HomeMy WebLinkAbout051019_Template-Harrison-PenaHouse_1721W6th.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) Harrison-Pena House
P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County
*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA1667 Date:
*c. Address 1721 West Sixth Street City Santa Ana Zip 92703
*e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number 405-042-14
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.)
An ornate, scroll-patterned, plasterwork frieze is the highlight of this one-story, Colonial Revival cottage dating to the turn of
the twentieth century. L-shaped and capped by a hipped roof, the building is covered with horizontal siding trimmed with
endboards. The frieze bands the house below the boxed eaves. A hip-roofed dormer vent is centered above the projecting
west wing and also features boxed eaves. On the façade of the west wing, a large, cant bay is topped by a pent roof with
rafters exposed in the eaves. Abutting the projecting wing, a shed roof shelters the entry. A large, fixed sash window flanks
the entry to the east. Double-hung sash windows are located on the side elevations. Alterations include security grilles and a
wrought iron fence. The property is in good condition.
*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)
South elevation
October 2005
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Sources: historic
1901/City of Santa Ana
Neighborhood Database
*P7. Owner and Address:
Primitivo & Alma Barragan
1721 West Sixth Street
Santa Ana, CA 92703
*P8. Recorded by:
Leslie J. Heumann
SAIC
35 S. Raymond Ave. # 204
Pasadena, CA 91105
*P9. Date Recorded:
October 19, 2005
*P10. Survey Type:
Intensive Survey Update
*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 *CHR Status Code_5S1__________________________
*Resource Name or #: Harrison-Pena House
B1. Historic Name: Harrison-Pena House
B2. Common Name: Same
B3. Original Use: Single-family Residence B4. Present Use: Single-family residence
*B5. Architectural Style: Colonial Revival
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed in 1901.
April 4, 1952. Relocate residence from 816 Bush.
November 2, 1953. Private garage, 12’ x 18’.
*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date:_ 1952 _____ Original Location:_816 Bush ____________________
*B8. Related Features:
None.
B9a. Architect: Unknown b. Builder: Unknown
*B10. Significance: Theme Residential Architecture Area Santa Ana
Period of Significance: circa 1888-1955 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 Harrison-Pena House is architecturally significant as an intact and characteristic example of a Colonial Revival cottage
dating from the first decade of the twentieth century. It is one of the oldest and most intact of several such cottages surviving
in the Artesia Pilar neighborhood from this period. According to the City’s records, the house was built in 1901 and was
moved to this location in 1952 from 816 Bush Street, although the 1906 Sanborn map (updated to 1925) illustrates at two-story
residence with a different footprint at that location. However, the city directory listings for both the Bush Street and Sixth Street
addresses are consistent with a move in 1952. The first listing for 816 Bush occurs in 1901, when Mrs. Ellen W. Harrison,
(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: October 19, 2005
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information
Sketch Map
(This space reserved for official comments.)
1721 West Sixth 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) Harrison-Pena House
*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann *Date October 19, 2005 ⌧ Continuation Update
DPR 523L
*B10. Significance (continued):
widow of James Harrison, was the resident. Mrs. Harrison lived in the house for at least a decade. From the mid 1920s until
1951, 816 Bush was the home of the Metzgar family. Joseph H. Metzgar was Assistant Cashier at the Farmers and
Merchants Savings Bank; his wife, Jean, was the sole resident in 1951. The 1954 directory no longer lists the Bush address,
including 1721 West Sixth Street for the first time and noting that it was “under construction.” Manual R. Pena, a construction
worker who lived at 1727 West Sixth Street, obtained the permits to move the house, construct the garage, install the sewer,
and connect the gas and electricity. The first residents of the house following the move were Alex G. and Josephine Salcido.
Mr. Salcido worked for Consolidated Western Steel in Maywood.
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 Harrison-Pena House is located in Artesia Pilar, a neighborhood located west of the town center and bounded by
Seventeenth and First Streets on the north and south and by Bristol and Fairview Streets on the east and west. In 1912, this
area was at the western limits of the incorporated city and was mostly divided into small to large agricultural plots.
Subdivided areas were centered north and south of Fifth Street, between Bristol Street and Artesia (now Raitt) Street.
Traversing the neighborhood, the Pacific Electric Railroad tracks were laid along Fourth Street, the same route that Santa
Ana Boulevard follows today. The 1925 Sanborn maps were limited to the same subdivided areas around Fifth Street,
suggesting that development of homes continued to be confined to a handful of tracts. This assumption is borne out by the
styles of the homes that survive in the area today, a mix of Colonial Revival cottages and small Craftsman bungalows.
Although some construction took place during the 1920s and 1930s and resulted in houses displaying the revival styles
typical of that era, the majority of the northern and western portions of the neighborhood were improved in the post World
War II years with small California Ranch style homes.
Artesia Pilar is also historically notable as a “colonia,” one of the approximately forty-five neighborhoods in Orange County in
which Mexican-Americans lived, were able to purchase property, attended school, and worshipped. Initially settled by Anglo-
Americans, the southern half of the neighborhood had a sprinkling of residents with Spanish surnames by 1920. Artesia
School, located at 705 North Artesia Street (and later known as Fremont School), was specifically identified in the city
directory as “Mexican.” West of Artesia, between First and Eighth, the neighborhood was almost entirely Mexican-American
by 1930. This trend continued, spreading somewhat eastwards, over the next decades. In 1949, Our Lady of Pilar Catholic
Church opened in a reclaimed Army barracks on West Sixth Street. A new building was constructed in 1961 and dedicated in
1964; it became the official parish church of Mexican-Americans in Santa Ana in 1969.
The Harrison-Pena House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property under Criterion 3 for its
exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of a Colonial Revival cottage from the early years of the twentieth century.
Notable features in this regard include the rectangular massing and hipped roof, boxed eaves, and embellished frieze.
Additionally, the house has been categorized as “Contributive” because it “contributes to the overall character and history” of
the Artesia Pilar neighborhood, and, as an intact early twentieth century Colonial Revival cottage, “is a good example of
period architecture.” Character-defining exterior features of the Harrison-Pena House that should be preserved, include, but
may not be limited to: materials and finishes (siding); roof configuration and detailing; massing; original windows and doors
where extant; porch; bays; and architectural details such as the frieze, endboards, dormer, and boxed eaves.
*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.
Orange County Plat Maps, 1912.
Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1905-1950.
Personal Communication, Yolanda Morelos Alvarez, Chairman of the Orange County Mexican American Historical Society,
November 2, 2005.