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of California —The Resources Agency Primary#
<br />RTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION NRI #
<br />VTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
<br />3 of 3 Resource Name: M.E. LeSourd House
<br />rded by Pedro Gomez *Date October 29, 2020 El Continuation ❑ Update
<br />Santa Ana was founded by William Spurgeon in 1869 as a speculative town site on part of 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 selection
<br />as the seat of the newly created County of Orange In 1889, the city grew outwards, with residential neighborhoods developing
<br />to the north, south, and east of the city center. Agricultural uses predominated in the outlying areas, with cultivated fields and
<br />orchards dotted with widely scattered farmhouses.
<br />The M.E. LeSourd 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 El
<br />Toro Marine Base during World War 11, 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 lI 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 M.E. LeSourd house qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 as an intact
<br />example, and one of the first to be constructed immediately post -World Warll, of the Craftsman -influenced variant of the Ranch
<br />style. Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Key" because it 'has a distinctive architectural style and quality" as an
<br />example of early post -World War ll Ranch style in Santa Ana. (Santa Ana Municipal Code, Section 30-2.2). Character -defining
<br />features of the M.E. LeSourd house include, but may not be limited to: symmetrical facade, materials and finishes (wood siding
<br />shingle siding, wood shake roof); roof configuration; massing and composition (full -facade entry porch); fenestration (multi -
<br />pane hung windows where extant); and prominent brick chimney.
<br />*B12. References (continued):
<br />Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestrycom 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 />Whitten, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. 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 2 5 C -219
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