BOUGAINVILLLEA

For many years, this redwood and bougainvillea were inner twinned in a spectacular display that people from all around the county would come and see. It was so popular with tourists that postcards were sold of its image.













The building adjacent to the tree and vine is the"Heiner House". The City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department administrative offices occupied the building. After the 1989 earthquake that destroyed much of downtown, it was discovered that the building was damaged so severely that repairs would be too expensive for the City's budget. It sat empty (except for the homeless that occupied it most of the time) until 1993 when it was sold to another government agency and transported to a site about 10 blocks away. After the building was removed it was discovered that the redwood tree root flare that had already been tilting the building had very serious crown and root decay making the tree unsafe. To make matters worse, in December of 1990, a very cold period of a week with temperatures in the low teens killed the bougainvillea! In the hopes that it would eventually recover, I waited until 1994 before removing the tree and vine. Around that time I was in a UCSC extension video-arts program so I decided to do a documentary on the condition of the tree and memories of people that worked in the building. It was called "Old Friends". After the tree was removed it was determined that it was only 86 years old. It was expected to be at least twice that age. The sheltered area and a great source of ground water were ideal for the tree's growth and health. The tree was turned into park benches, picnic tables, an arbor, and a sign at the municipal golf course. There are still slabs of it in storage.

This photo was used with the permission of Phil Rupp, the photographer. He drove the blue van parked at the curb all over the US of A including Alaska and the Arctic Circle. He and his wife put over 245,000 miles on it. Thanks Phil.