HomeMy WebLinkAbout020708_Template-WilsonHouse_305EWashington.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 House
P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County
*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA 1725 Date:
*c. Address 305 East Washington Avenue City Santa Ana Zip 92701
*e. Other Locational Data: 398-134-11 SPURGEON ST TR LOT 1 S 109.45 FT THEREOF (LOT 2 W FT S 109.45 FT
THEREOF)
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.)
This two-story Colonial Revival house features a clipped, side-gabled roof with cornice returns and a plain frieze. A similarly
styled offset front porch is attached to the eastern two-thirds of the primary (south) elevation. Exteriors are sheathed in
narrow clapboard with a belt course dividing the two floors. Tripartite windows consisting of fixed center panes flanked by
double-hung sash are located east and west of the central entrance. Other windows vary between double-hung sash and
casements, arranged in singles or pairs, and are divided by vertical and horizontal muntins in the Craftsman manner. Tuscan
columns resting on a concrete porch floor support the projecting front-gabled porch roof. Concrete steps with non-original
wrought iron railings lead to the porch entrance where a screen door has been placed in front of a wood door with three
center lights. A painted exterior brick chimney pierces the roof edge on the west elevation. Secondary elevations contain
smaller, double-hung windows. In 1947 an addition was constructed, perhaps at the rear. Other than the railings, the house
appears original and in good 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)
South and west elevations
June 2002
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Sources: historic
1921/ Source: City of Santa Ana
Building Permits.
*P7. Owner and Address:
Ray E. Cook
305 East Washington Avenue
Santa Ana, CA 92701
*P8. Recorded by:
Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi
SAIC
35 S. Raymond Ave. # 204
Pasadena, CA 91105
*P9. Date Recorded:
July 8, 2002
*P10. Survey Type:
Intensive Survey Update
*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none”)
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 #: Wilson House
B1. Historic Name: Wilson House
B2. Common Name: Same
B3. Original Use: Single-family Residence B4. Present Use: Single-family Residence
*B5. Architectural Style: Colonial Revival
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations):
December, 1921. Residence.
May 18, 1933. Rebuild chimney.
August 11, 1947. Addition to residence 3’6” x 9’.
*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 Wilson House is significant as a representative example of a Colonial Revival house from the early 1920s in Santa Ana. It
is also important as a contributor to the French Park Historic District. According to previous research, the original owners were
Roscoe and Grace Wilson, who also developed houses at 1227 and 1229 North French Street at around the same time. The
Wilsons resided in this house until at least 1947. Mr. Wilson was president of the Santa Ana Preserving Company on Fruit
Street before founding The Wilson Company, a manufacturer of perfumes and toiletries also located on Fruit Street. He
continued with The Wilson Company into the 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: July 8, 2002
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information
Sketch Map
(This space reserved for official comments.)
Wilson House
305 East Washington Avenue
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 House
*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date July 8, 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. 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 Wilson 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 an intact and representative example of a Colonial Revival residence from the early 1920s. Additionally, the house has
been categorized as “Key” for its distinctive architectural style and quality. Characteristic Colonial Revival features include
the clipped, side-gabled roof (also known as a “jerkinhead roof”), boxed cornices, broad front-gabled porch with Tuscan
supports, and exterior brick chimney . Character-defining exterior features of the Wilson House that should be preserved
include, but may not be limited to: sheathing (clapboard); roof configuration; massing; windows; porch; and architectural
details such as boxed cornices and Tuscan columns.
*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.