Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout020715_Template-OppHuffHouse_323EWashington.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) Opp-Huff House P1. Other Identifier: *P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County *b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA 1725 Date: *c. Address 323 East Washington Avenue City Santa Ana Zip 92701 *e. Other Locational Data: 398-134-14 C R SMITHS ADD BLK B LOT 3 *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.) Built in 1908, this large, two-story, asymmetrical Craftsman house is capped with an intersecting front and side-gabled roof. Exposed beams and rafter tails project beneath deep overhangs. Triangular knee braces, carved bargeboards, half- timbering, and horizontal slat vents characterize the gable faces. A beltcourse divides the two floors, which are sheathed in narrow clapboard. Windows are mostly double-hung sash with multiple lights in the upper sashes and either abut continuous headers or have extended lintels. Tripartite groupings, including a window with a multi-light transom flanked by sidelights on the lower story, are located in the front-gabled east wing. A prominent, projecting front porch occupies the southwest two- thirds of the first floor facade. Resting on a raised brick foundation, most of the porch has been enclosed by a band of narrow, multi-light casement windows. A row of brackets decorates the slightly projecting cornice of the flat porch roof, which forms a second floor balcony surrounded by a stick and “X”-patterned railing punctuated by square pedestals. Below the balcony, an open porch bay contains the main entrance, entered from the side beneath a pergola extension of the porch. The “X” motif is repeated in the pergola supports while the entry bay features a brick pier topped with a wood post. (See Continuation Sheet 3 of 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) South and east elevations June 2002 *P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources: historic 1908/ Source: National Register Nomination. *P7. Owner and Address: Donald S. Olsen 515 Dunnegan Drive Laguna Beach, CA 92651 *P8. Recorded by: Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi SAIC 35 S. Raymond Ave. # 204 Pasadena, CA 91105 *P9. Date Recorded: July 15, 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 #: Opp-Huff House B1. Historic Name: Opp-Huff House B2. Common Name: Same B3. Original Use: Single-family Residence B4. Present Use: Multiple-family Residence *B5. Architectural Style: Craftsman *B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed in 1908. September 10, 1930. Reroof. April 17, 1933. Rebuild tops of chimneys. January 25, 1938. Reroof. August 23, 1945. Reroof. April 19, 1948. Enlarge bedroom and build outside stairs. February 2, 1956. Addition to garage (5’ x 18’). *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 Opp-Huff House is significant as a representative example of a large Craftsman house from the early years of the twentieth century in Santa Ana. It is also important as a contributor to the French Park Historic District. According to previous research, citrus rancher, carpenter, cabinet maker, and builder Henry P. Opp and his wife were the original owners of the house. It is not clear if Mr. Opp was the actual builder of his own house. In 1912 the house was sold to D. Eyman and Blanche Huff. Mr. Huff was the general manager of the Sunset Fruit Exchange. Two years later, the widowed A. Minnie Gardner became the third owner, living in the house until the 1940s. Mr. Harvey Gardner (relationship to A. Minnie Gardner unspecified), a resident for several years, later became Orange County treasurer (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 15, 2002 DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information Sketch Map (This space reserved for official comments.) Opp-Huff House 323 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) Opp-Huff House *Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date July 15, 2002 ⌧ Continuation Update DPR 523L *P3a. Description (continued): A vertical wood slat balustrade encloses the entry porch space. On the first floor east elevation, a squared bay with bracketed, hipped roof and narrow side windows projects towards the concrete driveway. A slender exterior brick chimney projects through the eaves on the east elevation. Landscaping consists of short and tall cypress trees, a mature pine tree, bougainvillea, and a front lawn bordered by a concrete retaining wall. The house exterior appears original and unmodified except for the porch enclosure and the conversion into multiple units (presumably in 1948 when outside stairs were added). *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 Opp-Huff 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 Craftsman residence from the early years of the twentieth century. Additionally, the house has been categorized as “Key” for its distinctive architectural style and quality. Characteristic Craftsman features include the intersecting gabled roof, knee braces, exposed beams and rafter tails, carved bargeboards, half timbering, original porch configuration and supports, fenestration, pergola, and overall massing. Character-defining exterior features of the Opp-Huff House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to: sheathing (clapboard); roof configuration; massing; windows; porch and pergola; and architectural details such as knee braces, exposed beams and rafter tails, carved bargeboards, and half timbering. *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.