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HRCA No. 2021-21, HRC 2021-21, HPPA No. 2021-21 – W.D. Johnston House <br />November 4, 2021 <br />Page 2 <br />1 <br />8 <br />0 <br />8 <br />set forth in Section 30-2 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC). This project entails <br />applying the selection criteria established in Chapter 30 of the Santa Ana Municipal <br />Code (Places of Historical and Architectural Significance) to determine if this structure is <br />eligible for historic designation to the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties. The <br />first criterion for selection requires that the structures be 50 or more years old. <br />The structure identified meets the minimum selection criteria for inclusion on the Santa <br />Ana Register of Historical Properties pursuant to criteria contained in Section 30-2 of <br />the Santa Ana Municipal Code, as the structure is 94 years old and is a good example <br />of period architecture. No known code violations exist on record for this property. <br />The property, recognized as the W.D. Johnston House, is a representative example of <br />the Georgian/Federal variant of a Colonial Revival style in Santa Ana. It was built in <br />1927 for $13,000. According to city directories, the first occupant was William Dean <br />Johnston. Johnston was a 62-year resident of Orange County, mostly in Santa Ana <br />where he worked as both Second President of the County Farm Bureau and the <br />Secretary and Manager of the Farmer’s Mutual Insurance Company in Santa Ana for <br />over 25 years. Johnston divorced his second wife Ruth L. Johnston in 1940-41 and she <br />retained the home. Mrs. Johnston later sold the property in 1942 to Frank and Catherine <br />McClellan. <br />The W.D. Johnston House is a two-story single-family residence constructed in the <br />Georgian/Federal variant of the Colonial Revival architectural style. Symmetrical in <br />design, the house is clad in red brick and consists of a three bay wide, two story block <br />and a small, one story, one-bay extension set back on the west elevation. A medium- <br />pitched, side-gabled roof with enclosed soffits in the modest overhangs and asphalt <br />shingle cladding tops the main volume. In the central bay of the façade, (south <br />elevation), a prominent entry portico consists of stylized Doric columns and pilasters <br />that rise to molded frieze, flat roof with enclosed soffit, and X-patterned balustrade. The <br />entry features a six-panel wood entry door framed by an elliptical fanlight and sidelights. <br />Multi-paned casement windows with an elliptical fanlight flank the entry porch in the side <br />bays of the lower story. Paired six-over-one, double-hung, wood windows in the side <br />bays and multi-paned French doors in the central bay, all framed by shutters, <br />characterize the second story fenestration. Similar double-hung wood windows also <br />appear on the north, east, and west elevations, all featuring a “lamb tongue” detailing. <br />Brick detailing at the openings includes soldier and header brick courses. A rebuilt brick <br />chimney is centered at the west elevation, towards the side gable ridgeline. The <br />property includes a one-story addition, brick clad and topped by a balustrade, on the <br />west elevation that has taken on significance over time and is within the period of <br />significance of the style. A driveway to the east of the property leads to a detached, <br />one-story, side-gabled garage, built at the same time as the residence. The front <br />setback is simply landscaped with a lawn, low vegetation and a hedge-lined brick <br />pathway that curves towards the junction of the driveway and sidewalk. <br />Historic Resources Commission 3 –2 11/4/2021