HomeMy WebLinkAbout030904_ExecutiveSummary-ChamberlinHouse_1524NBaker.pdfEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CHAMBERLIN HOUSE
1524 North Baker Street
Santa Ana, CA 92706
NAME Chamberlin House REF. NO.
ADDRESS 1524 North Baker Street
CITY Santa Ana ZIP 92706 ORANGE COUNTY
YEAR BUILT Circa 1900 LOCAL REGISTER CATEGORY: Key
HISTORIC DISTRICT N/A NEIGHBORHOOD Washington Square
NATIONAL REGISTER CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION C NATIONAL REGISTER STATUS CODE 5S1
Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted
Prehistoric Historic Both
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: : Other: Folk House (I-House Variant)
Folk houses, often simply labeled “vernacular houses,” reflect nation-wide traditions of basic housing built without regard for
architectural styles and fashions. While early folk houses utilized indigenous materials, forms, and labor, the spread of the railroads
and the advent of balloon framing enabled subsequent construction to take advantage of inexpensive building materials such as mass-
produced lumber. Although the materials and the methods evolved, the forms generally did not. Simple side-gable, “I-Houses”
(defined as houses that are two rooms wide, one room deep, and two stories in height, as opposed to the one-story “Hall and Parlor”
houses) were derived from British precedents and were adapted to the United States by the additions of a front porch and a rear add-
on. Such homes became the dominant pre- and post-railroad housing over much of the southeastern United States and elsewhere,
lasting into the 20th century. I-houses are typically side-gabled, wood-framed, and have porches, usually hipped or shed-roofed,
attached to the façade. Windows are generally double-hung sash, often in the tall and narrow proportions of the Victorian era.
Variations in the type involve differing chimney placements, porch sizes, porch roof types, shapes of the rearward extensions that
enlarged the interior space, and the addition of details borrowed from other styles. Hall-and Parlor houses and I-Houses evolved into
“Massed-Plan, Side-Gabled” houses, which are more than one room deep and no longer have rear add-ons (McAlester, 94-98).
SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:
The Chamberlin House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1, as an unusual example
in Santa Ana of a building with the “distinguishing characteristics” of the Folk House (I-House variant) tradition from the turn of the
twentieth century. Additionally, the house has been categorized as “Key” because it “has a distinctive architectural style and quality”
as a relatively intact example of the Folk House (I-House variant) tradition. As an early farmhouse, the house is also “characteristic of
a significant period in the history of Santa Ana,” the agricultural era. If the more historic information about the house is found, and if
the garage were removed in order to restore the earlier appearance of the house, the property could be categorized as “Landmark.”
(Municipal Code Section 30-2.2).”
EXPLANATION OF CODES:
• National Register Criteria for Evaluation: (From Appendix 7 of Instructions for Recording Historical Resources, Office of
Historic Preservation)
C: that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the
work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity
whose components may lack individual distinction.
• National Register Status Code: (From Appendix 2 of Instructions for Recording Historical Resources, Office of Historic
Preservation)
5S1 Is separately listed or designated under an existing local ordinance, or is eligible for such listing or designation.