25A - HISTORIC PROPERTY DESIGNATIONS

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 Trinomial Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Gustlin House *Date May 12,2005 [8] Continuation 0 Update *86. Construction History (continued): July 19, 1956. Add bedroom to residence. December 19, 1989. Reroof house and garage with tear-off. 2004. Build front porch, back porch, and garage; change bathroom window to glass block. *810. Significance (continued): home. An accomplished musician trained in Berlin and Florence, Clarence was variously listed in the city directories as a pianist, music teacher, and director of the Orange County Conservatory of Music at 816 North Main Street. Around 1916, Clarence and Velda moved to the Main Street address. Abraham Gustlin retired in 1920, and purchased the Taylor House at 427 Edgewood Road (now 2520 North Valencia Street), where he lived and continued to raise walnuts on one acre. He left his younger son, Walter, in residence at the ranch on Greenleaf. Walter and Evelyn Gustlin only lived on the property until 1925, during which time Walter held a number of jobs, including rancher, builder, and salesman. Between 1925 and 1952, the house apparently changed owners and occupants numerous times. During this period, Greenleaf Street also assumed its present appearance, mushrooming from an agricultural avenue with less than ten homes to a fully developed street of more than sixty residences by the end of the 1930s. Beginning in 1952 and continuing for the next 52 years, Gerould Smith owned the property. Initially listed in the city directories as a chemist with the Union Oil Company in Brea, Smith was subsequently a teacher at Santa Ana COllege. He occupied the house with his wife, Mary. The Gustlin House is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by East Seventeenth Street, North Flower Street, Riverside Drive, and Broadway. Groves of oranges, avocados, and walnuts and widely scattered ranch houses characterized this area before 1920. Developer and builder Allison Honer (1897-1981), credited as the subdivider and builder of a major portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls, New York in 1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356). "Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a parcel of land. And that month, he began building custom homes in Santa Ana" (Orange Countv Register, September 15, 1981). The parcel chosen became the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. 'When built in the 1920s, the Floral Park homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each" (Oranae Countv Register, September 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s and 1930s and Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial Revival. The Allison Honer Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco styled Old Santa Ana City Hall, the EI T oro Marine Base during World War 1/, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the neighborhood he had helped to create, at 615 West Santa Clara Avenue. In the late 1920s and 1930s, another builder, Roy Roscoe Russell (1881-1965), continued developing the groves of Floral Park. An early Russell project was his 1928 subdivision of Victoria Drive between West Nineteenth Street and West Santa Clara Avenue. The homes were quite grand and displayed various revival styles, including Russell's own large, Colonial Revival mansion at 2009 Victoria Drive. In the early post World War 1/ years, Floral Park continued its development as numerous, smaller, single-family houses were built. Continuing in the Floral Park tradition, they were mostly revival in style. In the 1950s, low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2003) Floral Park maintains its identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens. The Gustlin House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the American Foursquare variant of the Prairie Style. Notable in this regard are the hipped roof, box-like proportions, and details such as exposed rafters and classical window surrounds that are derived from the Craftsman and Colonial Revival styles, respectively. It also qualifies for the Register under Criterion 7, as a building that was connected with business or use that was once common, but is now rare, specifically, agriculture. Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Landmark" for its historical/cultural significance to the City of Santa Ana due to its association with Abraham Gustlin and the once common agricultural use. All original and restored exterior features of the Gustlin House are considered character-defining and should be preserved, including, but not limited to: materials and finishes; roof configuration and detailing; massing; windows and doors; bays; architectural details such as the frieze board, window surrounds, bargeboards, and rafter tails; and original landscape features such as fruit trees. DPR 523L 25A~9