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State of California -The Resources Agency Primary #
<br /> DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION iiRl #
<br /> CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
<br /> Page 3 of 4 Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) J. C Smith House
<br /> 'Recorded by Holly Soboleske 'Date August 22, 2009 ®Continuation D Update
<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 cone of the community was centeried 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 outwarols, 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 J. C. Smith House is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by West
<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. Developerand builder Allison Honer (1897-1981),
<br /> coedited 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 /> Flora! Park homes were the most lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each" (Orange County
<br /> Re ister 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 Nom?an, 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 HaU, the EI Toro Marine Base during World War Il, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in the
<br /> neighborhood he had helped create, at 615 West Santa Clara Avenue.
<br /> !n the late 1920s and 1930s, another builder, Roy Roscoe Russel! (1881-1965), continued developing the groves of Floral
<br /> Parts. 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 eariy post World War I! years, Floral Park continued its development as
<br /> numerous smaller, single-family houses were built Continuing in the Flora! Park tradition, they were mostly revival in style.
<br /> In the f 950s, low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Parl. Today (2007), Floral Park maintains
<br /> its identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many afi9uent and prominent citizens.
<br /> The J. C. Smith House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its
<br /> exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of both the Tudor Revival style. Typical features of the Tudor Revival
<br /> style illustrated by the house include its asymmetrical but balanced composition; exposed beams, steeply pitched roof and
<br /> smooth stucco finish. Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Contributive" because it "contributes to the overall
<br /> character and history" of Santa Ana, and, as an intact example of the combination of the Tudor Revival style in the Flora!
<br /> Park neighborhood, is a good example of period architecture. ° Character{fefining exterior features of the J. C. Smith House
<br /> that should be preserved include, but may not be limited to, materials and finishes (stucco and beams); roof configuration and
<br /> detailing,' original windows where extant; chimney,' and architectural details such as wood tripafite windows, ba 'actions
<br /> Y Prol
<br /> and brick details. '
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<br /> DPR 523E Page 4 of 5
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