Appendix A Historic Property Survey Report

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Historical Resources Evaluation Report June 2019 Fairview Street Improvements and Bridge Replacement Project along curvilinear streets and cul-de-sacs (Tibbet 2005). By 1950, home building had reached a record high nationally of 1,692,000 single-family homes (Ames and McClelland 2002). In 1940, Santa Ana had a population of nearly 32,000, but by 1950, it had soared to more than 45,500—an increase of 42 percent (United States Census n.d.). As a result, large agricultural properties were subdivided to facilitate development of new housing tracts. The property in and around the APE is representative of this since aerial photographs reveal that it remained undeveloped, except perhaps as farmland, until after 1953 (Historicaerials.com var.). Even Fairview Avenue did not exist until after 1953 (ibid.). The two duplexes (1007- 1009 Marengo Place and 1003-1005 Marengo Place; APE MR #s 1 and 2, respectively) evaluated as part of this study were built in 1956 by Lee Sievers (City of Santa Ana var.). The Sievers Construction Company was founded by Francis Lee Sievers (1913-2005; Ancestry.com var.). Sievers was an electrical contractor, working for his brothers' electrical business and living in Bellflower prior to World War II (ibid.). In the post-war period, he obtained his general building contractor license and started his own business in Bellflower (ibid.). An advertisement for his company in the Excelsior Union High School Yearbook of 1949 includes the company motto: "Distinctive Styling in Modern Building" (Ancestry.com var.). Sievers was an active home builder in Los Angeles and Orange Counties during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Although research findings to date are sparse, he appears to have specialized in small-scale residential projects (Newspapers.com var.). One notable project was Laguna Highlands Homes in Orange County. These custom two- and three -bedroom homes featured large garages, sundecks, spacious glass wall areas and kitchens with modern built-in gas ranges (Los Angeles Times 1963). Considering they were overlooking the ocean in the prestigious Arch Bay neighborhood, they appear to be relatively modest homes priced within reach of middle -income buyers (Ibid.). In 1953, there was a Santa Ana River crossing west of the APE where there is currently an old steel truss railroad bridge (Historicaerials.com var.). Between 1953 and 1963, the river was channelized between levees built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE; USGS 1949; Orange County Historical Archives var.). Today, except for segments in Riverside and San Bernardino, the Santa Ana River is essentially an enormous reinforced concrete box culvert. The USACE working closely with Orange County planned, designed, and built this feature, which intersects the APE, at a cost of $367 million, starting in 1991 and finishing in 2006 (Orange County Flood Control Division 2019). Currently, Santa Ana, with a population of approximately 335,000, is the most populous city in Orange County, second only to Anaheim, and is the 11t" most populous city in California (Strudwick 2018). E3