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HomeMy WebLinkAbout020620_Template-FireStationHeadquartersNo.1_1322NSycamore.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 _4_ Resource name(s) or number (assigned by recorder) Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 P1. Other Identifier: *P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA 1725 Date: *c. Address 1322 North Sycamore Street City Santa Ana Zip 92701 *e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number: 398-523-16 Sec 12 T 5 R 10 Lot: 55.4 X 115 FT *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.) Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 is an excellent example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style as adapted to civic buildings in Santa Ana. The two-story building has a T-shaped, low-pitched, cross-gabled roof covered in red tile. Carved brackets and exposed rafter tails project beneath shallow eaves. Stucco covers the exterior. A square tower with a red tiled hipped roof rises over the northwest corner. Pairs of vented, arched openings are on all four sides of the tower, whose original use was to dry suspended fire hoses. The east-facing Sycamore Street elevation is divided into three bays. On the second floor, a (See Continuation Sheet 3 of 3.) *P3b. Resource Attributes: (list attributes and codes) HP14. Government Building *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 1929/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 25, 2002 *P10. Survey Type: Intensive Survey Update *P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none”) Marsh, Diann. “Santa Ana Fire Station Headquarters No. 1,” National Register Nomination Form, February 1985. 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 4 *NRHP Status Code_1S_________________________ *Resource Name or #: Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 B1. Historic Name: Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 B2. Common Name: Same B3. Original Use: Fire Station B4. Present Use: Office building *B5. Architectural Style: Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival *B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): April 2, 1929. Fire Station #1. May 7, 1985. One monument sign. April 11, 1932. Private garage. May 7, 1985. Renovated evist. (sic) and addition. October 13, 1939. Repairs to fire station. May 7, 1985. Trash enclosure. December 24, 1963. Addition to fire station. June 3, 1986. Demolish interior partition walls. December 10, 1984. Demolish addition and noted interior walls. June 6, 1986. Interior tenant improvement. *B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date:__________ Original Location:_____________________________ *B8. Related Features: None. B9a. Architect: Frederick Eley. b. Builder: Unknown *B10. Significance: Theme Civic Architecture Area Santa Ana Period of Significance: 1886-1952 Property Type: Government Building Applicable Criteria: A, C (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity) Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 is a significant resource on several levels. It is one of the two oldest extant municipal buildings in Santa Ana, built in 1929. It is also the second oldest fire station in the City, and as the headquarters is symbolic of the vital role the Fire Department, its leaders, and its personnel have played and continue to play in the life of Santa Ana. In fact, Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 is “the largest, most intact, pre-1950s fire station in Orange County” (Marsh, 1985). The building is also significant for its Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and its association with Frederick Eley, Santa Ana’s foremost architect of the era. (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 25, 2002 DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information Sketch Map (This space reserved for official comments.) Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 1322 North S camore Street State of California  The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial _____________________________________________ Page 3_ of 4_ Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 *Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date February 25, 2002 ⌧ Continuation Update DPR 523L *P3a. Description (continued): row of five double-hung sash windows defines the two northern bays. The second floor south bay beneath the front gable has two double-hung sash windows fronted by a closed balcony, which wraps around the southern elevation. Below this balcony on Sycamore Street is an arched entrance leading to the office door. The door and transom are flanked by sidelights. North of the entrance, three squared columns supporting two flattened arches define a covered arcade with red tile pent roof. Two original fire truck entrances have doors recessed approximately six feet within the arcade. The fire truck doors feature three rows of square windows above two rows of panels. Hidden from street view, beneath the northeast corner of the arcade, a small door leads to a staircase to the second floor. In the mid-1980s the building was converted into offices and expanded westward at the rear. The remaining three exterior elevations, however, are substantially intact and original. *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. Santa Ana’s Fire Department was organized in 1881 as a volunteer force, acquiring its first home on the west side of Sycamore between Third and Fourth Streets in 1883. By the late 1880s, a new facility at 310 North Sycamore Street had been constructed, to be replaced by a new station at 307 North Sycamore Street in 1910, which in turn was superceded by a new brick station at Sycamore and Third Streets in 1921. None of these early fire stations has survived. Under the leadership of John Luxembourger, Santa Ana’s first full-time fire chief who served from 1918 until 1946, the fire department headquarters moved to 1322 North Sycamore Street. The Department had grown to encompass twelve paid firemen, a chief and an assistant chief, and 33 volunteers. Two companies were housed in the new station, along with additional offices and equipment. Following Luxembourger’s retirement, John Garthe, who had joined the Department in 1925 as a volunteer fireman, became chief. He served for 24 years, stepping down in 1970 to successfully run for City Council and was eventually elected Mayor. During his tenure as fire chief, based from his office in Fire Station Headquarters No. 1, Garthe supervised the substantial improvement of the Fire Department’s standards and equipment from Class 7 to Class 3. Built at a cost of $4,072, the station headquarters was designed by prominent local architect Frederick Eley. Eley, whose office was in Santa Ana from 1911 until 1937, was responsible for designing over 75 buildings in Orange County. Many were residences, but 22 were public buildings, including schools. Many of Eley’s schools were demolished following the 1933 and 1971 earthquakes. By the mid-1980s, only two schools and Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 had survived as evidence of Eley’s civic work (Marsh, 1985). Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 was listed as an individual resource in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It is therefore listed in the California Register of Historical Resources, and is also listed in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property and has been categorized as “Landmark.” It also qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property under four criteria. It embodies the distinguishing characteristics of the Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival style from the 1920s adapted to use on a public building (criterion 1). As a significant work of the noted Santa Ana architect Frederick Eley, the property satisfies criterion 2. It is a rare example of a civic building from the 1920s still extant in Santa Ana (criterion 3). Finally, it is a building of historical significance derived from its association with a renowned organization, the Santa Ana Fire Department, that figured importantly in the continued safety of the City as it grew and developed (criterion 4). Possessed of substantial integrity from 1929 on the north, east, and south exterior elevations, the building retains excellent and highly characteristic stylistic elements of the Spanish Colonial Revival style including its asymmetrical massing, red tile roof, stucco cladding, arched entrances, and arcade. All original exterior features of Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 are character defining and should be preserved. These features include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes; roof configuration; tower; arches; square columns; windows and recessed entrance doorways and door treatments, particularly the large, original fire engine doors. State of California  The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________________ CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial _____________________________________________ Page 4_ of 4_ Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 *Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date February 25, 2002 ⌧ Continuation Update DPR 523L *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.