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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) Rowell House
<br />"Recorded by Deborah Howell-Ardila and Laura Carias *Date October 20, 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 Rowell House is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by East
<br />Seventeenth Street, North 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 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 County 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 and Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial Revival.
<br />The Allison Honer Construction Company went on fo complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco styled Old Santa
<br />Ana City Hall, the EI Toro Marine Base during Worid War ll, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza: Honer lived in the
<br />neighborhood he had helped to 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 its
<br />identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The Rowell House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 as an example of
<br />the English Revival style. Typical features of this style illustrated by the house include its asymmetrical design composition;
<br />combination of stucco cladding with sparse ornament; shingle roof with rolled edges; pointed and arched windows and
<br />transom lights; and its overall emphasis on vertical features. Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Contributive"
<br />because it `contributes to the overall character and history" of Santa Ana, and, as an example of the English Revival style `is
<br />a good example of period architecture." Character-defining exterior features of the Rowell House that should be preserved
<br />include, but may not be limited to, materials and finishes (smooth stucco finish and wood); roof configuration and detailing;
<br />original windows and doors where extant' architectural details such as the rounded gables with rolled edges.
<br />*612. References (continued):
<br />Harris, Cyril M. American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York, WW Norton, 1998.
<br />Marsh, Diann. Santa Ana. An Illustrated History. Encinitas, Heritage Publishing, 1994.
<br />McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to 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 Dept. of the Interior, 1991.
<br />Office of Historic Preservation. `Instructions for Recording Historical Resources." Sacramento: March 1995.
<br />Whitten, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969.
<br />Armor, Samuel. History of Orange County. Los Angeles: History Record Company, 1921.
<br />Franklin, Don. `IVW Santa Ana History: Roy Russell & Son, Builders." Unsourced article from the Santa Ana History Room
<br />Historic House File, circa 1995.
<br />Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1930-1965.
<br />DPR 523E ~ Yd$e.~ f 4~
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