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HomeMy WebLinkAbout020409_Template-WilsonWagnerHouse_530SBirch.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) Wilson-Wagner House P1. Other Identifier: *P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA 2555 Date: *c. Address 530 South Birch Street City Santa Ana Zip 92701 *e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number 010-141-17 Heningers 2ns Add Lot:14 Block: H E 90 FT S 30 FT Thereof (Lot 16 Blk H E 90 FT Thereof *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.) The Wilson-Wagner House is a textbook example of a Prairie School style house. It is rectangular in plan with a low-pitched hip roof and symmetrical façade. Wide, projecting eaves shelter the two-story house. Horizontality is further emphasized by a belt course between floors. Typical of the style, the house is clad in stucco. Ribbons of casement windows with four, small, square lights in the upper portions are on both the first and second floors, set high up to emphasize the eave line. A window box set in front of three tall and narrow fixed windows in the central upper bay provides another horizontal accent. Below it, massive square piers with heavy caps support a shallow second story overhang, within which the central entry and a small porch are recessed. A one-story south wing with rooftop sun porch is subordinate to the principal two-story mass. A horizontal canopy shades the windows of this wing. Four steps, flanked by urn-topped pedestals, lead to the central entry. Similar pedestals and sculpted hedges define a front patio. The house is unaltered and in excellent 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) East elevation July 2001 *P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources: historic 1913/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 15, 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. Les, Kathleen. “Historic Resources Inventory, 530 Birch Street,” December 1979. *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 #: Wilson-Wagner House B1. Historic Name: Wilson-Wagner House B2. Common Name: Same B3. Original Use: Single-family Residence B4. Present Use: Single-family Residence *B5. Architectural Style: Prairie School *B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed in 1913. August 9, 1929. Repairs to residence. June 15, 1942. Reroof. April 18, 1946. Private garage. February 1, 1947. Addition of outside stairway. July 14, 1988. Reroof. *B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date:__________ Original Location:_____________________________ *B8. Related Features: Broad lawn, sculpted hedges, and mature tree on the east side of the property. B9a. Architect: Frederick Eley 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 Wilson-Wagner House is architecturally significant as a pure example of Prairie School design, one of the few in Orange County. It was designed by Frederick Eley, Santa Ana’s most prominent architect, and built in 1913 for J. Richard and Clara Wilson. Born in England, trained in both England and Canada, Eley arrived in southern California in 1907, during the heyday of the development of the Prairie Style in and around Chicago. He opened his own office in Santa Ana in 1911, rapidly gaining clientele for both residential and institutional projects around the county. Like many architects of the era, Eley was adept at many styles, which he demonstrated during 1913, the busiest year of his 26-year career (Richardson). The Wilsons, ranchers, owned the house until 1931. During the 1930s, Emil and Mildred Wagner were residents. Emil was a principal with Brown and Wagner Funeral Home at 19th and Sycamore in Santa Ana (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 15, 2002 DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information Sketch Map (This space reserved for official comments.) Wilson-Wagner House 530 South Birch 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) Wilson-Wagner House *Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date February 15, 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 Wilson-Wagner House is located in Heninger Park, a neighborhood which developed primarily between 1900 and 1930. The majority of homes in the area showcase the Colonial Revival, Craftsman, and later revival styles. The Wilson-Wagner House is a rarity, a southern California example of the Prairie Style, which developed more or less concurrently with the Craftsman bungalow phenomenon. Brothers H. B. and Martin Heninger were responsible for developing and platting the tract upon purchasing thirty-four acres of what was known as the Palmer Tract in 1907. The Heningers planted trees, put in sidewalks and curbs, and paved the streets on what had been a barley field. Later they bought additional tracts of ten and eighteen acres which they also platted and improved. These properties were known as Heninger Additions Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. In 1921, Orange County historian Samuel Armor described the Heninger tracts as “… the finest residence section of the city, built up with fine homes…,” adding, “ Mr. [Martin] Heninger and his brother have erected 150 houses on the property (Armor, p. 1777).” The Wilson-Wagner House is included in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property and has been categorized as “Landmark.” The house exhibits highly characteristic elements of the Prairie School style in its low-pitched, hipped roof configuration, symmetry, horizontality, and stucco cladding. Notable aspects of the house include the entrance treatment, a focal point of the house, and the south wing with rooftop sun porch. All original exterior features of the Wilson-Wagner House are considered to be character defining and should be preserved. These features include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (cladding); roof configuration and detailing; massing; windows and doors; and architectural detailing such as piers. *B12. References (continued): Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County California. Los Angeles, Historic Record Company, 1921. 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.