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State of California —The Resources Agency Primary #
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
<br />CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
<br />*Recorded by Pedro Gomez *Date January 23, 2020 O Continuation ❑ Update
<br />*B10. Significance (continued):
<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 Hester - Dempsey 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. This neighborhood is northwest of downtown Santa
<br />Ana bounded by West Seventeenth Street, North Flower Street, Riverside Drive, and Broadway. Groves of oranges, avocados,
<br />and walnuts and widely scattered ranch houses characterized this area before 1920. Developer and builder Allison Honer
<br />(1897-1981), credited as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from
<br />Beaver Falls, New York in 1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356). "Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a
<br />parcel of land. And that month, he began building custom homes in Santa Ana" (Orange County Register. September 15,
<br />1981). The parcel chosen became the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. When built
<br />in the 1920s, the Floral Park homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each"
<br />(Orange County Register. September 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in
<br />the 1920s and 1930s and Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and
<br />Colonial Revival.
<br />The Allison Honer Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco styled Old Santa
<br />Ana City Hall, the Et Toro Marine Base during World War II, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the
<br />neighborhood he had helped 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
<br />Park. An early Russell project was his 1928 subdivision of Victoria Drive between West Nineteenth Street and West Santa
<br />Clara Avenue. The homes were quite grand and displayed various revival styles, including Russell's own large, Colonial
<br />Revival mansion at 2009 Victoria Drive. In the early post World War lI years, Floral Park continued its development as
<br />numerous, smaller, single-family houses were built Continuing in the Floral Park tradition, they were mostly revival in style.
<br />In the 1950s, low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2018) Floral Park maintains its
<br />identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The Hester - Dempsey House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1, for its
<br />exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the Ranch House style. Additionally, the house has been categorized
<br />as "Contributive"because it "contributes to the overall character and history"of Santa Ana, and, as an early and intact example
<br />of the Ranch House style in the Floral Park neighborhood, "is a good example of period architecture." Character defining
<br />features of the Hester - Dempsey House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to, materials and finishes
<br />(brick, stucco, horizontal wood board siding); low pitched dutch -gable roof with wide overhanging eaves; brick chimney; metal
<br />casement windows; and front entry porch.
<br />*812. References (continued):
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encvclooedia. New York, WW Norton, 1998.
<br />Hess, Alan. Ranch House. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2004
<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
<br />Register 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 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />"Alison Honer Dies at 84,"The Santa Ana Journal. September 21, 1961.
<br />"Builder of Honer Plaza Dies, "Orange County Register, September 15, 1981.
<br />"History of Floral Park." htto://www.floral-oark.com/oaoe2.htm1.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1940-1979.
<br />Talbert, Thomas B. (editor). The Historical Volume and Reference Works: Orange County. Whittier, CA: Historical
<br />Publishers, 1963.
<br />DPR 523L
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