25A - HISTORIC PROPERTY - 926 N. OLIVE ST.

Home Browse Search

State of California - The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION CONTINUATION SHEET Primary # HRI# Page ~ of~ *Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, SAle DPR 5238 (1/95) *810. Significance (continued): Trinomial Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) *Date August 29, 2003 Veatch House l:&l Continuation 0 Update *Required information Santa Ana was founded by William Spurgeon in 1869 as a speculative town site on part of the Spanish land grant known as Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. The civic and commercial core of the community was centered around the intersection of Main and Fourth Streets. Stimulated by the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad and incorporation as a city in 1886, and selection as the seat of the newly created County of Orange in 1889, the city grew outwards, with residential neighborhoods developing to the north, south, and east of the city center. Agricultural uses predominated in the outlying areas, with cultivated fields and orchards dotted with widely scattered farmhouses. The Veatch House is located in Washington Square, a neighborhood located northwest of the city center bounded by West Seventeenth Street on the north, West Civic Center Drive on the south, North Flower Street on the east, and North Bristol Street on the west. Most of this area was owned by the family of Jacob Ross, who had purchased portions of the Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana in 1868 and 1869. Walnuts and other crops were grown in the area during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with a few farmhouses, most notably the Ross-McNeal House at 1020 North Baker Street, dotting the landscape. By 1905, Baker and Towner were the only streets in the neighborhood, which extended from Hickey (now Civic Center) only as far as Washington and which contained only about a dozen homes. The status quo had not changed much by 1915, when a brick yard was located at the northern terminus of Olive Street at Hickey. In 1925, the beginning of the development that would convert this largely agricultural area into a middle class neighborhood of single-family homes over the next 25 years had begun, In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Tudor Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival homes were the standard, with American Colonial Revival saltboxes and ranch style homes favored in the years before and after World War II. During the 1930s, many of the homes were built by local contractor Emmett Rogers, who sold lots and built homes according to standard plans, which individual property owners could customize to their tastes ('Washington Square: A Neighborhood of Pride," Washington Square Neighborhood Association). With the return of servicemen following the war and the accompanying demand for homes in southern California, the development of Washington Square was all but completed. The Veatch House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1, as a building with the "distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or period." Stylistic signatures of the Spanish Colonial Revival such the stucco exteriors, tiled roof, asymmetrical composition, arched openings, and stepped parapet are notable in this regard. Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Contributive" because it "contributes to the overall character and history" of the Washington Square neighborhood and is a "good example of period architecture" as a highly intact example of a one-story Spanish Colonial Revival home from the 1920s. Character defining exterior features of the Veatch House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (stucco); roof configuration and treatment; massing and composition; doors and windows; porches; garage; architectural detailing (impost moldings); and chimney. *812. References (continued): Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated EncvcloDedia. New York, WW Norton, 1998, Marsh, Diann. Santa Ana. An Illustrated Historv. Encinitas, Heritage Publishing, 1994. McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984. National Register Bulletin 16A. "How to Complete the National Register Registration Form." Washington DC: National Register Branch, National Park Service, US Dept. of the Interior, 1991. Office of Historic Preservation. "Instructions for Recording Historical Resources." Sacramento: March 1995. Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1905-1945. 'Washington Square: A Neighborhood with Pride." Washington Square Neighborhood Association, no date. DPR 523L 25A:r8