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State of California-The Resources Agency Primary #
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI #
<br />CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
<br />Page 3 of 3 Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Rohrbacher House
<br />rcecoraea oy ~es~~e ~. rreumann and Deborah Howell-Ardila 'Date September 15, 2008 ~ Continuation ^ Update
<br />"B10. Significance (continued):
<br />Santa Ana was founded by William Spurgeon in 1869 as a speculative town site on part 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 Fourth 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 north, 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.
<br />The Rohrbacher House is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by West
<br />Seventeenth Street, North Flower Sfreef, 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 portion of northwest Santa Ana, arrived in Santa Ana from Beaver Falls,
<br />New York in 1922 (Talbert, 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" (Orange Countv Register. 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" (Orange County
<br />Register, 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 Art Deco-styled Old
<br />Santa Ana City Hall, the EI Toro Marine Base during World War ll, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the
<br />neighborhood he had helped create, at 615 West Santa Clara Avenue.
<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 ll 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 (2008), Floral Park maintains
<br />its identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The Rohrbacher House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its
<br />exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the Colonial Revival Variant of Ranch House style. Typical features of
<br />this style illustrated by the house include its asymmetrical composition and low-slung horizontality,~ extended plan with
<br />flanking wings of varying roof heights; attached garage capped with hip roof and faux dove cotes; generous use of multipane,
<br />wood-framed picture and casement windows; decorative detailing such as window shutters and elaborated entry with side
<br />lights and post porch supports; covered walkway with wood screen connecting garage and residence. Additionally, the house
<br />has been categorized as "Contributive" because it `contributes to the overall character and history" of Santa Ana, and, as an
<br />intact example of the Colonial Revival Variant of the Ranch House style in the Floral Park neighborhood, `5s a good example
<br />of period architecture." Character-dettning exterior features of the Rohrbacher House that should be preserved include, but
<br />may not be limited to, materials and finishes (horizontal and board-and-batten siding); roof configuration and detailing;
<br />original windows and doors where extant,' attached chimney; and architectural details such as the decorative shutters, and
<br />faux dove cote, and eave brackets with finials.
<br />B12. References (continued):
<br />Armor, Samuel. History of Orange Countv. Los Angeles: History Record Company, 1921.
<br />Cultural Heritage Commission, City of Santa Ana. `Historical Landmarks, Inventory Form, Bowers Museum,"September 12,
<br />1979. Available at the Santa Ana Public Library History Room.
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, WW Norton, 1998.
<br />Marsh, Diann. Santa Ana. An Illustrated Hisfory. Encinitas, Heritage Publishing, 1994.
<br />McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide fo American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984.
<br />National Register Bulletin 16A. `How to Complete the National Register Registration Form." Washington DC: National
<br />Register Branch, National Park Service, US Depf. of the Interior, 1991.
<br />Office of Historic Preservation. "Instructions for Recording Historical Resources." Sacramento: March 1995.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1932-1954.
<br />Whitten, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />`Alison Honer Dies at 84,"The Santa Ana Journal September 21, 1981.
<br />`Builder of Honer Plaza Dies," Orange Countv Register. September 15, 1981.
<br />`History of Floral Park." http://www.floral-park com/pa4e2 html.
<br />`Rohrbacher Rites Friday," Santa Ana Register. April 4, 1974.
<br />DPR 523E ~ C~ n-4
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