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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: W.S. Spicer House
<br />*Recorded by Pedro Gomez *Date October 29, 2020 0 Continuation ❑ Update
<br />*1310. Significance (continued):
<br />Mr. Spicer worked at Barr Lumber beginning in 1912 and was eventually promoted to secretary and director prior to his
<br />resignation in 1930. Shortly thereafter in November of 1930, Mr. Spicer opened up Bay District Lumber Companyin Newport
<br />Beach. In 1944, the Spicer's moved to Corona de Mar and sold the home to Byron J. "Barney" Koster, a well established local
<br />mechanic turned automobile salesman, and his wife Minnie E. Koster. According to city directories, the home was sold to
<br />Lansing B. and Matilda E. Hill in 1957 who then sold it If Marshall G. and Ruth Ause in 1962. Since then, the W. S. Spicer House
<br />has been occupied by various owners until the current homeowners purchased the home in 2018.
<br />The W.S. Spicer House 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), credited
<br />as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls, New York in
<br />1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356). "Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a parcel of land. And that month,
<br />he began building custom homes in Santa Ana" (Orange County Register, September 15, 1981). The parcel chosen became
<br />the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. "When built in the 1920s, the Floral Park homes
<br />were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each" (Orange County Register, September 15,
<br />1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s and 1930s and Floral Park
<br />showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial Revival. The Allison Honer
<br />Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco styled Old Santa Ana City Hall, the Et
<br />Toro Marine Base during World War iI, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the neighborhood he had helped
<br />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 Park.
<br />An early Russell project was his 1928 subdivision of Victoria Drive between West Nineteenth Street and West Santa Clara
<br />Avenue. The homes were quite grand and displayed various revival styles, including Russell's own large, Colonial Revival
<br />mansion at 2009 Victoria Drive. In the early post World War 11 years, Floral Park continued its development as numerous,
<br />smaller, single-family houses were built. Continuing in the Floral Park tradition, they were mostly revival in style. In the 1950s,
<br />low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2020) Floral Park maintains its identity as the
<br />premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The W.S. Spicer House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for embodiment
<br />of the distinguishing characteristics of the late Colonial Revival style, when stylistic elements were simplified to signature
<br />elements, often attenuated, and frequently combined with the Regency Revival; and Criterion 4, for its contribution to the Floral
<br />Park neighborhood and for its association with prominent local builder, Allison Honer. Additionally, the house has been
<br />categorized as "Contributive" because it contributes to the overall character and history of Floral Park, "has a distinctive
<br />architectural style and quality" representing the Colonial Revival style in Santa Ana, and is a good example of Colonial Revival
<br />architecture just prior to World War II (Santa Ana Municipal Code, Section 30-2.2). Character -defining features of the W. S.
<br />Spicer House include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (vertical board and batten siding); massing, roof
<br />configuration and treatment (brick chimney); fenestration (multi -light double hung windows); and architectural detailing
<br />(dormers, wood shutters, sidelights).
<br />*B12. References (continued):
<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 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 1760. 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
<br />DPR 523L 25^-181
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