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STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme,
<br />period, geographic scope, and integrity.)
<br />Santa Ana was founded by William Spurgeon in 1869 as a speculative townsite on part of the Spanish land grant known as Rancho
<br />Santiago de Santa Ana. In 1877, Spurgeon, along with James McFadden and James Fruit, formed the Western Development
<br />Company with the intention of bringing the Southern Pacific Railroad from its then terminus in Anaheim into Santa Ana. Thinking to
<br />capitalize on commercial growth around the railroad, the partners purchased 160 acres adjacent to the eastern city boundary at French
<br />Street. Although they were successful in luring the Southern Pacific to a new depot on Fruit Street in Santa Ana in 1878, the expected
<br />commercial development of "Santa Ana East" never materialized. Early growth and development of the town continued to be
<br />centered further west around Fourth and Main Streets, with the result that the legacy of Santa Ana East is an angled street plan whose
<br />intersection with the original city is marked by a small, triangular parcel, developed in the 1890s as a small park, now known as
<br />French Park. Santa Ana continued to grow, stimulated by the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1886. Following its incorporation as
<br />a city in 1886, Santa Ana was recognized as one of the leading communities in the area in 1889 when it became the seat of the newly
<br />created county of Orange.
<br />Beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the twentieth century, the area around the park began to be developed with many of
<br />the forest homes in Santa Ana. Examples of Victorian era, turn of the century, and Craftsman homes were built along the tree-lined
<br />streets. By the 1920s, most streets in the neighborhood were fully developed, although a few revival styled single-family homes and
<br />duplexes were built during the 1920s, and a handful of apartments constructed in the 1930s. From the nineteenth century onwards,
<br />residents were a "Who's Who" of early Santa Ana and included bankers, attorneys, doctors, businessmen, ranchers, teachers, and
<br />others active in the civic and social life of the city.
<br />Once known as the "Nob Hill" of Santa Ana, French Park declined in the 1940s and 1950s as some homes were converted into
<br />rooming houses and others were allowed to deteriorate. In the 1960s and 1970s some houses were demolished and the properties
<br />redeveloped with multifamily housing. However, a grass roots preservation effort begun in the late 1970s led to the establishment of a
<br />local historic district in 1984 and the listing of the neighborhood in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
<br />The Dr. Wehrly House is historically significant for its long association with Dr. John Wehrly, one of the more prominent physicians
<br />in Orange County, and his family. It is also architecturally significant for its distinctive Colonial Revival styling, the result of its
<br />incremental construction in 1904 and 1919. An example of the upper middle class housing that has historically characterized French
<br />Park, the house contributes to the significance of the historic district. Character-defining exterior features of the Dr. Wehrly House
<br />that should be preserved include, but'may not be limited to: materials and finishes, roof configuration and detailing, portico, bay and
<br />terrace, windows and doors, and architectural elements such as columns.
<br />SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:
<br />The Dr. Wehrly House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 as a contributor to the French Park Historic
<br />District. Under the regulations implementing the California Register of Historical Resources, the building is also listed in the
<br />California Register. Included in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property, the Dr. Wehrly House has been categorized as
<br />"Landmark" because it "is on the national register," "is on the state register," "has historicaUcultural significance to the City of Santa
<br />Ana," for its contribution to the French Park Historic District and association with prominent Santa Ana physician, Dr. John Wehrly,
<br />and "has a unique architectural significance" for its unusual Colonial Revival design (Municipal Code, Section 30-2.2).
<br />OWNER AND ADDRESS:
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