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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
<br />*Recorded by Ivan Flores
<br />*Date March 22, 2018 O Continuation ❑ Update
<br />Santa Ana was founded by William Spurgeon in 1869 as a speculative town site on partof the Spanish land grant known as
<br />Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. The civic and commercial core of the community was centered around the intersection of
<br />Main and Fourth Streets. Stimulated by the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad and incorporation as a city in 1886, and
<br />selection as the seat of the newly created County of Orange In 1889, the city grew outwards, with residential neighborhoods
<br />developing to the north, south, and east of the city center. Agricultural uses predominated in the outlying areas, with
<br />cultivated fields and orchards dotted with widely scattered farmhouses.
<br />The H. Wagner House is located on the eastern edge of Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana
<br />bounded by West Seventeenth Street North Flower Street, Riverside Drive, and Broadway. Groves of oranges, avocados,
<br />and walnuts and widely scattered ranch houses characterized this area before 1920. Developer and builder Allison Honer
<br />(1897-1981), credited as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from
<br />Beaver Falls, New York in 1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356). "Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a
<br />parcel of land. And that month, he began building custom homes in Santa Ana" (Orange County Register, September 15,
<br />1981). The parcel chosen became the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. "When built
<br />in the 1920s, the Floral Park homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45, 000 each"
<br />(Orange County Register, September 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in
<br />the 1920s and 1930s and Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and
<br />Colonial Revival. The Allison Honer Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art
<br />Deco styled Old Santa Ana City Hall, the EI Toro Marine Base during World War ll, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza.
<br />Honer lived in the neighborhood he had helped to create, at 615 West Santa Clara Avenue.
<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,
<br />however, some properties were designed in the Art Moderne style. In the 1950s, low, horizontal Ranch Style houses
<br />completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2003) Floral Park maintains its identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa
<br />Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The H. Wagner House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1, for its
<br />exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the Art Moderne style. Additionally, the house has been categorized
<br />as "Key" for its "distinctive architectural style and quality, " embodying the massing, materials, and detailing of Moderne style
<br />design; and for its "association with a significant period in the history of the city; namely the development of Floral Park as
<br />the premier residential district of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Santa Ana (Santa Ana Municipal Code,
<br />Section 30-2.2). Character defining features of the H. Wagner House include, but may not be limited to: materials and
<br />finishes (smooth stucco, metal trim,); roof configuration, materials, and treatment; massing and composition; fenestration
<br />(doors, steel casement windows, double -hung speedline sash windows); and architectural detailing including, but not limited
<br />to, the rounded eyebrow entry overhang and rounded corners at the inset entry.
<br />*B12. References (continued):
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclooedia. 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 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, 1905-2017.
<br />Ancestry.com
<br />Newspapers.com (Santa Ana Register)
<br />Historic Maps, Santa Ana History Room, 1912, 1923, 1932, and 1955.
<br />Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County, Los Angeles: History Record Company, 1921, page 989.
<br />Park Santiago Neighborhood Association. "The Gingerbread Lande Holiday Home Tour, 1999." Brochure,
<br />Rischard, Maureen McClintock. "People Behind Places: Enderle Center" Orange County Genealogical Society Quarterly
<br />December 1993, pages 4-7.
<br />DPR 523L
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