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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 4 Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) Petersen House
<br />'Kecortletl by Leslie J. Neumann and Deborah Howell-Ardila *Date September 15, 2008 O Continuation ^ Update
<br />*
<br />*610. 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 Petersen House is located in Fisher Park, a neighborhood north of West Floral Park and bounded by Sharon Road (west
<br />of North Flower Street) and Memory Lane (east of North Flower Street) on the north, Interstate 5 on the east, Santiago Creek
<br />(west of North Flower Street) and Park Lane (east of North Flower Street) on the south, and Bristol Street on the west. The
<br />neighborhood takes its name from Jacob (Jack) Fisher. Bom in Yakima, Washington, Fisher moved to Santa Ana with his
<br />parents and sister in the early twentieth century. In April 1917, upon the United States' entry into World War 1, Fisher enlisted
<br />in the US Army when he was 18 years old. Assigned to Company L, Seventh California Regiment, Fisher latered advanced
<br />to the level of corporal in the 58<h Infantry of Company D. During his service in World War 1, Fisher received several high-
<br />level honors for his service in France, including a Purple Heart, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, and the Medaille Militaire,
<br />France's highest military recognition. After surviving the battles of Argonne Forest and Verdun, Fisher's final battle was
<br />fought in Argonne, from which he emerged with grave injuries. In 1919, Fisher returned to the United States for a period of
<br />convalescence. During his recuperation of the military hospital in San Francisco, Fisher studied art and cartoon illustration,
<br />which he developed into a career as a cartoonist for the San Francisco Examiner and, later, Santa Ana Register upon his
<br />return to Santa Ana in 1927. A decorated veteran with awards from Italy, Belgium, Britain, France, and the United Sfafes,
<br />Fisher was instrumental in the formation of the Santa Ana Chapter of the Disabled American Veterans. After Fisher's death
<br />at the age of 30, in March 1929, the Chapter of Disabled American Veterans he helped form took his name as the Jack
<br />Fisher Post, Chapter of Disabled American Veterans. On August 23, 1933, construction was completed on a park north of
<br />Santiago Creek on North Flower Sfreef and dedicated as the Jack Fisher Memorial Park.
<br />Prior to its residential development, Fisher Park formed Lots 56, 8 and 9 of the Potts, Borden and Sidwell Tract, subdivided in
<br />1881. Current-day Interstate 5 conforms fo the prominent diagonal swath cut by the Southern Pacific Railroad line, which
<br />was established in Santa Ana in the late 1870s and still forms the eastern border of the Fisher Park neighborhood. With the
<br />exception of the Southern Pacific Railroad line, the area remained agricultural through much of the first half of the twentieth
<br />century, with walnut groves and orchards dotting the landscape. In November 1947, residential development arrived when a
<br />narrow strip was cleared, graded, and subdivided into 25 lots offered as Tract No. 1160, `River Lane Tract,"on which
<br />present-day Sharon Road appeared as River Lane. Mirroring the curve of Santiago Creek to the south, the streets displayed
<br />a curvilinear layout with lots ranging in size from 70 to 130 feet long, 140 to 190 deep. Three years later, in August 1950,
<br />another curvilinear subdivision appeared east of Flower Street, with smaller lots, averaging 60 feet by 90 feet, arranged
<br />around a curvilinear pattern with cul de sacs. An outgrowth of earlier City Beautiful and Garden City models, this curvilinear
<br />layout reflected neighborhood planning preferences codified in the 1930s by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA),
<br />which regulated and financed the increase in home ownership through its mortgage lending and insurance programs. During
<br />the post-WWII housing expansion in the United States, the FHA-endorsed model for city planning as reflected in the
<br />neighborhood of Fisher Park "set the standards for the design of post-World War ll subdivisions." (National Register Bulletin.
<br />Historic Residential Suburbs. p. 49).
<br />Construction quickly transformed the neighborhood from agricultural to residential. A 1947 aerial photograph taken a few
<br />months before creation of the River Lane Tract shows the area dominated by groves of trees. By 1955, nearly all the lots of
<br />both tracts had been improved with single-family residences with uniform setbacks, mostly in the Ranch House style popular
<br />in the 1950s and 1960s, in a configuration and unity of design still reflected there today (2008).
<br />The Petersen House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for ifs
<br />exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the Wood Variant of the Mid-Century Modern style. Typical features of
<br />this style illustrated by the house include its asymmetrical but rhythmic composition; indoor-outdoor integration provided by
<br />expansive use of windows and clerestory lights in front and back elevations; modular, post-and-beam construction,
<br />expressed in wood; subtly sloped roof terminating in wide overhanging eaves and canopies around the main residence and
<br />garage; thin strips of vertical wood siding as cladding material; in-fill panels of glazing extending to the roof line; lack of
<br />hisforicizing ornament. Additionally, the house has been categorized as `Key" because it `has a distinctive architectural style
<br />and quality" as an uncommon example of the Mid-Century Modern style in Santa Ana (Municipal Code, Section 30-2.2).
<br />Character-defrning exterior features of the Petersen House that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to,
<br />materials and finishes (thin strips of vertical wood siding and large glass panes); roof configuration and detailing; original
<br />windows and doors where extant; attached cement chimney,' and architectural details such as the thin poles set at 45 degree
<br />angles on the garage canopy and wood slat screen fence.
<br />DPR 523E ~ ~ Ct~ 4~ 5
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