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HomeMy WebLinkAbout020424_Template-RobbinsHouse_930NLacy.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) Robbins House P1. Other Identifier: *P2. Location: †Not for Publication „Unrestricted *a. County Orange County *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA 1725 Date: *c. Address 930 North Lacy Street City Santa Ana Zip 92701 *e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number 398-031-14 Santa Ana East Lot: 31 Block: 84 and Resub of Bottlers Add & Santa Ana East Lot: 32 Block: 84 *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.) This solid, two-story Craftsman house includes some obvious Tudor influences such as the half-timbering decorating the gable faces. The steeply pitched, side gabled roof has a prominent front gabled dormer centered on the mostly symmetrical facade. Knee braces distinguish the gable eaves. Wood shingles clad the second story while narrow clapboard sheathes the first. A row of four, six-over-one, double-hung sash windows are sandwiched between the dormer gable and the porch shed roof. Similar windows are used throughout the house. The center porch roof is supported by red brick pedestals carrying round wood columns. A solid porch railing of red brick is relieved in the center by a banded opening. Windows with multi-light transoms flank the porch to the north and south with the northern opening framed by a pergola extension of the porch. The original front door features a light in its upper third. On the north elevation, carved brackets support a cantilevered, squared bay with shed roof. An exterior red brick chimney is attached to the south elevation. Although the building was converted into a multiple family residence, it is not obvious from the exterior which appears intact and original. A two-story residential building and garage were constructed on the west side of the property in 1954. *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 north elevations March 2002 *P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources: „historic 1911/ Source: National Register nomination. *P7. Owner and Address: Goldenwest Relocation Corp. 177 Riverside Avenue Newport Beach, CA 92663 *P8. Recorded by: Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi SAIC 35 S. Raymond Ave. # 204 Pasadena, CA 91105 *P9. Date Recorded: April 24, 2002 *P10. Survey Type: Intensive Survey Update *P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none”) Les, Kathleen. “Historic Resources Inventory French Park District,” September 1979. Marsh, Diann. “French Park Historic District.” National Register Nomination Form, February 1998. *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) P5a. Photo DPR 523L 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_1D__________________________ *Resource Name or #: Robbins House B1. Historic Name: Robbins House B2. Common Name: Same B3. Original Use: Single-family Residence B4. Present Use: Multiple-family Residence *B5. Architectural Style: Bungalow/Craftsman *B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed in 1911. November 25, 1930. Alterations. March 21, 1933. Rebuild chimney. June 5, 1939. Reroof. March 26, 1954. Private garage (3 car) and foundation for two-story building. July 6, 1954. Plastering. December 3, 1962. Rooming house: B and A. June 25, 1984. Reroof. September 15, 1994. Remove partitions for closet in hallway, remove partition wall between units 2 and 3 to create one unit, frame in doorways at Unit 1 (to kitchen) and Unit 2 (to hallway), open doorway to hall at Unit 1. Repair porch wall. *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 Robbins House is a representative example of a Craftsman house with Tudor influences. It is also important as a contributor to the French Park Historic District. According to previous research, the house was built for Osmond and Elizabeth Robbins. Mr. Robbins held a wide variety of jobs and was active in Santa Ana civic life. A stone cutter by trade, he was the manager of the Arizona Sandstone Company of Santa Ana for four years, from 1896 to 1900. It was during these years that (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: April 24, 2002 *Required information DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information Sketch Map (This space reserved for official comments.) Robbins House 930 North Lac Street DPR 523L Page _3_ of _3 Resource name(s) or number (assigned by recorder) Robbins House *Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date April 24, 2002 Continuation *B10. Significance (continued): his company provided materials for a number of important buildings, including the Orange County Courthouse and Denver’s Brown Palace Hotel. In 1900, Mr. Robbins and H. Fairbanks partnered in an insurance and real estate business. In 1907, Robbins and his son Mac opened the insurance firm of O. M. Robbins and Son. Mr. Robbins was elected secretary and manager of the Home Mutual Building and Loan Association of Santa Ana in 1909. He was also a Mason, a member of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, the Agricultural Association, the Sunset Club, and the Rotary Club. Also active in civic life, Mrs. Elizabeth Robbins was Chairman of the Building Committee for the Ebell Club and was active in the Eastern Star and Daughters of the American Revolution organizations (Marsh, 1998). 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. In 1877, Spurgeon, along with James McFadden and James Fruit, formed the Western Development Company with the intention of bringing the Southern Pacific Railroad from its then terminus in Anaheim into Santa Ana. Thinking to capitalize on commercial growth around the railroad, the partners purchased 160 acres adjacent to the eastern city boundary at French Street. Although they were successful in luring the Southern Pacific to a new depot on Fruit Street in Santa Ana in 1878, the expected commercial development of “Santa Ana East” never materialized. Early growth and development of the town continued to be centered further west around Fourth and Main Streets, with the result that the legacy of Santa Ana East is an angled street plan whose intersection with the original city is marked by a small, triangular parcel, developed in the 1890s as Flatiron Park, now known as French Park. Santa Ana continued to grow, stimulated by the arrival of 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. Beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the twentieth century, the area around the park began to be developed with many of the finest homes in Santa Ana. Examples of Victorian era, turn of the century, and Craftsman homes were built along the tree-lined streets. By the 1920s, most streets in the neighborhood were fully developed, although a few revival styled single family homes and duplexes were built during the 1920s, and a handful of apartments constructed in the 1930s. From the nineteenth century onwards, residents were a “Who’s Who” of early Santa Ana, and included bankers, attorneys, doctors, businessmen, ranchers, teachers and others active in the civic and social life of the city. Once known as the “Nob Hill” of Santa Ana, French Park declined in the 1940s and 1950s as some homes were converted into rooming houses and others were allowed to deteriorate. In the 1960s and 1970s some houses were demolished and the properties redeveloped with multi-family housing. However, a grass roots preservation effort begun in the late 1970s led to the establishment of a local historic district in 1984 and the listing of the neighborhood in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. The Robbins House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 as a contributor to the French Park Historic District. It is therefore listed in the California Register of Historical Resources and is located within the boundaries of the locally designated historic district. It also qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property under Criterion 1 as a representative example of the Craftsman style and Criterion 4 for its association with a prominent Santa Ana citizen. Additionally, the house has been categorized as “Key” for its distinctive architectural quality and association with a distinguished local family. The incorporation of Tudor-inspired half-timbering, recalling the medieval influences on the Arts and Crafts Movement, combined with Craftsman elements such as knee braces and notched beams and rafters, imparts a distinctive quality to the Robbins House. Character-defining exterior features of the Robbins House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to: materials (wood) and finishes (siding); roof configuration and detailing; pergola; porch; windows (including surrounds); and architectural details such as exposed beams, rafter tails, and knee braces. *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.