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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 by recorder) Cooper House
<br />*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, Peter C. Moruzzi, SAIC *Date March 25, 2002 _ Continuation Update
<br />DPR 523L
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<br />*B10. Significance (continued):
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<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.
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<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
<br />along the tree-lined streets. By the 1920s, most streets in the neighborhood were fully developed, although a few revival
<br />styled single family homes and duplexes were built during the 1920s, and a handful of apartments constructed in the 1930s.
<br />From the nineteenth century onwards, residents were a “Who’s Who” of early Santa Ana, and included bankers, attorneys,
<br />doctors, businessmen, ranchers, teachers and others active in the civic and social life of the city.
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<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
<br />the properties redeveloped with multi-family housing. However, a grass roots preservation effort begun in the late 1970s led
<br />to 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.
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<br />The Cooper 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
<br />1, as a representative example of the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural period, the eclecticism of the early
<br />twentieth century. Further, the house qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property under Criterion 4b,
<br />for its association with Cooper, a prominent citizen of Santa Ana. Additionally, the house has been categorized as
<br />“Landmark” for its unique architectural significance. Possessed of substantial integrity from 1900, the house displays
<br />characteristic elements of the Colonial Revival style such as the near symmetry of the façade and Tuscan porch supports
<br />with the surface complexity and wooden ornamentation of the Queen Anne. All original and restored exterior features of the
<br />Cooper House are character-defining and should be preserved. These features include, but may not be limited to:
<br />materials and finishes; roof configuration and detailing; massing and composition; dormer; bays and projections; porches;
<br />doors and windows (including surrounds); architectural detailing (woodwork); and low concrete curb and step at the
<br />sidewalk.
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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 />Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County. 1921.
<br />Guinn, James Miller. Historical and Biographical Record of Southern California. 1902.
<br />Historical Landmarks Inventory Form, November 18, 1976 (Santa Ana History Room).
<br />“Preserving the Past in French Park.” The Register, February 12, 1983.
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