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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 4 Resource Name: Harold T. Segerstrom House
<br />*Recorded by Pedro Gomez *Date October 29, 2020 ❑x Continuation ❑ Update
<br />*810. Significance (continued):
<br />Following World War /l, the family branched into commercial and industrial ventures, and, with the construction of South Coast
<br />Plaza Town Center, became one of the most successful land developers in the county. The Segerstrom interests also built the
<br />first high rise in Santa Ana, the United California Building at the corner of Tenth and Main Streets. Harold T. Segerstrom Sr.
<br />died in 1978; Veronica Segerstrom died in 1962. Along with his cousin Henry T. Segerstrom, Harold T. Segerstrom Jr. joined
<br />the family firm, C.J. Segerstrom & Sons in the late 1940's and was a managing partner. Harold T Segerstrom Jr. remained in
<br />the home until 1984 when he moved to Newport Beach with his wife Jeannette Segerstrom but the house remained in the
<br />family until the early 1990's, until Harold T. Segerstrom Jr.'s sudden death.
<br />The Harold T. Segerstrom House is located in Jack Fisher Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded
<br />by Bristol Street, Santa Clara Avenue, Memory Lane, and the Interstate 5. "The neighborhood takes its name from Jacob (Jack)
<br />Fisher. Born in Yakima, Washington, Fisher moved to Santa Ana with his parents and sister in the early twentieth century. In
<br />April 1917, upon the United States' entry into World War 1, Fisher enlisted in the US Army when he was 18 years old. Assigned
<br />to Company L, Seventh California Regiment, Fisher later advanced to the level of corporal in the 58th Infantry of Company D.
<br />During his service in World War 1, Fisher received several high-level honors for his service in France, including a Purple Heart,
<br />French Croix de Guerra with Palm, and the Medaille Militaire, France's highest military recognition. After surviving the battles
<br />of Argonne Forest and Verdun, Fisher's final battle was fought in Argonne, from which he emerged with grave injuries. in 1919,
<br />Fisher returned to the United States for a period of convalescence. During his recuperation at the military hospital in San
<br />Francisco, Fisher studied art and cartoon illustration, which he developed into a career as a cartoonist for the San Francisco
<br />Examiner and, later, Santa Ana Register upon his return to Santa Ana in 1927. A decorated veteran with awards from Italy,
<br />Belgium, Britain, France, and the United States, Fisher was instrumental in the formation of the Santa Ana Chapter of the
<br />Disabled American Veterans. After Fisher's death at the age of 30, in March 1929, the Chapter of Disabled American Veterans
<br />he helped form took his name as the Jack Fisher Post, Chapter of Disabled American Veterans. On August 23, 1933,
<br />construction was completed on a park north of Santiago Creek on North Flower Street and dedicated as the Jack Fisher
<br />Memorial Park.
<br />Prior to its residential development, Fisher Park formed Lots 5B, 8 and 9 of the Potts, Borden and Sidwell Tract, subdivided in
<br />1881. Current -day Interstate 5 conforms to the prominent diagonal swath cut by the Southern Pacific Railroad line, which was
<br />established in Santa Ana in the late 1870s and still forms the eastern border of the Fisher Park neighborhood. With the
<br />exception of the Southern Pacific Railroad line, the area remained agricultural through much of the first half of the twentieth
<br />century, with walnut groves and orchards dotting the landscape. In November 1947, residential development arrived when a
<br />narrow strip was cleared, graded, and subdivided into 25lots offered as Tract No. 1160, "River Lane Tract." Mirroring the curve
<br />of Santiago Creek to the south, the streets displayed a curvilinear layout, with lots ranging in size from 70 to 130 feet long, 140
<br />to 190 deep. Three years later, in August 1950, another curvilinear subdivision appeared east of Flower Street, with smaller
<br />lots, averaging 60 feet by 90 feet, arranged around a curvilinear pattern with cul de sacs. An outgrowth of earlier City Beautiful
<br />and Garden City models, this curvilinear layout reflected neighborhood planning preferences codified in the 19308 by the
<br />Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which regulated and financed the increase in home ownership through its mortgage
<br />lending and insurance programs. During the post -WWI/ housing expansion in the United States, the FHA -endorsed model for
<br />city planning, as reflected in the neighborhood of Fisher Park, "set the standards for the design of post -World War I/
<br />subdivisions." (National Register Bulletin, Historic Residential Suburbs, p. 49).
<br />Construction quickly transformed the neighborhood from agricultural to residential. A 1947 aerial photograph taken a few
<br />months before creation of the River Lane Tract shows the area dominated by groves of trees. By 1955, nearly all the lots of
<br />both tracts had been improved with single-family residences with uniform setbacks, mostly /n the Ranch House style popular
<br />in the 1950s and 1960s, in a configuration and unity of design still reflected there today (2020). The homes of the Jack Fisher
<br />Park neighborhood were built following the overwhelming success architects had in the early 1950's, when building homes
<br />using "California Ranch" architectural design and features. Homes located in our prestigious neighborhood range from 1,500-
<br />6,000 sq. ft., with lot sizes from 6,500-25,000 sgft. Properties within this neighborhood boast some of the largest residential
<br />land use in any of the incorproated cities within Orange County and Southern California. Giving true meaning to the phrase,
<br />"Sprawling California Ranch" style homes. Jack Fisher Park was named after a local highly decorated World War I hero."
<br />The Harold T. Segerstrom House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 4(b), for
<br />its association with renowned Orange County Segerstrom family, agriculturalists, developers, and arts patrons, and under
<br />Criterion 2 for its association with prominent Santa Ana builder Allison Honer. Additionally, the house has been categorized as
<br />"Landmark" for its `historical/cultural significance to the City, " stemming from its association with the Segerstroms (Santa Ana
<br />Municipal Code, Section 30-2.2). Character -defining features of the Harold T. Segerstrom House include, but may not be limited
<br />to: asymmetrical facade; steeply pitched, hipped roof; front -facing and side -gabled extensions; materials and finishes (brick,
<br />smooth stucco, and horizontal wood board siding); fenestration (metal casement windows with diamond shaped patterns);
<br />exterior brick chimney; and front entry porch.
<br />DPR 523L 2 5 C -74
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