Item 25 - Approval of Historic Property Preservation Agreements

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Ida C. Wiesseman House 2311 North Heliotrope Drive Santa Ana, CA 92706 NAME Ida C. Wiesseman House REF. NO. ADDRESS 2311 North Heliotrope Drive CITY Santa Ana ZIP 92706 ORANGE COUNTY YEAR BUILT 1948 LOCAL REGISTER CATEGORY: Contributive HISTORIC DISTRICT N/A NEIGHBORHOOD Floral Park CALIFORNIA REGISTER CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION C/3 CALIFORNIA REGISTER STATUS CODE 5S3 Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted Prehistoric Historic Both ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: Minimal Traditional During the Great Depression through the immediate postwar years, the Minimal Traditional home rose in popularity as the preferred style for middle-class housing in the United States. This basic house type fulfilled both aesthetic and social needs: in terms of aesthetics, the form represented a stripped-down version of the historic-eclectic styles popular in the 1920s, in particular the Tudor and English Revival styles. In social terms, the Minimal Traditional home satisfied requirements in square footage and plan by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which launched a campaign in this period to expand home ownership. The Minimal Traditional home served as the prototype used by the FHA in its efforts to codify and manufacture “a standard, low-cost, minimum house that the majority of American wage earners could afford” (Greg Hise, Magnetic Los Angeles, p. 57). Minimal Traditional homes are typically rectangular in plan and one- story in height, often with a front-gabled wing and prominent attached chimney. In contrast with the English and Tudor Revival styles the one-story version mimics, the Minimal Traditional home is capped with a low or intermediate pitch roof with a hipped or side gable. Sheathing materials include stucco, brick, or wood, often accompanied by stone veneer accents. Fenestration generally consists of multi-light casement, double-hung, and picture windows with wood frames. The eaves and rakes of the Minimal Traditional home are typically shallow (in a departure from the later Ranch House style, which they often resemble). Although they have little applied ornament, many Minimal Traditional homes often display decorative wood shutters and porch-roof supports. SUMMARY/CONCLUSION: The Ida C. Wiesseman House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register under Criterion 1 for its exemplification of the Minimal Traditional style as it developed from the FHA’s Principles for Planning Small Houses (1940), specifically, that “all non-essential features can profitably be eliminated.” An example of the gable-and-wing variant of the style, the house exhibits details consistent with the Colonial Revival. The house is also of interest because it was built by the Allison Honer Co., a key firm in the development of Floral Park. The recommended categorization is “Contributive” because it contributes to the overall character and history of Floral Park and is representative example of Minimal Traditional architecture (Santa Ana Municipal Code, Section 30-2.2). Exhibit B