THE LAST WORD:Goodbye, Robins Hall

Farewell to a landmark.

On Thursday morning, a construction crew began tearing down Robins Hall, an iconic, 77-year-old building at Newport Harbor High School.

Thousands of students have fond and funny memories of the complex, which included a bell tower and Loats Theater.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District closed Robins Hall in 2003 due to seismic problems.

A newly-built structure is expected to be very similar to the old one, with some minor differences to conform with modern building standards.

Thus, it will stand as a reminder of days gone by.

But it will never be the same.

But perhaps 70 or so years from now it will come to mean something important to new generations of students and teachers.

So here’s to the past … and to the future.