NEWMAN - A downtown building which for decades housed a steam laundry and was later a hub of social activities was torn down by demolition crews last week.

Local veterinarian Suzanne Solvin, who has owned the former Moose Lodge since about 2002, said major structural flaws made demolition more practical than attempting to reconstruct the deteriorating building.

She had initially purchased the Moose Lodge with the intention of moving her practice into the building, but eventually relocated Westside Animal Hospital to a facility at Highway 33 and Kern Street instead.

According to local historians, the building was constructed around 1908. It housed a steam laundry until the Moose Lodge acquired the property in 1967, and for years to come the building was the site of dances, crab feeds, barbecues, bingo games, meetings and special events.

The heyday of the Moose Lodge, recalled long-time member Leon Tillery, was in the 1980s.

“It was strong there for a while. There were a lot of good times there,” he recalled.

But the floods of the 1990s took a toll on the building, Tillery said.

“We got flooded twice, and the old building just wouldn’t take it,” he reflected. “From there it went down.”

The Newman Moose Lodge, originally chartered in 1967, became part of the Turlock lodge in the late 1990s.

After the Moose Lodge closed, the building was owned for a time by Joe Gomes of Hilmar, who housed a collection of dairy equipment and memorabilia in the building.

Solvin eventually purchased the building, which had a Highway 33 address but opened onto the downtown city parking lot.

Solvin said the timing of the demolition was intended to precede development of the adjacent downtown plaza this summer. Crews were able to stage the demolition of the Moose Lodge from the open property next door. That would not have been possible if plaza construction was under way.

Solvin said no definite plans have yet been developed for the property.