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HomeMy WebLinkAbout090607_Template-RGHewittHouse_2414NBonnieBrae.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) R.G. Hewitt House P1. Other Identifier: *P2. Location: oNot for Publication nUnrestricted *a. County Orange County *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Date: *c. Address 2414 North Bonnie Brae City Santa Ana Zip 92706 *e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number Block: Lot: *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.) Clad in horizontal wood siding on the second story and stucco on the first, this two -story, U-shaped residence merges the vocabulary of the Monterey Revival style with vernacular farmhouse traditions. A low-pitched, cross-gabled roof, detailed with plain vergeboards and exposed rafter tails in open eaves, caps the building. Comprising the east half of the façade, a projecting, front-gabled wing features a bay window with a pent roof on the lower story and a pair of three-light casement window on the upper story. An arched vent pierces the gable apex, just beneath a metal weathervane. Additional paired casements are equally spaced across the second story of the side-gabled wing to the west. All of the upper story windows are adorned with decorative shutters, pinned to the wall surface by scrolled iron fasteners. A projecting, one-story wing terminates the façade on the west. Added two years after the house was constructed, this wing also features a front gable roof and a centere d bay window identical to that on the east, suggesting that the east window was added at the same time. Spanning the two front-gabled wings, the attached porch is sheltered by a shed roof supported by slender, paired posts with delicate, molded capitals. The entryway occupies the east bay of the porch. A railing of turned balusters encloses the porch space. Fenestration on the side elevation s echoes that on the façade. The east elevation contains a side entry and a chimney is attached to the west elevation of the original building. Alterations include additions to the rear elevation (which are not visible from the street). A garage on the property has been modified by replacement of the garage door. The residence is otherwise intact and in excellent repair. *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) North elevation July 2007 *P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources: nhistoric 1935/City of Santa Ana Building Permits *P7. Owner and Address: *P8. Recorded by: L. Heumann and D .Howell-Ardila Sapphos Environmental, Inc. 133 Martin Alley Pasadena, California 91105 *P9. Date Recorded: July 27, 2007 *P10. Survey Type: Intensive Survey Update *P11. Report Citation: (Cite s urvey report and other sources, or enter “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 _2D2__________________________ *Resource Name or #: R.G. Hewitt House B1. Historic Name: R.G. Hewitt House B2. Common Name: Same B3. Original Use: Single -family Residence B4. Present Use: Single-family Residence *B5. Architectural Style: Monterey Revival influence *B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed 1935 August 30, 1935 . Residence and garage constructed for $5,000. January 18, 1937. Addition to residence and garage, $1,000 . July 3, 1945. Unspecified repairs, $75. September 11, 1987. Addition of wood fence. *B7. Moved? n No o Yes o Unknown Date:______ Original Location:_ ____________________ *B8. Related Features: Valencia orange trees and a cement-lined irrigation ditch, presumed to be remnants of a former orange grove, were reported on the p roperty in 2006 (Madigan, 2006); if extant, these features are significant and character-defining. . 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 R.G. Hewitt House is architecturally significant as an intact example of a transitional period in residential design, combining Monterey Revival stylistic influences with the massing and composition more associated with a farmhouse. According to the original building permit, dated August 30, 1935, the residence and garage were constructed for Clayton J. Fleming at a cost of $5,000. In 1936, Fleming sold the residence to Roscoe G. Hewitt and his wife Clara Duggan Hewitt, who owned and occupied the house for over 40 years. A m ember of the first graduating class of Santa Ana High School, the class of 1914, Hewitt worked as an agent with the New York Life Insurance Company and was active in the Masonic community in Santa Ana and the in Orange County Republican Central Committee. Hewitt is a descendant of Santa Ana pioneer Noah Palmer, who settled in Santa Ana with his family in the late 1860s. Palmer owned extensive acreage near First and Main Streets and was a founder, director, and/or president of the Commercial Bank, Bank of Orange, Bank of Tustin, and Orange County Savings Bank of Santa Ana. After Roscoe Hewitt’s death in 1976 and Clara Hewitt’s death in 1981, the residence was sold to Robert and Heidi Selway, who remained in the house until 1998, when it was sold to David Michael Madigan and Matthew T. Johnson. In 2001, Johnson sold the home to the current owners, Stephen and Patricia Eisenhauer. (See Continuation Sheet 3 of 4.) 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 4 .) B13. Remarks: *B14. Evaluator: Leslie J. Heumann *Date of Evaluation: July 27, 2007 DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information Sketch Map (This spa ce reserved for official comments.) 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) Hewitt House *Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann and Deborah Howell -Ardila *Date July 27, 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 d e 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 selecti on 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 R.G. Hewitt House is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by West 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; Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial Revival styles. The Allison Honer Construction Company went on to comple te 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 create, at 615 West Santa Clara Avenue. In the l ate 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 (2007), Floral Park maintains its identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens. The R.G. Hewitt House lies in the northern section of Floral Park historically known as North Broadway Park. Bounded by Riverside Drive, Santa Clara Avenue, North Broadway, and North Flower Street, North Broadway Park, subdivided in 1923, has been determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The Keeper of the National Register found that “North Broadway Park reflects the City Beautiful planning movement in Southern California during the early twentieth century. The vernacular adaptations of period revival styles, curvilinear street patterns, street furniture, and landscape combine to create a cohesive and pleasant middle class suburban neighborhood environment which is unique in the early historical development of the city of Santa Ana.”1 Under the regulations implementing the California Register of Historical Resources, the R.G. Hewitt House, which is a contributor to the National Register district, h as been listed in the California Register. The R.G. Hewitt House also qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the transitional period in residential architectural design occurring in the mid to late 1930s. Typical features of this period illustrated by the house include its two-story, cross-gabled massing and configuration; differentiation of cladding materials on first and second stories (with stucco on first story and horizontal wood- cladding); wood-framed casement windows flanked by false shutters; and covered porch . Additionally, the house has been categorized as “Contributive” because it “contributes to the overall character and histo ry” of Santa Ana, and, as an intact example of the transitional period in the mid to late 1930s in the Floral Park neighborhood, “is a good example of period architecture.” Character-defining exterior features of the R.G. Hewitt House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to , materials and finishes (stucco and wood); roof configuration and detailing; original windows and doors where extant; attached chimney; architectural details such as the decorative shutters and iron fasteners. 1 Determination of Eligibility, February 25, 1980. 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) Hewitt House *Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann and Deborah Howell -Ardila *Date July 27, 2007 x Continuation o Update DPR 523L 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 Gu ide 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. “Alison Honer Dies at 84,” The Santa Ana Journal, September 21, 1981. “Builder of Honer Plaza Dies,” Orange County Register, September 15, 1981. “History of Floral Park.” http://www.floral-park.com/page2.html. “Services Set for Hewitt, OC Insuranceman,” Santa Ana Register, October 11, 1976. “Services Set for Mrs. Hewitt,” Santa Ana Register, March 25, 1981. Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1932 -1954. Cynthia Ward, Anaheim. “Rogers-Hewitt House Primary Record and Bullding, Structure and Object Record,” May-June 2006. David-Michael Madigan, “Hewitt House.” No date, circa 2006. “Roscoe Gulick Hewitt,” Source unknown. “Services Set for Hewitt, OC Insuranceman,” Source unknown, October 11, 1976. “Services Set for Mrs. Hewitt,” The Register, March 25, 1981.