25F - AGMT - HPPA - 321 E EIGHTH ST

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STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, geographic scope, and integrity.) Santa Ana was founded by William Spurgeon in 1869 as a speculative townsite on part of the Spanish land grant known as Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. In 1877, Spurgeon, along with James McFadden and James Fruit, formed the Western Development Company with the intention of bringing the Southern Pacific Railroad from its then terminus in Anaheim into Santa Ana. Thinking to capitalize on commercial growth around the railroad, the partners purchased 160 acres adjacent to the eastern city boundary at French Street. Although they were successful in luring the Southern Pacific to a new depot on Fruit Street in Santa Ana in 1878, the expected commercial development of "Santa Ana East" never materialized. Early growth and development of the town continued to be centered further west around Fourth and Main Streets, with the result that the legacy of Santa Ana East is an angled street plan whose intersection with the original city is marked by a small, triangular parcel, developed in the 1890s as a small park, now known as French Park. Santa Ana continued to grow, stimulated by the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1886. Following its incorporation as a city in 1886, Santa Ana was recognized as one of the leading communities in the area in 1889 when it became the seat of the newly created county of Orange. Beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the twentieth century, the area around the park began to be developed with many of the finest homes in Santa Ana. Examples of Victorian era, turn of the century, and Craftsman homes were built along the tree-lined streets. By the 1920s, most streets in the neighborhood were fully developed, although a few revival styled single-family homes and duplexes were built during the 1920s, and a handful of apartments constructed in the 1930s. From the nineteenth century onwards, residents were a "Who's Who" of early Santa Ana and included bankers, attorneys, doctors, businessmen, ranchers, teachers and others active in the civic and social life of the city. Once known as the "Nob Hill" of Santa Ana, French Park declined in the 1940s and 1950s as some homes were converted into rooming houses and others were allowed to deteriorate. In the 1960s and 1970s some houses were demolished and the properties redeveloped with multi-family housing. However, a grass roots preservation effort begun in the late 1970s led to the establishment of a local historic district in 1984 and the listing of the neighborhood in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. One of the activities undertaken in support of the historic district has been the relocation of several historic homes slated for demolition into French Park. The Chilton House is a case in point, moved from Sixth Street to Eighth Street in 1986. The property is architecturally significant as a remarkably intact and highly characteristic example of the Italianate style dating to the mid 1880s "boom" period. It is also noteworthy for its association with a prominent early resident, Robert Chilton, and for its contribution to the historic character of the French Park district. All original and restored exterior features of the Chilton House are considered to be character defining and should be preserved. These features include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (shiplap siding, shingling); roof configuration and detailing; porch configuration and treatment; bays; windows and doors; and architectural detailing such as brackets, bargeboards, frieze, columns, etc. SUMMARY/CONCLUSION: The Chilton House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 as a contributor to the French Park Historic District Under the regulations implementing the California Register of Historical Resources, the building is also listed in the California Register. Included in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property, the Chilton House has been categorized as "Landmark" because it "is on the national register," "is on the state register," "has historical/cultural significance to the City of Santa Ana," for its association with prominent early resident Robert Chilton, and it "has a unique architectural significance" as an intact example of Italianate residential design (Municipal Code, Section 30-2.2). OWNER AND ADDRESS: Page 3 of 4 cm\histonc\templates\Eighth E 321 (Chilton House) 12/20/01 25F-11