HomeMy WebLinkAbout030904_Template-AxworthyHouse_1308NBaker.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 _3_ Resource name(s) or number (assigned by recorder) Axworthy House
P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County
*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA 0054 Date:
*c. Address 1308 North Baker Street City Santa Ana Zip 92706
*e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number 405-271-09; N TR 765 LOT 2
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.)
An extensive cactus and succulent garden, surrounded by a split rail fence, occupies the front yard of this one-story, Spanish
Colonial Revival residence, partially obscuring the building from view. Covered in smooth, white stucco, the house is capped
by a cross-gabled roof covered in red clay tile. Rising slightly above the roof on the south elevation, a chimney is
distinguished by a pointed arch cap. Rafters are visible in the eaves of the side gable, which covers a porch recessed across
the south half of the façade. French doors and the entry open off of the porch. An archway at the south end of the porch
overlooks the driveway. The front-gabled north half of the façade contains a diamond patterned, pierced stucco grille near
the entry and a double casement window with a wrought iron grille offset to the north. A row of five one-over-one double-
hung sash windows at the southwest corner of the house appears to be an addition or an enclosure of a rear porch. The rear
portion of the house is topped by a flat roof with a tile-edged parapet. At the rear of the driveway, a one-story, stuccoed,
garage is also flat-roofed. In excellent condition, the house appears to retain substantial design integrity.
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (list attributes and codes) HP2. Single-family Property
*P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other
P5b. Photo: (view and date)
East and south elevations
May 2003
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Sources: historic
Circa 1927/ Source: Santa Ana and
Orange County City Directories
*P7. Owner and Address:
Rosemary Staff
1308 North Baker Street
Santa Ana, CA 92706
*P8. Recorded by:
Leslie J. Heumann
SAIC
35 S. Raymond Ave. # 204
Pasadena, CA 91105
*P9. Date Recorded:
July 28, 2003
*P10. Survey Type:
Intensive Survey
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey
report and other sources, or enter “none”)
None.
*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 3 *NRHP Status Code_5S1_________________________
*Resource Name or #: Axworthy House
B1. Historic Name: Axworthy House
B2. Common Name: Same
B3. Original Use: Single-family Residence B4. Present Use: Single-family Residence
*B5. Architectural Style: Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed circa 1927.
Note: No building card was found for this address.
April 2, 1998. Re roof flat area only. Remove and apply hot mop.
*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date:__________ Original Location:_____________________________
*B8. Related Features:
Garage.
B9a. Architect: Unknown b. Builder: Unknown
*B10. Significance: Theme Residential Architecture Area Santa Ana
Period of Significance: circa 1888-1953 Property Type: Single-family Residence Applicable Criteria: C
(Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity)
The Axworthy House is architecturally significant as a good example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style of the 1920s
applied to a one-story residence. No information about the original construction of the house was located. The address was
first listed in the Santa Ana city directories in 1928, indicating that construction probably occurred in 1927. W. G. and
Florence Axworthy were the residents. Mr. Axworthy was a teacher at El Modena School.
(See Continuation Sheet 3 of 3.)
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 3.)
B13. Remarks:
*B14. Evaluator: Leslie J. Heumann
*Date of Evaluation: July 28, 2003
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information
Sketch Map
(This space reserved for official comments.)
Axworthy House
1308 North Baker Street
State of California The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________________
CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial _____________________________________________
Page 3_ of 3_ Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Axworthy House
*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, SAIC *Date July 28, 2003 ⌧ Continuation 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 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, with
cultivated fields and orchards dotted with widely scattered farmhouses.
The Axworthy House is located in Washington Square, a neighborhood located northwest of the city center bounded by
West Seventeenth Street on the north, West Civic Center Drive on the south, North Flower Street on the east, and North
Bristol Street on the west. Most of this area was owned by the family of Jacob Ross, who had purchased portions of the
Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana in 1868 and 1869. Walnuts and other crops were grown in the area during the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with a few farmhouses, most notably the Ross-McNeal House at 1020 North Baker
Street, dotting the landscape. By 1905, Baker and Towner were the only streets in the neighborhood, which extended from
Hickey (now Civic Center) only as far as Washington and which contained only about a dozen homes. The status quo had
not changed much by 1915, when a brick yard was located at the northern terminus of Olive Street at Hickey. In 1925, the
beginning of the development that would convert this largely agricultural area into a middle class neighborhood of single-
family homes over the next 25 years had begun. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Tudor Revival and Spanish Colonial
Revival homes were the standard, with American Colonial Revival saltboxes and ranch style homes favored in the years
before and after World War II. During the 1930s, many of the homes were built by local contractor Emmett Rogers, who
sold lots and built homes according to standard plans, which individual property owners could customize to their tastes
(“Washington Square: A Neighborhood of Pride,” Washington Square Neighborhood Association). With the return of
servicemen following the war and the accompanying demand for homes in southern California, the development of
Washington Square was all but completed.
The Axworthy House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1, as a building
with the “distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or period.” Stylistic signatures of the Spanish Colonial
Revival such the stucco exteriors, tiled roof, asymmetrical composition, arched openings, and pierced stucco grille are
notable in this regard. Additionally, the house has been categorized as “Contributive” because it “contributes to the overall
character and history” of the Washington Square neighborhood and is a “good example of period architecture” as a highly
intact example of a one-story Spanish Colonial Revival home from the 1920s. Character defining exterior features of the
Axworthy House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (stucco, wood, wrought
iron); roof configuration and treatment; massing and composition; doors and windows; porch; garage; architectural detailing
(grilles); and chimney.
*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.
Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1905-1930.
“Washington Square: A Neighborhood with Pride.” Washington Square Neighborhood Association, no date.