Preservationists are still trying to save the second oldest building in Gilbert, as the deadline for demolition has been extended yet again.
The Clare house was scheduled to be demolished July 15. It now has until late August to be saved. The land was bought by a private company, with plans to replace the 106-year-old building with a bar.
Organizers still have over $100,000 to raise in order to pick up the Clare house, and move it to HD South - Home of the Gilbert Museum.
“Until we can’t raise any more or until the developer says they’re done and need to get going, then we’ll just keep plugging along," said Denise Lopez, the President and CEO of the museum.
Julia Taggart, President of the Sunnyslope Historical Society, says that the effort to save the old building hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“And if it doesn’t get saved, I think it still shows that community came together, not just in Gilbert but all around Arizona, to help a community save their history," Taggart said.
Lopez says the end goal is to turn the Clare house into an exhibit.
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In a weeklong series, KJZZ looks at Arizona’s connection to the Japanese internment policies that were instituted following Pearl Harbor, and how it ties into the broader story of racialized public policy. Gabriel Pietrorazio joined The Show for a closer look at the series. -
The mass internment of Japanese Americans amid World War II is among the dark chapters of U.S. history that the Trump administration is actively working to erase — being swept up in a campaign to remove so-called “disparaging” signs and markers about the country’s past, while focusing only on “American greatness.” -
Attend a KJZZ panel discussion about the history of Japanese American internment camps located on tribal lands in Arizona on Jan. 14, 2026, at Chandler Museum. -
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