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HomeMy WebLinkAbout020617_Template-FoxHouse_713NSpurgeon.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) Fox House P1. Other Identifier: *P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA 1725 Date: *c. Address 713 North Spurgeon Street City Santa Ana Zip 92701 *e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number 398-233-03 Thomas Add Lot: 2 Por of Lot and Por of Lot:3 *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.) This two-story house located on the prominent northeast corner of North Spurgeon Street and Civic Center Drive is a fine example of the Classic Box Variant of the Colonial Revival Style. A steeply pitched, intersecting, hipped roof with matching hipped dormers on the west and south sides crowns the house. Boxed eaves with paired brackets and an unadorned frieze distinguish the roofline. The dormers, mimicking the main roof design, have boxed eaves and brackets in addition to sixteen vent slits bordered by square, four-light windows (currently obscured by paint). Narrow clapboard sheathes the exterior. Windows are primarily wood-framed, double-hung sash with plain surrounds. The second story walls flair out at the bottom where a belt course divides the elevations. An intersecting hipped roof projects towards the northeast corner of the house, proving shelter for a squared, cantilevered, second- story bay on the north elevation. A full-width porch on the west façade features a hipped roof accented by paired, carved brackets over boxed eaves. A center, front gable suggests a pediment. Four Tuscan columns, connected by railings of closely spaced (Continued on page 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) West and north elevations May 2002 *P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources: historic 1905/ Source: National Register Nomination *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: June 17, 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) 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_1D__________________________ *Resource Name or #: Fox House B1. Historic Name: Fox House B2. Common Name: Same B3. Original Use: Single-family Residence B4. Present Use: Multiple-family Residence *B5. Architectural Style: Colonial Revival *B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed in 1905. September 30, 1924. Repairs. September 15, 1994. Repair porch and repair at front. March 16, 1933. Replace plaster with novely (sic) siding. April 14, 1933 Rebuilt brick flue. August 11, 1941. Reroof. May 25, 1948. Convert residence into 17 rooms. August 3, 1953. Alteration to apartment building. *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 Fox House is architecturally significant as a characteristic example of the Classic Box variant of the Colonial Revival style. It is also important as a contributor to the French Park Historic District. According to previous research, Charles and Ella Fox were the first owners of the house. Charles died in the early 1920s, but Ella continued living in the house until the mid-1940s (Marsh, 1998). (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: June 17, 2002 DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information Sketch Map (This space reserved for official comments.) Fox House 713 North S ur eon 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) Fox House *Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date June 17, 2002 ⌧ Continuation Update DPR 523L P3a. Description: square balusters, support broad porch beams. A narrow door with sidelights opens to a small balcony resting above the pediment. Concrete porch steps with concrete sidewalls lead to the main entrance door. The main door is paneled and flanked with sidelights. Wood replaces the north sidelight’s glazing, while the south sidelight appears to have new glass. South of the door, a fixed tripartite window with transom has double-hung sidelights. The house was converted into multiple units in 1948 and, although the building permit records indicate that “novelty siding” was applied in 1933, the property appears to be substantially intact on the exterior . *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. 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 Fox 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 textbook example of the Classic Box variant of the Colonial Revival style. Popular circa 1894 to 1910, this style was generally characterized by two-story, box-like massing, a hipped roof (often with centered dormers), boxed eaves, a full or partial front porch with columnar roof supports, and Colonial Revival detailing. The Fox House is a textbook example of the style. Additionally, the Fox house has been categorized as “Key” for its distinctive architectural quality. Character-defining exterior features of the Fox House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to: materials (wood) and finishes (siding); roof configuration and detailing; dormers; balcony; pedimented porch; columns; windows (including surrounds); and architectural details such as 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.