Laserfiche WebLink
From:smsalenius <br />To:McLoughlin, Mark; Rivera, Felix; Nguyen, Ken; Contreras-Leo, Cynthia; Cano, Angie; Bernal, Sarah <br />Subject:First American Title building and the Toll Bros. Development project <br />Date:Monday, September 23, 2019 11:06:04 AM <br />To whom it may concern, <br />I have recently received information regarding the potential demolition of the First <br />American Title building on Main Street. I had the opportunity to read the Historic <br />Resources Survey in the EIR and was apalled at its lack of detail regarding the <br />building itself, as well as its disdainful treatment of the historic role the original title <br />company had in Orange County history. As a former environmental professional for <br />35 years, I would never have accepted this report as complete. <br />It seems that the report was based upon a cursory look at exterior photographs of the <br />building, with no detailed evaluation of the nature of the "renovation" done in the <br />1970s, or any consideration at all of the structure's interior. Instead, the report <br />appears to be padded with extensive archaeological resource correspondence and <br />prior historic resource studies that never addressed the structure in question. <br />This 1931 gem has simply been wrapped in a blanket of siding and brick veneer. This <br />kind of thing has been done to so many wonderful structures from a bygone era. The <br />blanket is cheaply done and looks to be easily removable. The building underneath is <br />a fine example of Zig-zag Art Deco rivaling the Old City Hall a few blocks south on <br />Main Street. It is even more important because there are so few structures from this <br />period remaining in Orange County. <br />The Historic Resouces Survey in the EIR should be expanded to investigate the <br />removal of the "glued-on" architecture adversely affecting this beautiful building. <br />Efforts should also be made to incorporate the building, with its exterior restoration <br />and preservation of any valuable interior features, into a re-designed development <br />project. <br />It would be shameful for the city to lose this extraordinary example of 1930s <br />architecture. Thank you for your consideration of this matter. <br />Sincerely, <br />Sylvia M. Salenius <br />Santa Ana, CA 92703 <br />Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S7, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone