HomeMy WebLinkAbout061012_Template-BesserHouse_2042NRoss.pdfState of California ⎯ The Resources Agency Primary #______________________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #__________________________________________________
PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial______________________________________________
NRHP Status Code_____________________________________
Other Listings_____________________________________________________________________
Review Code________ Reviewer________________________ Date_______________
Page _1_ of _3_ Resource name(s) or number (assigned by recorder) Besser House
P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County
*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA0054 Date:
*c. Address 2042 North Ross Street City Santa Ana Zip 92706
*e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number 002-112-21
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.)
This stucco-clad English Revival-style residence is one story in height and topped by a side-gabled roof with projecting,
gabled wing on the north half of the façade. Steeply pitched, the L-shaped roof features patterned wood shingles, with rolled
edges over the gables, meant to suggest thatching. An additional feature highlighting the Medieval roots of the English
Revival/Tudor style is the use in the gables of unhewn logs, which are exposed at the end of the gables. The projecting wing
features a fixed pane, floor-to-ceiling window with pinched arch, as well as an arched vent with narrow horizontal slats in the
apex of the gable. The stucco finish on the projecting wing is otherwise uninterrupted by ornament. A front gable, whose
shingled eaves repeat the design of the main gable, marks the primary entrance, which consists of a recessed wooden door
enclosed in a molded archway. The north elevation features three wood-framed, three-over-three casement windows and an
attached, brick chimney in the northeast corner. A bay window and French doors on the rear elevation, as well as a shed-
roofed entryway in the southwest corner, appear nonoriginal. Additional alterations include a nonoriginal fence fronting the
property and replacement doors on the original garage in the southwest corner of the property. The house appears
substantially intact otherwise and is enhanced by mature trees and landscaping.
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (list attributes and codes) HP2. Single-family Property
*P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other
P5b. Photo: (view and date)
West elevation
September 2006
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Sources: historic
1930/City of Santa Ana Building
Permits
*P7. Owner and Address:
Andrew and Gina McCracken
2042 N. Ross Street
Santa Ana, CA 92706
*P8. Recorded by:
L. Heumann and D.Howell-Ardila
Sapphos Environmental, Inc.
133 Martin Alley
Pasadena, California 91105
*P9. Date Recorded:
September 25, 2006
*P10. Survey Type:
Intensive Survey Update
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none”)
None.
*Attachments: None Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record
Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record
Artifact Record Photograph Record Other (list)
DPR 523A (1/95) *Required information
P5a. Photo
State of California ⎯ The Resources Agency Primary #__________________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#______________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
Page 2 of 3 *CHR Status Code_5S1__________________________
*Resource Name or #: Besser House
B1. Historic Name: Besser House
B2. Common Name: Same
B3. Original Use: Single-family Residence B4. Present Use: Single-family Residence
*B5. Architectural Style: English-Revival
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed in 1930
March 31, 1930. Residence and garage constructed for $7,300.
July 3,1933. Rebuild brick chimney.
November 1, 1949. Unspecified alterations, $600.
March 10, 1959. Addition of family room to residence, $1,500.
February 10, 1983. Reroof.
February 15, 1983. Reroof garage.
May 10, 1990. Addition, extend bedroom and den on first floor (325 square feet), $22,425.
*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date:______ Original Location:_ ____________________
*B8. Related Features:
None.
B9a. Architect: Unknown b. Builder: Unknown
*B10. Significance: Theme Residential Architecture Area Santa Ana
Period of Significance: circa 1895-1965 Property Type: Single-family Residence Applicable Criteria: NR: C; CR: 3
(Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity)
The Besser House is architecturally significant as an intact and representative example of the English Revival style. City of Santa
Ana records indicate that the house was constructed in March 1930 for Katie A. Besser. The cost of construction was $7,300.
When the improvement first appears in city directories in 1935, Katie Besser and husband William are listed as the owners; the
Bessers remained in the house until at least 1945. By 1952, the property was owned by Henry Schlueter, an employee of the
Pacific Plumbing Company, and his wife Faye, who remained in the house until the early 1960s. In subsequent decades, ownership
of the residence shifted multiple times.
(See Continuation Sheet 3 of 3.)
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes)
*B12. References:
City of Santa Ana Building Permits
Santa Ana History Room Collection, Santa Ana Public Library
Sanborn Maps
(See Continuation Sheet 3 of 3.)
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Leslie J. Heumann
*Date of Evaluation: September 25, 2006
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information
Sketch Map
(This space reserved for official comments.)
2042 N. Ross St.
002-112-21
State of California ⎯ The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________________
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial _____________________________________________
Page 3_ of 3_ Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Besser House
*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann and Deborah Howell-Ardila *Date September 25, 2006 ⌧ Continuation Update
DPR 523L
*B10. Significance (continued):
Santa Ana was founded by William Spurgeon in 1869 as a speculative town site on part of the Spanish land grant known as
Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. The civic and commercial core of the community was centered around the intersection of
Main and Fourth Streets. Stimulated by the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad and incorporation as a city in 1886, and selection
as the seat of the newly created County of Orange in 1889, the city grew outwards, with residential neighborhoods
developing to the north, south, and east of the city center. Agricultural uses predominated in the outlying areas, with
cultivated fields and orchards dotted with widely scattered farmhouses.
The Besser House is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by East
Seventeenth Street, North Flower Street, Riverside Drive, and Broadway. Groves of oranges, avocados, and walnuts and
widely scattered ranch houses characterized this area before 1920. Developer and builder Allison Honer (1897-1981),
credited as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls,
New York in 1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356). “Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a parcel of land.
And that month, he began building custom homes in Santa Ana” (Orange County Register, September 15, 1981). The parcel
chosen became the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. “When built in the 1920s, the
Floral Park homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each” (Orange County
Register, September 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s and
1930s and Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial Revival.
The Allison Honer Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco styled Old Santa
Ana City Hall, the El Toro Marine Base during World War II, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the
neighborhood he had helped to create, at 615 West Santa Clara Avenue.
In the late 1920s and 1930s, another builder, Roy Roscoe Russell (1881-1965), continued developing the groves of Floral
Park. An early Russell project was his 1928 subdivision of Victoria Drive between West Nineteenth Street and West Santa
Clara Avenue. The homes were quite grand and displayed various revival styles, including Russell’s own large, Colonial
Revival mansion at 2009 Victoria Drive. In the early post World War II years, Floral Park continued its development as
numerous, smaller, single-family houses were built. Continuing in the Floral Park tradition, they were mostly revival in style.
In the 1950s, low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2006) Floral Park maintains its
identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
The Besser House also qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property under Criterion 3 for its
exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the English Revival style. Typical features of this style illustrated by the
house include its combination of stucco cladding with sparse ornament; shingles with rolled edges; its gabled massing; and
its emphasis on vertical features such as the medium-pitched gables. Additionally, the house has been categorized as
“Contributive” because it “contributes to the overall character and history” of Santa Ana, and, as an example of the English
Revival style “is a good example of period architecture.” Character-defining exterior features of the Besser House that should
be preserved include, but may not be limited to, materials and finishes (stucco, wood, and brick); roof configuration and
detailing; original windows and doors where extant; chimney; architectural details such as the shingles with rolled edges and
arched entryway.
*B12. References (continued):
Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, WW Norton, 1998.
Marsh, Diann. Santa Ana, An Illustrated History. Encinitas, Heritage Publishing, 1994.
McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984.
National Register Bulletin 16A. “How to Complete the National Register Registration Form.” Washington DC: National
Register Branch, National Park Service, US Dept. of the Interior, 1991.
Office of Historic Preservation. “Instructions for Recording Historical Resources.” Sacramento: March 1995.
Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County. Los Angeles: History Record Company, 1921.
Franklin, Don. “NW Santa Ana History: Roy Russell & Son, Builders.” Unsourced article from the Santa Ana History Room
Historic House File, circa 1995.
Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1932-1954.
Filename: Ross St 2042 N DPR final
Directory: M:\Historic Info\110206HRC\FINAL_DPRs
Template: C:\My Documents\General\Forms\Myprimry.dot
Title: P1. Other Identifier:
Subject:
Author: City of Santa Ana
Keywords:
Comments:
Creation Date: 10/12/2006 3:44:00 PM
Change Number: 4
Last Saved On: 10/17/2006 10:05:00 AM
Last Saved By: Hally Soboleske
Total Editing Time: 4 Minutes
Last Printed On: 11/13/2006 10:43:00 AM
As of Last Complete Printing
Number of Pages: 3
Number of Words: 1,746 (approx.)
Number of Characters: 9,956 (approx.)