at one time housed hundreds of employees.

During its heyday, school buses filled with children would make regular visits to the building just off Olive Avenue and G Street. Kids watched with interest as newspapers rolled off the printing press.

The newsroom bustled with activity, with dozens of reporters running back and forth to assignments, and copy editors reading each story line by line, preparing the morning print edition for readers.

Even in the darkness of the early morning hours, there was no shortage of activity, as delivery workers came and loaded stacks of freshly-printed papers into their vehicles. Those papers would soon be on the porches of eager readers.

Fire Rendered Building Unsafe

The City Council voted back in March to demolish the building, after a fire last year rendered the building structurally unsafe.

The city bought the 30,500 square-foot building and 5.5 acre property from the newspaper’s parent company, McClatchy, in 2017 for $1.62 million.

The newspaper staff moved out of the building in the years following the sale.

The city expects to receive a $1.4 million insurance payout for the loss of the building.

About The Merced FOCUS

The Merced FOCUS is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom covering Merced and the San Joaquin Valley.