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State of California - The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION CONTINUATION SHEET Primary # HRI# Page --L of--L *Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann, SAIC Trinomial Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) *Date February 2, 2004 R. R. Ross House 1RI Continuation o Update *810. Significance (continued): The R. R. Ross House is located in the Park Santiago neighborhood, near the present northern city limits of Santa Ana and substantially north of the original city core. The neighborhood is bounded by Santiago Creek and Park on the north, East Seventeenth Street on the south, North Lincoln Avenue on the east, North Main Street on the west, and the 1-5 freeway on the southwest. In large part these boundaries reflect the transportation lines that were constructed towards the end of the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Pacific Electric interurban railroad ran up Main Street, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe tracks followed Lincoln, and the Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way mirrored the freeway route. This area remained primarily agricultural well into the 1920s. As of 1905, the city directories listed around twenty households on East Santa Clara, Twentieth Street, "C Street" (now North Santiago Street), North Bush Street and North Main Avenue, the only streets in the area at the time. The vast majority of the residents were ranchers. By 1911, the number of households had increased to about thirty, and Edgewood Road and Valencia Street had been partially laid out, but most residents continued to list "rancher" or "fruit grower" as their occupation in the city directories. This pattern of land use was evident on the 1912 plat map of the City, which illustrated two small, Craftsman era subdivisions along Bush north of Santa Clara and on Valencia and Poinsettia south of Twentieth Street, with the remaining area divided into larger, agricultural parcels held by approximately forty landowners. While the area east of Santiago Street was not subdivided until after the mid-1920s, most of the present day streets west of Santiago had been laid out when the City was mapped in 1923. Ranching continued to be the most prevalent occupation in the neighborhood, but increasing numbers of professionals, small business owners, merchants, and people in service professions such as painters, electricians, and carpenters made their homes in the western half of the neighborhood during the 1920s and 1930s. The area also attracted several city and county officials, including the City Attorney (z. B. West, Jr., 321 East Santa Clara Avenue), County Supervisor, First District (C. H. Chapman, 2315 North Santiago Street), County Surveyor (E. H. Irwin, 2407 North Santiago Street), and County Auditor (William C. Jerome, 2422 Poinsettia Street). By April 1942, when the Sanborn Company first mapped the western half of the area, most of the lots had been improved with single-family homes, many in the revival styles popular during the 1920s and 1930s. Subsequent development of the eastern half of the neighborhood and infill construction in the western half displayed the simplified ranch style that emerged following World War II. The R. R. Ross House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1, for its representation of the distinguishing characteristics of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Key" because, as a relatively rare (in Santa Ana) example of an Italian Renaissance Revival residence, it "has a distinctive architectural style and quality." The massing, hipped roof, Palladian windows, and detailing such as the spiraled column and stringcourses are the elements that identify the style of the house. Character-defining exterior features of the R. R. Ross House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to: materials (stucco); roof configuration and detailing; massing; original windows and doors; terrace; architectural details (such as the attic vents, wing wall, column, and stringcourses); "Hollywood driveway;" and garage. *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. Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969. Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1905-1935. Historic Maps, Santa Ana History Room, 1912, 1923, 1932, and 1955. DPR 523L 25E48