4 - SPR19-01; DBA 19-01_114 117 E 5TH STREET COMMENTS

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Photograph #3 provides a second view of the west facade, taken from approximately Fourth Street, looking north. Photograph #3 shows the different heights of the Orange County Title building, and the two adjoining buildings. Please note that the modern exterior cladding of the three buildings appear to mimic the different heights of the three buildings, as if they were all merely covered over. At the separate Fifth Street entrance to the title building (Photograph #7 and #8), the original zig-zag load-bearing lintel is visible just inside the doorway,. The original stone staircase, and its stonework Art Deco newel post (the handrail anchor), also appear intact. The point here, is the underlying buildings were not demolished. Instead the buildings were removed, and then reused. The survey makes no mention of this reuse, or whether the City of Santa Ana should be concerned that an important structure is threatened with demolition. Instead, the survey works to downplay the value of the building, its possibly relationship to the adjoining buildings, or the obvious and well- documented history of the Orange County Title Company, and its contributions to the growth of the City of Santa Ana, and Orange County. B. The Survey also asserts: “...the property does not appear to meet the requirements for local designation in respect to aspects of local Criterion D that pertain to associations with important historical events, the city of Santa Ana’s founding, or “centers for political, social, economic, or cultural activity.” And, “...First American Square was found ineligible for listing in the NRHP or the CRHR or for designation as City of Santa Ana Historic Resource. As such, it does not qualify as a historical resource and its demolition would not result in a significant adverse impact to historical resources as defined by CEQA.” However the Survey then contracts the above statements, when it asserts: “First American Financial Corp. was known as Orange County Title Co. and had only one office when Donald P. Kennedy, fresh out of law school, joined the family firm in 1948. When Kennedy began leading its expansion beyond the county lines in 1957, the title insurance company had annual sales of less than $1.5 million. By 2006, First American was one of the world’s largest title insurers and was developing vast databases that helped transform the real estate industry. It had hundreds of offices in the United States and abroad and revenue topping $8 billion — an expansion attributed to Kennedy, who died Saturday at his home in Santa Ana after three years of declining health. He was 93.“ “He saw the opportunity for growth and worked tirelessly,” said Parker Kennedy, Donald Kennedy’s son and successor as chairman of the Santa Ana firm. “The company couldn’t have had a better leader.” “While building First American, the elder Kennedy, along with his wife, Dorothy, also helped build dozens of community organizations. A past chairman of the Orange County Business Committee for the Arts, Kennedy was a board member of South Coast Repertory and the Athletic Board at Stanford University. He was a keen supporter of the athletic and law programs at Chapman University in Orange, where the law school named a hall after him.”