HomeMy WebLinkAbout070525_Maharajah_House_report_2221NHeliotrope.pdfMay 25, 2007
Job Number: 1471-001
Historic Resources Consulting Services
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
2.6 1471-001.M03
TO: City of Santa Ana
(Ms. Hally Soboleske)
FROM: Sapphos Environmental, Inc.
(Ms. Leslie Heumann)
SUBJECT: Assessment of Changes, 2221 North Heliotrope Drive, the
Maharajah House
ATTACHMENTS: 1. Southwest Elevation
2. Northwest Elevation
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Memorandum for the Record (MFR) transmits information regarding recent
alterations made to the Maharajah House, located at 2221 North Heliotrope Drive in
the Floral Park neighborhood of the city of Santa Ana. The alterations include the
application of Styrofoam moldings at the roofline, balcony railings, and canopies
throughout the exterior of the house. The moldings obscure the original design of
these features, are not stylistically in keeping with the Art Moderne style of the
house, and do not conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for
Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings.1
1 Weeks, Kay D., and Anne E. Grimmer. 1995. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for
the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating,
Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings. Washington, DC, U.S. Department of the
Interior, National Park Service.
Historic Resources Consulting Services, City of Santa Ana Memorandum for the Record
May 25, 2007 Sapphos Environmental, Inc.
W:\PROJECTS\1471\1471-001\Memos\MFR03\MFR03_20070525.doc Page 2
DISCUSSION
Built in 1938, the Maharajah House was placed in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties and
categorized as “Landmark” in 2003. The property qualified for listing in the Santa Ana Register under
Criterion 1 for its exemplification of the Art Moderne variant of the Moderne style and under Criterion
4b, for its association with a foreign ruling family, the Holkars of Indore, India. The property satisfied
two criteria for landmark categorization: “unique architectural significance” as an example of the Art
Moderne style in Santa Ana and “historic/cultural significance” as the residence of a sitting ruler of
Indore. The Art Moderne style, which reached its zenith during the 1930s, is described as horizontal in
emphasis, somewhat more clean lined and rectilinear in massing and detailing than the concurrent
Streamline Moderne, and characterized by flat roofs, smooth stucco exteriors, and use of metal
casement windows, which often wrap the corners of a building. Exterior character-defining features of
the Maharajah House include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Impressive scale and fortress-like quality
• Cubic massing
• Horizontal lines
• Metal casement windows, some of which wrap corners of the building
• Smooth stucco finish
• Flat roof
• Integral balconies with solid railings
• Walled gardens
• Flat canopies
• Subtle banding at roofline, balconies (continuing under windows), and canopies
• Entry configuration, doors, gate, surround, and detailing
• Window grilles of broad horizontal bands
Recent alterations to the Maharajah House include the installation of thick moldings around the
roofline, balconies (continuing under some windows), and canopies. Unlike the original detail at these
locations, which was a subtle, thin line of edging, the new moldings are heavy and emphatic. They
forcefully terminate the roofline, more in the manner of a traditionally styled building, and are counter
to the Art Moderne style, which completely eliminated cornices and other historical references from its
vocabulary. The new molding has a similar effect at the canopies, imparting a more traditional,
cornice-like character, whereas the original design emphasized their flat, cantilevered extension. The
molding at the balcony locations overwhelms the original design intension and is particularly
egregious where it continues below the windows. The attached photographs, taken in 2003 and 2007,
illustrate these points (Attachment 1, Southwest Elevation, and Attachment 2, Northwest Elevation).
These changes are not in compliance with several of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for
Rehabilitation:
• Standard 2: The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The
removal of distinctive materials or alterations of features, spaces, and spatial
relationships that characterize a property will be avoided.
• Standard 3: Each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place,
and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding
conjectural features or elements from other historic properties, will not be undertaken.
Historic Resources Consulting Services, City of Santa Ana Memorandum for the Record
May 25, 2007 Sapphos Environmental, Inc.
W:\PROJECTS\1471\1471-001\Memos\MFR03\MFR03_20070525.doc Page 3
• Standard 5: Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and construction techniques or
examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property will be preserved.
• Standard 6: Deteriorated historic features will be repaired rather than replaced. Where
the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new
feature will match the old in design, color, texture, and where possible, materials.
Replacement of missing features will be substantiated by documentary and physical
evidence.
Should there be any questions regarding the information contained in this MFR, please contact Ms.
Leslie Heumann at (626) 683-3547.
ATTACHMENT 1
SOUTHWEST ELEVATION
PHOTO 1
April 2003
PHOTO 2
May 10, 2007
ATTACHMENT 1
Southwest Elevation
ATTACHMENT 2
NORTHWEST ELEVATION
PHOTO 1
April 2003
PHOTO 2
January 30, 2007
ATTACHMENT 2
Northwest Elevation