HomeMy WebLinkAbout080207_Template-DelarivaHouse_219SFranklin.pdfState of California ¾ 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 _4_ Resource name(s) or number (assigned by recorder) De la Riva House P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: oNot for Publication nUnrestricted *a. County Orange County
*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA1667 Date:
*c. Address 219 S. Franklin Street City Santa Ana Zip 92703
*e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number 007-262-12
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.)
This one-story rectangular-plan cottage features decorative details common to the Italianate (Late Victorian) style. Capped
with a hipped roof and sheathed in channel rustic siding, the residence displays a covered partial -length porch recessed in
the west façade’s north half. Roof detailing includes shallow, boxed eaves with decorative brackets beneath . An entablature
consisting of a wood cornice, dentil course, and frieze mark the roof line of the porch, which rests on fluted, rectangular
supports topped with corbelled capitals. Matching imbedded columns accent the porch, which is elevated on four steps.
Overlooking the porch is a wood-framed double -hung sash window with a flared, molded cornice and decorative corbels
beneath the sills. This cornice treatment is repeated over the front-facing entryway and north elevation windows . Projecting
from the west façade’s south half is a three-sided bay window with a slightly overhanging hipped roof and molded cornice and
frieze, which is accented with applied rectangular strips. The bay window has two -over-two , wood-framed double-hung
sashes, flanked by similar one-over-one lights with projecting wood sills. Rectangular sunk moldings accent the three panels
beneath the bay window. The south elevation features a square, front-gabled bay with partial cornice returns and a set of
two -over-two double-hung sash windows . Window groupings on the side elevations consist primarily of two -over-two double -
hung sash windows with projecting sill s and wood frames. Fenestration on all elevations displays rectangular-shaped
windows, emphasizing the vertical axis. Alterations to the residence include the addition of a second entrance recessed in
the south corner of the porch, a detached garage in the southeastern corner of the property, and nonoriginal windows in the
northeastern side of the house that are not visible from the street. Despite undergoing alterations, the residence retains a
good level of integrity.
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (list attributes and codes) HP2. Single-family Property
*P4. Resources Present: nBuilding oStructure oObject oSite oDistrict oElement of District oOther
P5b. Photo: (view and date)
West elevation
June 2007
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Sources: nhistoric
1917/City of Santa Ana Database
*P7. Owner and Addres
US Bank
800 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402-4302
*P8. Recorded by:
S. Carmack and D. Howell-Ardila
Sapphos Environmental, Inc.
133 Martin Alley
Pasadena, California 91105
*P9. Date Recorded:
June 25, 2007
*P10. Survey Type:
Intensive Survey Update
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey
report and other sources, or enter “none”)
None.
*Attachments: oNone oLocation Map oSketch Map nContinuation Sheet nBuilding, Structure, and Object Record
oArchaeological Record oDistrict Record oLinear Feature Record oMilling Station Record oRock Art Record
oArtifact Record oPhotograph Record o Other (list)
DPR 523A (1/95) *Required information
P5a. Photo
State of California ¾ The Resources Agency Primary #__________________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI#______________________________________________
BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD
Page 2 of 4 *CHR Status Code _5S1__________________________
*Resource Name or #: De la Riva House
B1. Historic Name: De la Riva House
B2. Common Name: Same
B3. Original Use: Single -family Residence B4. Present Use: Vacant
*B5. Architectural Style: Italianate -influenced Cottage
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed in 1917
April 22, 1925. Unspecified alterations, $500.
*B7. Moved? o No o Yes n 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 1 900-1959 Property Type: Commercial 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 De la Riva House is architecturally significant as a n intact and representative example of a Italianate -influenced cottage in
the Casa Bonita neighborhood constructed during its first p eriod of residential subdivision in the 1920s. City of Santa Ana
records indicate a construction date of 1917. According to County of Orange tax assessor rolls, property improvements do not
appear in this location until 1926, when Frank Mussellm an, a Santa Ana employment agent and real estate investor who
owned multiple parcels in the newly subdivided Franklin Place, was taxed $360 for the improvement. The 1922 establishment
of the residential subdivision Franklin Place and the 1926 appearance o f the property on tax assessor rolls suggest that this
1917 property was moved from another location. When the property first appears in city directories in 1927, it was occupied
by Jesus Magana, a laborer, and his wife Stella. The occupants changed in 1928, when Romero Porfirio rented the home.
Throughout the 1930s, the house had a series of occupants and stood vacant from 1931 to 1934, until being purchased in the
late 1930s by Gabriel V. Caperon, a laborer, and wife Mildred. The Caperons occupied the house until the mid -1940s, when
Rita De la Riva, an orange packer, purchased the house. From the mid-1940s until at least 1965, De la Riva resided in the
home with family members Rosa, Felipa, and Rosea De la Riva. By 1956, Rita De la Riva had married Pete Delgado and
taken her husband’s last name.
(See Continuation Sheet 3 of 4.)
B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes)
*B12. References:
Agricultural Adjustment Administration, Western Division
Laboratory. Aerial map. Santa Ana, California, 1938, #22-38.
Bitetti, Marge, Guy Ball, and the Santa Ana Historic Preservation
Society. Early Santa Ana. Charleston, San Francisco, Chicago,
Portsmouth, Arcadia Press, 2006.
City of Santa Ana Building Permits
(See Continuation Sheet 3 of 4.)
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: S. Carmack and D. Howell-Ardila
*Date of Evaluation: June 27, 2007
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information
Sketch Map
(This space reserved for official comments.)
216 S. Franklin Street
007-252-12
State of California ¾ The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________________
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial _____________________________________________
Page 3_ of 4_ Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) De la Riva House
*Recorded by Shannon Carmack and Deborah Howell -Ardila *Date June 25, 2007 x Continuation o 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 at 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
around the city center. Agricultural uses predominated in the outlying areas, with cultivated fields and orchards dotted with
widely scattered farmhouses.
The De la Riva House is located in the Casa Bonita neighborhood, southwest of the historic commercial and civic center and
bounded roughly by First Street on the north, Raitt Street on the east, Willits Street on the south, and Center Street on the
west. In the early twentieth century, this neighborhood represented the southwestern portion of Santa Ana. By 1912,
agricultural development had arrived to the neighborhood and Artesia, Willits, and First were the only streets in place. At that
time, Casa Bonita could be broken down into three areas. The northwestern corner was occupied in 1912 by the Morton
Dairy Company, which included a portion of the 1874 Sepulveda Tract. This area spanned an unsubdivided 30 -acre site that
remained intact and agricultural (with orchards) until 1955, when it was subdivided for residential and commercial
development. The northeastern corner, spanning present-day Daisy to Raitt streets and First to Myrtle streets, consisted of
two unsubdivided parcels owned by Grubb and Huse; when subdivided and presented as Franklin Place in 1922, this area
represented the neighborhood’s earliest residenti al subdivision. The southern portion of Casa Bonita consisted of two 10-
acre blocks of a tract known as Plaza Rancho, which was subdivided in the 1920s but remained agricultural until residential
subdivision in 1955.
With the 1922 subdivision of Franklin Place, residential development came slowly to Casa Bonita. The original owner of
Franklin Place was real estate investor Alcedas B. Rousselle, who, by 1923, had already begun selling land to other
investors, many of whom held multiple parcels. By 1925, approximately 40 percent of the lots showed improvements, with
this number increasing slightly throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Only with widespread residential expansion in the post-
World War II period did the number of improvements show a sizeable jump in Franklin Place. As of 2007, two -thirds of the
extant residences were constructed after 1945.
Franklin Place was the only residential development in Casa Bonita until the mid-1950s, when tract housing replaced
farmland south of Myrtle, between Raitt and Center streets. By 1959, the orchards occupying Casa Bonita’s 30-acre
northwestern corner had been removed and the land graded in preparation for commercial development. Apartment
buildings were constructed along Myrtle Street, and Walnut and Willits streets were added between 1955 and 1959. The
existing street configuration reflects changes made in this period to Artesia and Raitt streets. Since the early twentieth
century, Artesia Street terminated south of Myrtle, and Raitt Street, in place since at least 1906 , stretched from Edinger
Avenue up to today’s Willits Street. Named for Santa Ana pioneer dairyman James T. Raitt, the north end of Raitt Street was
connected to the southern terminus of Artesia Street with a short diagonal line in the late 1 950s. In the early 1960s,
Artesia Street was changed to Raitt Street in honor of Santa Ana pioneer James T. Raitt.
In the early 1960s, Artesia Street was changed to Raitt Street in honor of Santa Ana pioneer dairyman James T. Raitt. Raitt
moved to Santa Ana in 1886 at the age of 18 and, in 1890, began his dairy business with a total holding of seven cows. By
1905, Raitt owned approximately 180 acres, 20 of which were located adjacent to Casa Bonita (by 1906, the western border
of this property had becom e Raitt Street). Raitt’s dairy business thrived, and by 1925, the company had constructed two
offices at 1100 S. Bristol Street and 1008 East Fourth Street (the latter now occupied by Tom’s Trucks). Other Raitt family
members are also culturally significant to the region, state, and nation. John’s son Archie Raitt was the first secretary of the
North County YMCA. John Raitt, the grandson of James, became a famous Broadway singer and comedian. Following in
John’s footsteps was daughter Bonnie Raitt, who is a nine-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for
her blues and R&B-influenced music.
(See Continuation Sheet 3 of 4.)
State of California ¾ The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________________
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial _____________________________________________
Page 4_ of 4_ Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) De la Riva House
*Recorded by Shannon Carmack and Deborah Howell -Ardila *Date June 25, 2007 x Continuation o Update
*B10. Significance (continued):
The De la Riva House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its
exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the Italianate (Late Victorian) style. Typical features of this style
illustrated by the house include hipped roof; shallow, boxed eaves with decorative brackets; entablature with frieze, dentil
course, and molded cornice; flared, molded cornice capping windows and entryway; attenuated windows, emphasizing the
vertical; double-hung sash windows with wood frames and corbels beneath sills. Additionally, the house has been
categorized as “Key” because it “has a distinctive architectural style and quality.” Character-defining exterior features of the
De la Riva House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to, materials and finishes (channel rustic siding);
roof configuration and detailing; boxed eaves; massing; original windows and doors and their surrounds where extant; the
partial-length porch; architectural details such as decorative brackets and entablature marking the porch roofline.
*B12. References (continued):
Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc. Orange County, California, City of Santa Ana, Index #12-58. Los Angeles, 30 August 1947.
Finley, S.H. Map of Orange County, California. Santa Ana, 1908.
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.
McFadden, Iva M. How They Worked It: Dairymen Combine to Solve Problem . Los Angeles Times. 19 October 1930.
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.
Orange County Archives. Aerial Maps, Santa Ana. 1955 and 1959.
Orange County Plat Maps, 1912.
Orange County Tax Assessor Records, 1905, 1921 -1924, 1925 -1928, 1929 -1932.
Orange County Tract Maps. Franklin Place, portion of north quarter of Section 14. January 1922.
Sanborn Maps
Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1905 -1965.
Santa Ana History Room Collection, Santa Ana Public Library
Thomas Brothers Maps of Orange County, 1957 and 1964.