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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: Dr. Mabel A. Geddes House
<br />*Recorded by Pedro Gomez *Date July 7, 2022 Continuation Update
<br />DPR 523L
<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
<br />selection as the seat of the newly created County of Orange in 1889, the city grew outwards, with residential neighborhoods
<br />developing to the north, south, and east of the city center. Agricultural uses predominated in the outlying areas, with
<br />cultivated fields and orchards dotted with widely scattered farmhouses.
<br />The Dr. Mabel A. Geddes House is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by
<br />West Seventeenth Street, North Flower Street, Riverside Drive, and Broadway. Groves of oranges, avocados, and walnuts
<br />and widely scattered ranch houses characterized this area before 1920. Developer and builder Allison Honer (1897-1981),
<br />credited as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls,
<br />New York in 1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356). “Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a parcel of land.
<br />And that month, he began building custom homes in Santa Ana” (Orange County Register, September 15, 1981). The parcel
<br />chosen became the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. “When built in the 1920s, the
<br />Floral Park homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each” (Orange County
<br />Register, September 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s and
<br />1930s and Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and 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 El 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 II 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 (2022) Floral Park maintains
<br />its identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The Dr. Mabel A. Geddes House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 as
<br />an example of the Monterey Revival style in Santa Ana. Additionally, the house has been categorized as “Contributive”
<br />because it contributes to the overall character and history of Floral Park and is a representative example of Monterey
<br />Revival architecture. Character defining features of the Dr. Mabel A. Geddes House that should be preserved include, but
<br />may not be limited to, massing and composition, consisting of a hipped roof body with a hipped roof wing projecting in the
<br />north third of the (east) facade; partial width balcony cantilevered beneath the shelter of the main roof on extended beams
<br />from the south two-thirds of the façade; wood posts and wrought iron railing enclosing the balcony; open veranda below the
<br />balcony; combination of brick and stucco exterior siding; flat-headed entry topped by three-light transom; and casement
<br />windows and french doors.
<br />*B12. References (continued):
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. 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, 1981.
<br />“Builder of Honer Plaza Dies,” Orange County Register, September 15, 1981.
<br />“History of Floral Park.” http://www.floral-park.com/page2.html.
<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 />Historic Resources Commission 3 –21 7/7/2022
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