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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) Walker House
<br />--McGUMOU Dy "ally 0oDOresKe
<br />*B10. Significance (continued):
<br />'Date Qctober 4, 2012 0 Continuation 0 Update
<br />The Walker 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 to complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco styled Old Santa
<br />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 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 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 Its
<br />identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent and prominent citizens.
<br />The Walker House also qualifies for listing In the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its
<br />exemplification of the distinguishing characteristics of the Spanish Colonial Revival style. Typical features of this style
<br />illustrated by the house include the signature combination of stucco walls with a red tile roof, faux recessed entry and
<br />casement windows, horizontal massing suggestive of a hacienda; asymmetrical composition; and wood-trimmed eaves.
<br />Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Key" because it "has a distinctive and unique style of architecture"
<br />Character-defining exterior features of the Walker House that should be preserved Include, but may not be limited to,
<br />materials and finishes (stucco, wood, wrought Iron, and red tiles), asymmetrical treatment of elements on the fagade; roof
<br />configuration and detailing, original windows and doors where extant; stepped chimney, architectural details such as the door
<br />surrounds and shutters. Other distinctive and character defining features include a porthole window above the front door with
<br />wrought Iron ornamentation.
<br />DPR 523L Page 4 of 5
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