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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: W.M. Cory House
<br />*Recorded by Pedro Gomez *Date May 13, 2021 Continuation Update
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<br />DPR 523L
<br />*B10. Significance (continued):
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<br />The W.M. Cory 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. Groves of orange, avocado, and walnut trees and
<br />widely scattered ranch houses characterized this area before 1920. Developer and builder Allison Honer (1897-1981), credited
<br />as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls, New York in
<br />1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356). “Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a parcel of land. And that month,
<br />he began building custom homes in Santa Ana” (Orange County Register, September 15, 1981). The parcel chosen became
<br />the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. “When built in the 1920s, the Floral Park homes
<br />were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each” (Orange County Register, September 15,
<br />1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s and 1930s and Floral Park
<br />showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial Revival. The Allison Honer
<br />Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco styled Old Santa Ana City Hall, the El
<br />Toro Marine Base during World War II, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the neighborhood he had helped
<br />to create, at 615 West Santa Clara Avenue.
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<br />In the late 1920s and 1930s, another builder, Roy Roscoe Russell (1881-1965), continued developing the groves of Floral Park.
<br />An early Russell project was his 1928 subdivision of Victoria Drive between West Nineteenth Street and West Santa Clara
<br />Avenue. The homes were quite grand and displayed various revival styles, including Russell’s own large, Colonial Revival
<br />mansion at 2009 Victoria Drive. In the early post World War II years, Floral Park continued its development as numerous,
<br />smaller, single-family houses were built. Continuing in the Floral Park tradition, they were mostly revival in style. In the 1950s,
<br />low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2021) Floral Park maintains its identity as the
<br />premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
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<br />The W.M. Cory House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 as an intact
<br />example of a simple Tudor Revival bungalow in Santa Ana. Constructed by Floral Park builders and developers the Honer
<br />Bros., the house remained under its original ownership for nearly three decades. Additionally, the house has been categorized
<br />as “Contributive” because it “contributes to the overall character and history” of the Floral Park neighborhood and “is a good
<br />example of period architecture,” representing the Tudor Revival style in Santa Ana (Santa Ana Municipal Code, Section 30-
<br />2.2). Character-defining features of the Tudor Revival style exhibited by the house include a complex hipped and gabled roof
<br />of moderately steep pitch; decorative half-timbering in the overhanging gable ends; multi-paned casement windows used on
<br />the primary elevation; and sandy-textured stucco exterior walls. Other features of note include a picturesque roof vent that
<br />suggests a chimney, original wood front door with an arched peephole, and iron and glass sconce attached to the wall next to
<br />the entry.
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<br />*B12. References (continued):
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<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, WW 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 />Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1905-2017.
<br />Ancestry.com
<br />Newspapers.com (Santa Ana Register)
<br />Historic Maps, Santa Ana History Room, 1912, 1923, 1932, and 1955.
<br />Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County. Los Angeles: History Record Company, 1921, page 989.
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