HomeMy WebLinkAbout020219_Template-FranklinElemSchool_210WCubbon.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) Franklin Elementary School
P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County
*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA 2555 Date:
*c. Address 210 West Cubbon Street City Santa Ana Zip 92701
*e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number : 010-230-01 South Side Add Block: 12
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.)
The 1934 Administration Building of Franklin Elementary School is a one-story, flat-roofed, steel-framed concrete building in
the P.W.A. Moderne variant of the Moderne style. The “T” plan building is asymmetrically massed, and dominated by its
monumental entrance located in the west bay of the central block. Located atop a short flight of stairs, the entry is deeply
recessed within a slightly pointed arch that steps back in three increments. Broad, flat piers to either side are ornamented
with relief panels and topped by a slightly raised parapet proclaiming the year of the building. Franklin, the school’s name, is
announced above the doorway. A reeded frieze bands the building. Four window bays occupy the west section of the main
block. Classroom wings are set back uneven distances on the east and west. Windows appear to be original. The building
is in very good condition.
*P3b. Resource Attributes: (list attributes and codes) HP15. Educational Building
*P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other
P5b. Photo: (view and date)
North elevation
July 2001
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Sources: historic
1934/Source: City of Santa Ana
Building Permit
*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 19, 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_3S_________________________
*Resource Name or #: Franklin Elementary School
B1. Historic Name: Spurgeon School
B2. Common Name: Franklin Elementary School
B3. Original Use: Educational Building B4. Present Use: Educational Building
*B5. Architectural Style: Art Deco, Moderne
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed in 1934.
June 1923. Addition to school. March 21, 1933. Repair earthquake damage.
July 8, 1927. School lavatories. November 7, 1934. School.
January 24, 1929. Reroof school. May 18, 1951. Two classroom addition.
November 6, 1929. School. July 24, 1952. Reroof.
*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date:__________ Original Location:_____________________________
*B8. Related Features:
Mature palm on front lawn.
B9a. Architect: Frederick Eley b. Builder: L. R. Wilson
*B10. Significance: Theme Institutional Architecture Area Santa Ana
Period of Significance: 1900-1952 Property Type: Educational Building Applicable Criteria: C
(Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity)
The Franklin Elementary School is architecturally significant as a rare surviving example of historic school architecture in
Santa Ana. Founded as Spurgeon School, the institution was initially housed in a building on West Cubbon Street designed
by A. T. Sturges in 1912. In 1922, architect Frederick Eley designed two Spanish Colonial Revival style wings to the 1912
building. The 1912 school was demolished following the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake and the passage of the Field Act
requiring earthquake resistant school construction a year later. Architect Frederick Eley, who had an illustrious background in
school design in Santa Ana and throughout Orange County, was chosen by the Board of Education to design a new facility in
1934. The new building was constructed at a cost of approximately $60,000. The school closed in 1975 and was
subsequently renamed Franklin 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: February 19, 2002
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information
Sketch Map
(This space reserved for official comments.)
Franklin Elementary School
210 West Cubbon 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) Franklin Elementary School
*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date February 19, 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.
The school system in Santa Ana dates nearly to the founding of the town. The first school building opened in January 1870
at the corner of Church and Broadway. A new, larger schoolhouse was constructed in 1876. Regular additions to the
school system were made as the town grew; some milestones included the construction of the Central Grammar School in
1887 (on the site of the Y.M.C.A. Building) and the contraction of the new high school at Main and Tenth Streets (on the site
of the Buffums Building) in 1900. By 1910, five elementary schools and the high school were in operation. The subsequent
decade witnessed the construction not only of Spurgeon Elementary School but also the first intermediate school, the new
Polytechnic High School, and Santa Ana Junior College. In the 1920s, a boom in school construction was evidence of the
growth of Santa Ana as a whole. Frederick Eley was the architect favored for school design, and eleven of his school
commissions in Santa Ana occurred between 1921 and 1929.
Altogether Eley was responsible for over 25 schools or school buildings in Orange County during his 1911-1937 career.
Nearly all of these buildings, however, have been demolished, leaving the few that remain not only as valued examples of
historic school design but also as important evidence of one of the most important themes in the body of work of Santa
Ana’s most significant architect.
The Franklin Elementary School is included in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property and has been categorized as
“Landmark.” The building retains excellent and highly characteristic stylistic elements of the P.W.A. Moderne style, including
its massing, entrance treatment, and incorporation of sculptural reliefs. All original exterior features of the Franklin
Elementary School are character defining and should be preserved. These features include, but may not be limited to:
materials and finishes; roof configuration; relief sculptures; piers and pilasters; entrance configuration and treatment; and
architectural detailing such as friezes and moldings.
*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.
Richardson, Robert. Orange County’s Pioneer Architect: Frederick Eley. Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society, 2001.