HomeMy WebLinkAbout020724_Template-LiggettWallaceHouse_501EWashington.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) Liggett-Wallace House
P1. Other Identifier:
*P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Orange County
*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad TCA 1725 Date:
*c. Address 501 East Washington Avenue City Santa Ana Zip 92701
*e. Other Locational Data: Assessor’s Parcel Number: 398-151-20; N TR 140 Lot: 6
*P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries.)
Substantially rehabilitated in 1986, this one-story Craftsman bungalow displays a symmetrical, front-gabled façade dominated
by a full-width recessed porch. The porch, including the stick balustrade, handrail, and latticework foundation skirting, have
been rebuilt. At the same time, the exterior narrow clapboard sheathing was replaced, aluminum sliding windows installed on
the east elevation, and the original garage demolished. Characteristics of the roof treatment include a simply molded raking
cornice, deep eaves covering exposed rafters, and beam-ends that emerge near the end-walls. A pair of rectangular,
crosshatch vents with typical Craftsman surrounds are centered below the gable peak. Paired six-over-one, wood-framed,
double-hung sash windows with Craftsman surrounds flank the centered main entrance. Bisecting a front yard of grass and
shrubbery, a concrete path bordered by hedges leads to the entry. An exterior red brick chimney rises from the center of the
east elevation. Building permits document a 1929 addition to the house, most likely at the rear. Since the 1986 alterations,
the house has been well maintained and retains the character of its original appearance.
*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)
North and east elevations
June 2002
*P6. Date Constructed/Age and
Sources: historic
1921/ Source: National Register
Nomination.
*P7. Owner and Address:
Roberto Gomez
501 E. 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 24, 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 #: Liggett-Wallace House
B1. Historic Name: Liggett-Wallace House
B2. Common Name: Same
B3. Original Use: Single-family Residence B4. Present Use: Single-family Residence
*B5. Architectural Style: Bungalow/Craftsman
*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations): Constructed in 1921.
May 24, 1929. Addition.
October 5, 1937. Reroof.
August 9, 1948. Reroof.
August 18, 1986. Demolish old existing garage only.
November 3, 1986. Remove old porch and replace with new, replace exterior doors, new roof, new façade boards, per Notice
of Order
November 3, 1986. New 10’ x 20’ wood frame garage.
*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)
Built in 1921, the Liggett-Wallace House is significant as a representative example of a late Craftsman bungalow. It exhibits
the simplification of the earlier Craftsman style that typified the early 1920s, when a few signature elements, such as low-
pitched gables with exposed beams and rafters, clapboard siding, and a front porch, were enough to identify the style. The
house is also important as a contributor to the French Park Historic District. According to previous research, Delbert and Ruby
Liggett were the first occupants of the house in 1921. Mr. Liggett worked for the Bemis Lumber Company. In 1923, Albert and
Marion Wallace began a twenty-year residency. Albert Wallace was an engineer with the Santa Fe Railroad (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 24, 2002
DPR 523B (1/95) *Required information
Sketch Map
(This space reserved for official comments.)
Liggett-Wallace House
501 East Washin ton 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) Liggett-Wallace House
*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date July 24, 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 Liggett-Wallace 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 1920s. Additionally, the house
has been categorized as “Contributive” because it “contributes to the overall character and history” of French Park through its
style and type, is a “good example” of a Craftsman bungalow of its period, and “has not been substantially altered.”
Characteristic Craftsman features include the front-gabled roof, full-width, recessed front porch, exposed beams and rafters,
window configuration, and window and door surrounds. Character-defining exterior features of the Liggett-Wallace House
that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to: roof configuration; gable vent; massing; original windows; window
surrounds; recessed front porch; and architectural details such as exposed rafters and beam ends.
*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.