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State of California The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________________
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________________
<br />CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial _____________________________________________
<br />Page 3_ of 3_ Resource Name: Ridley C. Smith House
<br />*Recorded by Pedro Gomez *Date October 4, 2018 Continuation Update
<br />DPR 523L
<br />*B10. Significance (continued):
<br />
<br />Ridley C. Smith was an active member of the Santa Ana community, specifically as a member of the First Presbyterian
<br />Church, President of the Y.M.C.A. Toast Masters Club, member of the Orange County Bar Association and as an Exalted
<br />Ruler of the Santa Ana Elks Lodge, which meant he was amongst the highest members that governed the Elks Lodge. In
<br />1942, the house was sold to George E. and Elma M. Bradley. Mr. Bradley was originally from Waterloo, Iowa, and was also
<br />an attorney with offices in the Spurgeon Building. He married Elma M. McBridge (maiden name) in 1934. Elmawas also an
<br />Exalted Ruler of the Santa Ana Elks Lodge. The home was subsequently sold in 1970 to Desmund R. Pincock, who was the
<br />recorded owner up until 1975.
<br />
<br />The Ridley C. Smith is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by West
<br />Seventeenth Street, North Flower Street, Riverside Drive, and Broadway. Groves of orange, avocado, and walnut trees and
<br />widely scattered ranch houses characterized this area before 1920. Developer and builder Allison Honer (1897-1981),
<br />credited as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls,
<br />New York in 1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356). “Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a parcel of land.
<br />And that month, he began building custom homes in Santa Ana” (Orange County Register, September 15, 1981). The parcel
<br />chosen became the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. “When built in the 1920s, the
<br />Floral Park homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each” (Orange County
<br />Register, September 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s and
<br />1930s and Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial Revival.
<br />The Allison Honer Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco styled Old Santa
<br />Ana City Hall, the El Toro Marine Base during World War II, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the
<br />neighborhood he had helped to create, at 615 West Santa Clara Avenue.
<br />
<br />In the late 1920s and 1930s, another builder, Roy Roscoe Russell (1881-1965), continued developing the groves of Floral
<br />Park. An early Russell project was his 1928 subdivision of Victoria Drive between West Nineteenth Street and West Santa
<br />Clara Avenue. The homes were quite grand and displayed various revival styles, including Russell’s own large, Colonial
<br />Revival mansion at 2009 Victoria Drive. In the early post World War II years, Floral Park continued its development as
<br />numerous, smaller, single-family houses were built. Continuing in the Floral Park tradition, they were mostly revival in style. In
<br />the 1950s, low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2018) Floral Park maintains its
<br />identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />
<br />The Ridley C. Smith House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its
<br />representation of the distinguishing characteristics of the Neoclassical style. Additionally, the house has been categorized as
<br />“Key” because it "has a distinctive architectural style and quality" representing the Neoclassical style in Santa Ana (Santa
<br />Ana Municipal Code, Section 30-2.2). Character-defining features of the Ridley C. Smith House include, but may not be
<br />limited to: symmetrical facade, materials and finishes (wood siding and simple square columns); roof configuration, materials,
<br />and treatment; massing and composition (full-façade entry porch); fenestration (multi-pane hung windows where extant); and
<br />architectural detailing (Chinese Chippendale roof-line railings).
<br />
<br />*B12. References (continued):
<br />
<br />Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
<br />Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, WW Norton, 1998.
<br />Marsh, Diann. Santa Ana, An Illustrated History. Encinitas, Heritage Publishing, 1994.
<br />McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984.
<br />National Register Bulletin 16A. “How to Complete the National Register Registration Form.” Washington DC: National
<br />Register
<br /> Newspapers.com (Santa Ana Register)
<br />Branch, National Park Service, US Dept. of the Interior, 1991.
<br />Office of Historic Preservation. “Instructions for Recording Historical Resources.” Sacramento: March 1995.
<br />Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1920-1979.
<br />Year: 1930; Census Place: Santa Ana, Orange, California; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0080; FHL microfilm: 2339917
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