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State of California-The Resources Agency Primary #
<br />DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRi #
<br />CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial
<br />Paae 3 of 4 Resource Name or # fAssiarted by recnrdPrl M»h»raiah Nnrrce
<br />;Recorded by Leslie J. Neumann, SAlC "Date May 25, 2003 D Conlin~ation ^ Update
<br />*B90. Significance (continued):
<br />Even before the house was constructed, Yeshwant Rao Holkar, the Maharajah, had captured fha pub!!c imaglnafion.
<br />Educated at Oxford, the Maharajah had been traveling in the United States in 7935, had fakers ill in Los Angeles, and had
<br />been nursed by Marguerite Lawler 6ranyan, an American divorces. They married in 1938, following the death of the
<br />Maharajah's first wife !n 1937. !n search of a safe haven prior to the beginning of World War !!, the Maharajah decided to
<br />settle his young daughter, Princess Usha, and his new wife in Santa Ana. The large name, one of several owned by the
<br />Maharajah, was protected by high walls and by interior and exterior gates. According to one account, the Maharajah`s
<br />instructions to Allison Honer, the prominent Orange County builder who lived across the street from the properly at 615
<br />West Santa Clara Avenue, were to build a modern, but riot Tao severe refuge. Lavishly appoinfed, fha house contained, in
<br />i98fi when it was the Intamationa! Socisfy of Interior Designers Orange County Chapter Design House: Three bedroom
<br />suites, eight bathrooms, four fireplaces, a grand foyer, spacious living room, forma! dining mom, library, solarium, kitchen,
<br />bufler's pantry, pool house {added later), seroanfs' and guards' quarters, and an attached garage.
<br />Said to be a progressive ruler who instituted many reforms, the Maharajah had governed Indore since the abdication of his
<br />father in h!s favor in 1928. Ths Maharajah and his American Maharani returned to India following an only one-year
<br />residence in the house, leaving Princess Usha in the care of a governess in Santa Ana, where she continued to attend
<br />public schools. The pair divorced in 1943. Tha Maharajah married again, to anotherAmerican, who bore him four children
<br />including a male heir, but Princess Usha, as the only offspring born of an Indian woman, succeeded her fafher as ruler in
<br />1961 following the death of her father. Marguerite, who also remarried, remained in the house until 1952. As of 1994,
<br />according to one account (Marsh), Princess Usha occupied one of the Holka['s heredifary palaces in India, although, other
<br />information (°Indore: The Holkar Dynasty"} indicates that she was stripped of her rank and titles by the Indian state in 1970
<br />The Maharajah House is located in Floral Park, a neighborhood northwest of downtown Santa Ana bounded by Wast
<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 t3eaver Falls,
<br />New York in 1922 (Talbert, pages 353-356}. Before nightfall an the day of his amval, Mr. Honer purchased a parcel of land.
<br />And that month, he began building cusfom homes in Santa Ana" (Oran e Counf Re ister September 15, 1981). Tha
<br />parcel chosen became the Floral Park subdivisfon between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. "When built in fha
<br />1920s, the Floral Park homes were the most Lavish and expensive in the area. They sold for about $45,000 each" (Orange
<br />County Register. September i5, 1981}. Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the i920s
<br />acrd 1930s and Flora! Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial
<br />Revival. The Allison HonerCanstruction Company went on fo complete such notable projects as the 1935 Art Deco styled
<br />Old Santa Ana City Hall, the E! Toro Marine Base during World Wart!, and the 1980 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in
<br />the neighborhood he had helped to create, at 1315 West Santa Clara Avenue.
<br />In the late 1920s and 1930s, another builder, Roy Roscoe Russell (1881-1965), continued developing the groves of Flora!
<br />Park. An early Russell project was Iris 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. !n the early post World War 1I years, Floral Park continued ifs development as
<br />numerous, smaller, single-family houses were built. Continuing in the Floral Park tradition, they were mostly revive! in style.
<br />In the 1950s, low, horizontal Ranch Style houses completed the growth of Floral Park. Today (2003) Floral Park maintains
<br />ifs identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many alflusnt and prominent citizens.
<br />The Maharajah House appears eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of
<br />Historical Resources. !f also quaGfias for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for i!s
<br />exemplification of the Art Modems variant of the Moderne style and under Criterion 4b for ifs association with a foreign ruling
<br />family, the Holkars of Indore, India. Architecturally, the house is distinguished by its scale, massing, horizontal lines, use of
<br />characteristic features such as comer casement windows, and its fortress-like quality The house also contributes to the
<br />historc character of the Flora! Park neighborhood fhrough its age, style, scale, and historic associations with prominent
<br />residents. Additionally, the house has been categorized as "Landmark" for its unique architectural significance as an
<br />example of the Art Moderne variant of the Moderne style and its historicJcultural signifcance to City as the castle" of a
<br />sifting ruler. Afl original exterior features of the Maharajah House are considered character defining and should be
<br />preserved. These features include, but may not be limited fo: materials and finishes (stucco, wrought ironj; roof
<br />conflguratian, materials, and treatment; massing and composition; entry, doors and windows; terraces and walled gardens;
<br />architecture! detailing (banding, window grilles, canopies, entry surround}; chimneys and fireplaces; attached garage;
<br />original landscaping; and any original interior materials, spaces, finishes, and furnishings.
<br />DFR 623E
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