HomeMy WebLinkAbout030807_Template-PacificElectricSubstation14_475NLacy.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 _4_ Resource name(s) or number (assigned by recorder) Pacific Electric Substation #14
P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County
*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Date:
*c. Address 725 North Lacy Street City Santa Ana Zip 92701
*e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number: 398-336-16; Lacy’s Add Block: B Lot: 14 Surface and 500 Ft.
Subsurface Vertically
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.)
Located on Lacy Street and Fifth Street, Pacific Electric Substation #14 is a one-story, red brick, industrial building influenced
by the Romanesque Revival style. A side gable roof tops the structure, with a continuous shed-roofed dormer spanning the
west elevation and a hipped roof cooling tower terminating the east dormer at the northeast corner. Of wood construction,
the dormers feature rows of nine-light windows separated by mullions into bays of three. The tower is clad in very narrow
clapboard and contains pairs of rectangular louvered vents on each elevation. Each elevation of the building is divided into
three bays by corner buttresses and piers that rise from the concrete foundation to corbelling in the eaves and below the
gable faces. Each bay on the street (west) elevation contains a segmental arched opening: windows in the side bays and a
larger, diagonally planked door in the center. Three equally sized windows are located on the south elevation
(See Continuation Sheet 3 of 4.)
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (list attributes and codes) HP8. Industrial Building.
*P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other
P5b. Photo: (view and date)
West and south elevations
May 2003
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Sources: historic
1907/Source: Thomas, 1983.
*P7. Owner and Address:
Santa Ana Unified School District
1405 North French Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701
*P8. Recorded by:
Leslie J. Heumann
SAIC
35 S. Raymond Ave. # 204
Pasadena, CA 91105
*P9. Date Recorded:
May 29, 2003
*P10. Survey Type:
Intensive Survey Update
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none”)
Les, Kathleen. “Historic Resources Inventory,” June 1979.
Thomas, Harold “Pacific Electric Sub-Station #14 (Santa Ana).” National Register Nomination Form, April 30, 1983.
*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 4 *NRHP Status Code_1S__________________________
*Resource Name or #: Pacific Electric Substation #14
B1. Historic Name: Pacific Electric Substation #14
B2. Common Name: Same
B3. Original Use: Electric Railway Substation B4. Present Use: Vacant
*B5. Architectural Style: Late Victorian Romanesque/Romanesque Revival
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed in 1907.
March 18, 1933. Repairs to Sub-Station.
January 18, 1946. Reroof.
December 17, 1991. Seismic retrofit.
*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date:__________ Original Location:_____________________________
*B8. Related Features:
None.
B9a. Architect: Unknown b. Builder: Pacific Electric Construction Department
*B10. Significance: Theme Transportation History Area Santa Ana
Period of Significance: 1886-1950 Property Type: Electrical Substation Applicable Criteria: A, C
(Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity)
Pacific Electric Substation #14 is historically significant for its association with the Pacific Electric Railway system that once
linked five Southern California counties and facilitated the growth and expansion of the region. It is also architecturally
significant as a fine example of early twentieth century industrial architecture. The substation was built in 1907 and is now the
oldest extant building remaining from the operation of the “Red Cars” in Orange County. It was erected as a conversion plant,
where alternating current from the Main Santa Ana-Watts Steam Generating Station was converted to direct current to run the
Santa Ana area lines in the interurban system.
(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 4 of 4.)
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Leslie J. Heumann
*Date of Evaluation: May 29, 2003
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information
Sketch Map
(This space reserved for official comments.)
Garfield Elementary
School site
PACIFIC ELECTRIC SUBSTATION # 14
475 NORTH LACY STREET
State of California The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________________
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial _____________________________________________
Page 3_ of 4_ Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Pacific Electric Substation #14
*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, SAIC *Date May 29, 2003 ⌧ Continuation Update
DPR 523L
*P3a. Description (continued):
while the north elevation is occupied by a single window in the west bay and a door in the center. Three rows of header bricks
define the arches over each opening. Gable faces, outlined by corbelling, contain round vents also ringed by header bricks.
Centered along the lower edge of each gable face, rows of tile pipes provided an outlet for electrical wiring (now removed).
Other than the boarding over of all the lower windows which occurred in 1980, the exterior of the building is substantially
unaltered. In 1983, the interior of the building, described as a large industrial space with a concrete slab floor and a roof
supported by timber purlins and trusses, was also intact. The building is located on the grounds of a school and is surrounded
by grass and a chain link fence.
*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 until the
1920s, when the transition to residential and other uses accelerated, culminating in the post-World War II boom.
Public transit came to Santa Ana in 1886, with the organization of the Santa Ana, Orange, and Tustin Street Railway
Company. This was one of many independent lines that eventually was absorbed into the Pacific Electric system, which was
born when Southern Pacific magnate Collis P. Huntington, his nephew Henry Huntington, and other investors took over the
Los Angeles Consolidated Electric Railroad. A few years later, in 1901, Henry Huntington founded a company which he
called Pacific Electric to manage his real estate holdings in areas not yet served by public transportation. Pacific Electric
began building new lines to these areas and taking over existing ones, becoming what some have called the world’s greatest
electrical railway system, with some 1100 miles of track and 2700 trains operating daily. The system peaked in the 1920s,
although the growing popularity of the automobile even then forecast the demise of the railroad. A brief resurgence during
World War II, when the all-time high ridership of over 109 million passengers was recorded in 1944, was not enough to save
the network. Lines were eliminated during the 1950s, with the last, the Los Angeles Long Beach line, ceasing operation in
1961.
Pacific Electric passenger service began in Santa Ana in 1905. Part of the Southern District of the system, Santa Ana was
served by the Santa Ana line which ran from Los Angeles and Long Beach via Watts to Santa Ana, the Santa Ana Orange
line, and the Santa Ana Huntington Beach line, which also had spurs to service the sugar beet industry. Tracks ran down
Fourth Street to the Pacific Electric station. Some trains also continued eastwards to the Southern Pacific depot. Like other
lines in the system, the Santa Ana routes fell victim to the automobile, and service to the city ceased in 1950.
Pacific Electric Substation #14 was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on September 22, 1983 as an individual
resource. Under the regulations implementing the California Register of Historical Resources, it is also listed in the California
Register. The property qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 4b, for its
association with the Pacific Electric Railway system that powered the growth of Santa Ana and the surrounding areas during
the first half of the twentieth century. It also qualifies under Criterion 1 as a structure with the distinguishing characteristics of
early twentieth century industrial design. Notable features in this regard include the brick construction, symmetrical
composition defined by buttresses and piers, and segmental arched openings. Additionally, the substation has been
categorized as “Landmark” because it “is on the national register,” it “is on the state register,” it “has historical/cultural
significance to the City of Santa Ana” as the last remaining structure associated with Pacific Electric railroad in the city and
county, and it “has a unique architectural significance” as an example of early twentieth century industrial design. All original
exterior features of Pacific Electric Substation #14 are considered character defining and should be preserved. These
features include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (brick and wood); roof configuration, dormers, and tower;
massing; windows and doors; and architectural details such as buttresses, piers, and corbelling.
State of California The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________________
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial _____________________________________________
Page 4_ of 4_ Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Pacific Electric Substation #14
*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, SAIC *Date May 29, 2003 ⌧ Continuation 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 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.
“The Red Cars of Los Angeles.” www.usc.edu/isd/archives/la/historic/redcars/