HomeMy WebLinkAbout020204_Template-FittonHouse_1602NBush.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) Fitton House
P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County
*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA 1725 Date:
*c. Address 1602 North Bush Street City Santa Ana Zip 92701
*e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number 398-121-03 Goodwins Add Block: A Lot: 13
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.)
Located on the northwest corner of Bush and Sixteenth Streets, this is a two-story, multi-gabled Craftsman bungalow. The
house is sheathed in siding of three narrow horizontal bands interspersed with wider bands. Exposed beams and rafter tails
support the deep eave overhangs and vertical lath vents pierce the gable faces. Centered on the second story of the
principal (east) elevation, three one-over-one double-hung sash windows are shaded by a shed roof extension of the main
gable. Attached to the south half of the façade, a porch is defined by a broadly pitched front gable resting on stout brick
piers. Windows are clustered in groups of three and four to either side of the offset entry and on the side elevations. A
second porch, sandwiched between two front gables, is located on the south elevation. Building records indicate that the
house was converted into a duplex with two addresses in 1948, then converted back to a single address as an attorney’s
office in the 1980s. The house exterior is substantially intact.
*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
July 2001
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Sources: historic
1914/Source: Treasures
*P7. Owner and Address:
*P8. Recorded by:
Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi
SAIC
35 S. Raymond Ave. # 204
Pasadena, CA 91105
*P9. Date Recorded:
February 4, 2002
*P10. Survey Type:
Intensive Survey Update
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none”)
City of Santa Ana. Santa Ana’s Historic Treasures.
*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 #: Fitton House
B1. Historic Name: Fitton House
B2. Common Name: Same
B3. Original Use: Single-family Residence B4. Present Use: Commercial
*B5. Architectural Style: Bungalow/Craftsman
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed 1914.
December 8, 1930. Reroof.
August 22, 1939. Reroof.
November 23, 1948. Convert residence into duplex.
December 10, 1948. Reroof.
January 6, 1993. Legalize closing of two interior doorways and closets; remove non-bearing partition wall; return to
commercial use.
*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 1880-1946 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 Fitton House is architecturally noteworthy as an intact and characteristic example of the Bungalow/Craftsman style.
According to previous research, the house was built in 1914 for Harry and Grace Fitton who resided there for over 30 years.
Harry Fitton held a number of varied jobs in Santa Ana. He was the foreman at S. Hill and Son, a hardware, plumbing, and
sheet metal works, during the 1920s. He managed a Kelvinator Store in downtown Santa Ana in 1928 and by the 1940s was
in the insurance business (Treasures).
(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: February 4, 2002
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information
Sketch Map
(This space reserved for official comments.)
Fitton House
1602 North Bush 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) Fitton House
*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date February 4, 2002 ⌧ 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. Early growth and development were stimulated by the arrival of the Southern Pacific
Railroad in 1878 and the Santa Fe Railroad in 1886. Following its incorporation as a city in 1886, Santa Ana was
recognized as one of the leading communities in the area in 1889 when it became the seat of the newly created County of
Orange. The development of southern California is general and Santa Ana in particular experienced a large boost in the
second half of the 1880s, when competition between the two railroads triggered a real estate boom.
Initially, residential development of Santa Ana was concentrated in the vicinity of the civic and commercial centers, located
around the intersection of Fourth and Main Streets. By the second decade of the twentieth century, however, the city had
expanded outwards. Neighborhoods such as French Court, north of the earlier French Park district, were improved with the
most popular domestic style of the era, the Craftsman bungalow.
The Fitton House is significant as a good example of this period in Santa Ana’s development. Included in the Santa Ana
Register of Historical Property, the Fitton House has been categorized as “Key.” It exhibits characteristic features of the
Craftsman style, including a pronounced horizontality, extensive gabling, exposed structural features, and bands of windows
that allowed daylight into the interior of the dwelling. Character-defining exterior features of the Fitton House that should be
preserved include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (siding, brick piers); roof configuration and detailing;
porches and bays; original windows and doors; and architectural detailing such as rafter tails.
*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.