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HomeMy WebLinkAbout010228_Template-LaCasaDelReyApt_1302NBroadway.pdfPage 1 of 4 cm\historic\templates\Broadway 1302 N 5/11/01 NAME La Casa Del Rey Apartments REF. NO. 58 ADDRESS 1302 – 1308 North Broadway CITY Santa Ana ZIP 92701 ORANGE COUNTY YEAR BUILT 1925 LOCAL REGISTER CATEGORY: Key HISTORIC DISTRICT NEIGHBORHOOD Midtown NATIONAL REGISTER CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION C NATIONAL REGISTER STATUS CODE 5B1 Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted USGS 7.5” Quad Date: T R _ of _ of Sec : B.M. Prehistoric Historic Both ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND RELATED TO PERIOD ARCHITECTURE: The Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival style, as its name implies, encompasses two major subcategories. The Mission Revival vocabulary, popular between 1890 and 1920, drew its inspiration from the missions of the Southwest. Identifying features include curved parapets (or espadana); red tiled roofs and coping; low-pitched roofs, often with overhanging eaves; porch roofs supported by large, square piers; arches; and wall surfaces commonly covered in smooth stucco. The Spanish Colonial Revival flourished between 1915 and 1940, reaching its apex during the 1920s and 1930s. The movement received widespread attention after the Panama- California Exposition in San Diego in 1915, where lavish interpretations of Spanish and Mexican prototypes were showcased. Easily recognizable hallmarks of the Spanish Colonial Revival are low-pitched roofs, usually with little or no overhangs and red tile roof coverings; flat roofs surrounded by tiled parapets; and stuccoed walls. The Spanish vocabulary also includes arches, asymmetry, balconies and patios, window grilles, and wood, wrought iron, tile, or stone decorative elements. CONSTRUCTION HISTORY: (Construction data, alterations, and date of alterations) Page 2 of 4 cm\historic\templates\Broadway 1302 N 5/11/01 June 8, 1925: 8-unit apartment building December 27, 1926: Alter garage July 11, 1946: Convert apartment to doctor’s office October 1, 1946: Add one room February 6, 1950: Remodel apartment for doctor’s office RELATED FEATURES: (Other important features such as barns, sheds, fences, prominent or unusual trees, or landscape) DESCRIPTION: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, settings, and boundaries.) The La Casa Del Rey Apartments are located on the northwest corner of North Broadway and Washington Avenue. Two stories in height, the building consists of a series of attached, two-story volumes set beneath front-gabled, side-gabled, hipped, and flat roofs. Typical of the Spanish Colonial Revival style, the principal exterior building materials are stucco cladding and red clay tile roofing. An asymmetrical arrangement of features includes several entries, each treated differently, a variety of balconies, and both double- hung and casement windows. Noteworthy features include a two bay arcaded balcony with a polychromatic tile railing, wrought iron balcony railings, an entry set deeply within a scalloped arch, a quatrefoil window, a corbeled overhang, and an attached stucco chimney. The building does not have any significant exterior alterations and is in good condition. HISTORIC HIGHLIGHTS: The eight-unit La Casa Del Rey was constructed in 1925 by M. Lightburn at a cost of $33,000. Some of the first tenants were Loyal and Mary King (he was the Assistant Manager of the Santa Ana Register); Ernest and Arlene Palmer Roberts (he was in real estate sales); Newton and Isabelle Wray; Marguerite and Merle House; Lewis and Sophia Klatt; F. M. Pixley (he was a pharmacist for the Red Cross Drug Store); and Frank and Juanita Seidel (he was a meat cutter). Conversion of the building to professional uses had begun by the late 1940s when one apartment became a doctor’s office; by the 1960s, many of the units appeared to be operated as businesses. RESOURCE ATTRIBUTES: (List attributes and codes from Appendix 4 of Instructions for Recording Historical Resources, Office of Historic Preservation.) HP3. Multiple-family property RESOURCES PRESENT: Page 3 of 4 cm\historic\templates\Broadway 1302 N 5/11/01 Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other MOVED? No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location: STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, geographic scope, and integrity.) Santa Ana was founded by William Spurgeon in 1869 as a speculative townsite on part of the Spanish land grant known as Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. Early growth and development was stimulated by the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1878 and the Santa Fe Railroad in 1886. Following its incorporation as a city in 1886, Santa Ana was recognized as one of the leading communities in the area in 1889 when it became the seat of the newly created County of Orange. Beginning in the 1880s and continuing through the first three decades of the 20th century, Broadway emerged as a prominent residential corridor and was eventually lined by comfortably scaled homes shaded by rows of street trees. In the 1920s and 1930s, Broadway experienced new growth as elegant multiple family residences, several of which were oriented around interior courtyards, were introduced to the street. Several examples of both periods of development have survived, evoking, as a district, a distinctive sense of time and place, when a Broadway address was a distinguished and desirable one. This building retains a high degree of exterior integrity and clearly continues to convey its original style and period of significance. It is architecturally significant as a good example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style, incorporating several of the more picturesque elements of the genre. Character-defining exterior features of the La Casa Del Rey which should be preserved include, but are not limited to: roof configuration and materials, smooth stucco cladding, original fenestration, balconies, arched openings, wrought iron elements, corbel molding between stories, and the chimney. SUMMARY/CONCLUSION: This property is currently listed in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property. The La Casa Del Rey has been categorized as “Key” because it “has a distinctive architectural style and quality” as an example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style and “is characteristic of a significant period in the history of the City of Santa Ana” (Municipal Code, Section 30-2.2). OWNER AND ADDRESS: Ms. Esther Reynolds 2911 Harris Drive Vista, CA 92084-1418 RECORDED BY: (Name, affiliation, and address) Page 4 of 4 cm\historic\templates\Broadway 1302 N 5/11/01 Leslie Heumann & Liz Carter Science Applications International Corporation 35 S. Raymond Avenue, Suite 204, Pasadena, CA 91105 DATE RECORDED: February 28, 2001 SURVEY TYPE: (Intensive, reconnaissance, or other) Intensive Survey Update REPORT CITATION: (Cite survey report and other sources) City of Santa Ana. Santa Ana’s Historic Treasures. Les, Kathleen. Historic Resources Inventory 1302-08 N. Broadway, May 1980. REFERENCES: (List documents, date of publication, and page numbers. May also include oral interviews.) Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, WW Norton, 1998. 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 Department of the Interior, 1991. Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969. EVALUATOR: Leslie J. Heumann DATE OF EVALUATION: February 28, 2001 EXPLANATION OF CODES: • National Register Criteria for Evaluation: (From Appendix 7 of Instructions for Recording Historical Resources, Office of Historic Preservation) C: that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction. • National Register Status Code: (From Appendix 2 of Instructions for Recording Historical Resources, Office of Historic Preservation) 5B1: Is separately listed or designated under an existing local ordinance, or is eligible for such listing or designation, and, is a contributor to a fully documented district that is designated or eligible for designation as a local historic district, overlay zone, or preservation area under an existing ordinance or procedure.