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<br /> 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) Neff House
<br /> "Recorded by Hally Soboleske `Date September 9, 2010 IM Continuation ? Update
<br /> *B10. Significance (continued):
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<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 Neff House is 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. 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 /> 19306 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 El Toro Marine Base during World War 11, 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 11 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.
<br /> The Neff House qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its exemplification
<br /> of the distinguishing characteristics of the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Additionally, the house has been categorized as
<br /> "Contributive" because it contributes to the overall character and history" of Santa Ana, and, as an intact example of the
<br /> Spanish Colonial Revival style in the Floral Park neighborhood, "is a good example of period architecture", as well as its
<br /> association with Paul W. Neff, long term owner and reporter/editor for the Santa Ana Daily Evening Register, a precursor to
<br /> the Orange County Register located in Santa Ana. Character-defining exterior features of the Neff House that should be
<br /> preserved include, but may not be limited to, smooth stucco exterior cladding, original windows where extant, front door, and
<br /> front porch configuration.
<br /> *B12. References (continued):
<br /> Hams, 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 /> Whiffen, Marcus. American Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969,
<br /> "Washington Square: A Neighborhood with Pride." Washington Square Neighborhood Association, no date.
<br /> Santa Ana and Orange County Directories, 1924-1935.
<br /> OPR 523L Page 4 of 4
<br /> 25E-10
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