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HomeMy WebLinkAbout051019_Template-MercereauHouse_1504-16W5threv1.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) Mercereau House P1. Other Identifier: *P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA1667 Date: *c. Address 1504-1506 West Fifth Street City Santa Ana Zip 92703 *e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number 405-174-08 *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.) This well-preserved example of an American Foursquare residence showcases many of the standard features of the genre. It is two stories in height and capped by a hipped roof whose rounded rafters tails are exposed in the eaves. A front gable tops a two-story bay, squared on the upper floor and canted on the lower, located at the west end of the façade. Braces and an extended bargeboard trim the gable end. Banded between stories by an embellished frieze, the building is clad with shingles on the second story and narrow clapboard on the lower level. Recessed into the east portion of the lower façade, the porch is defined by art stone walls and pedestals that carry clusters of square posts. Wooden cross-pieces and triangular brackets detail the posts. Art stone was also used for the walls flanking the central entry stairs and for a portion of the foundation. Tripartite windows on both stories of the east bay of the façade are characterized by diamond-paned transom windows. Another diamond-paned transom tops the central fixed window in the lower west bay. Double-hung sash windows (See Coninuation Sheet 3 of 3.) *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) North and east elevations October 2005 *P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources: historic 1907/City of Santa Ana Neighborhood Database *P7. Owner and Address: Gregory & Christine Santistevan 1504-1506 W. Fifth 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 #: Mercereau House B1. Historic Name: Mercereau House B2. Common Name: Same B3. Original Use: Single-family Residence B4. Present Use: Single-family residence *B5. Architectural Style: Prairie School (American Foursquare variant) *B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed in 1907. May 4, 1940. Alterations and repairs to residence. May 2, 1945. Reroof. January 13, 1949. Remodel residence. October 1, 1976. Remodeling (2,500 square feet, four apartments). *B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date:_ _____ Original Location:__ ____________________ *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 Mercereau House is architecturally significant as an intact and characteristic example of an American Foursquare residence, the best illustration of this popular style in the Artesia Pilar neighborhood. According to the City’s records, the house was built in 1907 in the Pacific Electric Subdivision. The first listing for the property in the city directories occurred in 1908-09, when it was noted that L. Dwight Mercereau, a grocer, and Mrs. Edna L. Mercereau, were the residents. A subsequent listing (1910-11) provides the information that the Mercereau grocery store was located next door, at 1502 West Fifth Street. Mercereau was still located at this address in 1940; the grocery store was now listed as an Alpha Beta Food Market. (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.) 1504-1506 West Fifth 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) Mercereau House *Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann *Date October 19, 2005 ⌧ Continuation Update DPR 523L *P3a. Description (continued): are utilized for other openings. A second cant bay projects from the lower east elevation. A non-original iron staircase is attached to the west elevation, the only exterior indication that the house has been converted into apartments. Other alterations are minor and include a wrought iron porch railing. The house is in good condition. *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 Mercereau 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 Mercereau House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property under Criterion 3 for its exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the American Foursquare variant of the Prairie Style. Notable features in this regard include the box-like massing and hipped roof, the careful balance of the front bay and porch in the design of the façade, the incorporation of roof and porch details influenced by the Craftsman style, and the use of decoratively paned transom windows. Additionally, the house has been categorized as “Key” because it “has a distinctive architectural style and quality” as an example of the American Foursquare genre. Character-defining exterior features of the Mercereau House that should be preserved, include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (shingles, siding, art stone); roof configuration and detailing; massing; original windows and doors; porch; bays; and architectural details such as the belt course, porch posts, transom windows, and brackets. *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.