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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 or # (Assigned
<br />"Recorded by Leslie J. Neumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date June 3,
<br />*810. Significance (continued):
<br />Ayers House
<br />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. In 1877, Spurgeon, along with James McFadden and James Fruit, formed the Western
<br />Development Company with the intention of bringing the Southern Pacific Railroad from its then terminus in Anaheim into
<br />Santa Ana. Thinking to capitalize on commercial growth around the railroad, the partners purchased 160 acres adjacent to
<br />the eastern city boundary at French Street. Although they were successful in luring the Southern Pacific to a new depot on
<br />Fruit Street in Santa Ana in 1878, the expected commercial development of "Santa Ana East" never materialized. Early
<br />growth and development of the town continued to be centered further west around Fourth and Main Streets, with the result
<br />that the legacy of Santa Ana East is an angled street plan whose intersection with the original city is marked by a small,
<br />triangular parcel, developed in the 1890s as Flatiron Park, now known as French Park. Santa Ana continued to grow,
<br />stimulated by the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1886. Following its incorporation as a city in 1886, Santa Ana was
<br />recognized as one of the leading communities in the area in 1889 when it became the seat of the newly created County of
<br />Orange.
<br />Beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the twentieth century, the area around the park began to be developed with
<br />many of the finest homes in Santa Ana. Examples of Victorian era, turn of the century, and Craftsman homes were built along
<br />the tree -lined streets. By the 1920s, most streets in the neighborhood were fully developed, although a few revival styled
<br />single family homes and duplexes were built during the 1920s, and a handful of apartments constructed in the 1930s. From
<br />the nineteenth century onwards, residents were a "Who's Who" of early Santa Ana, and included bankers, attorneys, doctors,
<br />businessmen, ranchers, teachers and others active in the civic and social life of the city.
<br />Once known as the "Nob Hill" of Santa Ana, French Park declined in the 1940s and 1950s as some homes were converted
<br />into rooming houses and others were allowed to deteriorate. In the 1960s and 1970s some houses were demolished and the
<br />properties redeveloped with multi -family housing. However, a grass roots preservation effort begun in the late 1970s led to
<br />the establishment of a local historic district in 1984 and the listing of the neighborhood in the National Register of Historic
<br />Places in 1999.
<br />The Ayers House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 as a contributor to the French Park Historic
<br />District. It is therefore listed in the California Register of Historical Resources and is located within the boundaries of the
<br />locally designated historic district. It also qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property under Criterion 1
<br />as representative of the distinguishing characteristics of the Bungalow/Craftsman style from the first decade of the twentieth
<br />century. Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Contributive" because it "contributes to the overall character and
<br />history" of the French Park neighborhood through its style and type, is a "good example" of the Bungalow/Craftsman style
<br />and "has not been substantially altered." Characteristic Craftsman features include gabled roof with rafter tails and broad
<br />eaves, attached porch with battered posts, and massing. Character -defining exterior features of the Ayers House that
<br />should be preserved include, but may not be limited to: materials (wood) and finishes (siding); roof configuration; massing;
<br />porch; windows and window surrounds; and architectural details such as rafter tails.
<br />*B12. References (continued):
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, KW 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
<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 />Whiften, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />DPR 523L
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