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<br />State of California - The Resources Agency
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION
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<br />CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
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<br />Page -2- of -L Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Matthews House
<br />*Recorded by Leslie J. Heumann and Deborah Howell-Ardila *Date July 27, 2007 IRJ Continuation 0 Update
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<br />Primary #
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<br />*810. Significance (continued):
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<br />Santa Ana was founded by William Spurgeon in 1869 as a speculative town site on parl of the Spanish land grant known as
<br />Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. The civic and commercial core of the community was centered around the intersection of
<br />Main and Fourlh Streets. Stimulated by the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad and incorporation as a city in 1886, and selection
<br />as the seat of the newly created County of Orange in 1889, the city grew outwards, with residential neighborhoods
<br />developing to the norlh, south, and east of the city center. Agricultural uses predominated in the outlying areas, with
<br />cultivated fields and orchards dotted with widely scattered farmhouses.
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<br />The Matthews House is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood norlhwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by West
<br />Seventeenth Street, Norlh Flower Street, Riverside Drive, and Broadway. Groves of oranges, avocados and walnuts, and
<br />widely scattered ranch houses characterized this area before 1920. Developer and builder Allison Honer (1897-1981),
<br />credited as the subdivider and builder of a major porlion of norlhwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls,
<br />New York in 1922 (Talberl, pages 353-356). "Before nightfall on the day of his arrival, Mr. Honer purchased a parcel of land.
<br />And that month, he began building custom homes in Santa Ana" (Oranae County Reaister. September 15, 1981). The parcel
<br />chosen became the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. 'When built in the 1920s, the
<br />Floral Park homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each" (Oranae County
<br />Reaister. September 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s and
<br />1930s; Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial Revival
<br />styles. The Allison Honer Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Arl Deco-styled Old
<br />Santa Ana City Hall, the EI Toro Marine Base during World War 1/, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the
<br />neighborhood he had helped create, at 615 West Santa Clara Avenue.
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<br />In the late 1920s and 1930s, another builder, Roy Roscoe Russell (1881-1965), continued developing the groves of Floral
<br />Park. An early Russell project was his 1928 subdivision of Victoria Drive between West Nineteenth Street and West Santa
<br />Clara Avenue. The homes were quite grand and displayed various revival styles, including Russell's own large, Colonial
<br />Revival mansion at 2009 Victoria Drive. In the early post-World War 1/ years, Floral Park continued its development as
<br />numerous smaller, single-family houses were built. Continuing in the Floral Park tradition, they were mostly revival in style.
<br />In the 1950s, low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2007), Floral Park maintains
<br />its identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
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<br />The Matthews House lies in the norlhern section of Floral Park historically known as Norlh Broadway Park. Bounded by
<br />Riverside Drive, Santa Clara Avenue, Norlh Broadway, and Norlh Flower Street, Norlh Broadway Park, subdivided in 1923,
<br />has been determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The Keeper of the National Register found
<br />that "Norlh Broadway Park reflects the City Beautiful planning movement in Southern California during the early twentieth
<br />century. The vernacular adaptations of periOd revival styles, curvilinear street patterns, street furniture, and landscape
<br />combine to create a cohesive and pleasant middle class suburban neighborhood environment which is unique in the early
<br />historical development of the city of Santa Ana. ,,1 Under the regulations implementing the California Register of Historical
<br />Resources, the Matthews House, which is a contributor to the National Register district, has been listed in the California
<br />Register.
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<br />The Matthews House also qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properlies under Criterion 1 for its
<br />exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the Colonial Revival style. Typical features of this style illustrated by
<br />the house include its balanced composition and symmetry; gabled roof and dormers; architectural palette of horizontal wood
<br />cladding, wooden shutters, and brick; classical trim; and fenestration with six-over-six double-hung sash windows.
<br />Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Key" because it "has a distinctive architectural style and quality" as an
<br />example of the late Colonial Revival style in the Floral Park neighborhood. Character-defining exterior features of the
<br />Matthews House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to, materials and finishes (wood and brick); roof
<br />configuration and detailing; original windows and doors where extant; attached chimney; primary entry; and architectural
<br />details such as the entry surround and reveals, dormer pediments, and decorative shutters.
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<br />I Determination of Eligibility, February 25, 1980.
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<br />DPR 523L
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