Laserfiche WebLink
CONSTRUCTION HISTORY: (Construction data, alterations, and date of alterations) <br />Built in 1923 (John Parkinson and Eugene Durfee, architects) <br />RELATED FEATURES: (Other important features such as barns, sheds, fences, prominent or unusual trees, or landscape) <br />None. <br />(Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, settings, and <br />boundaries.) <br />This six story Italian Renaissance Revival commercial building was Santa Ana's first steel- framed, terra cotta -clad building, and was <br />constructed in 1923. The one -time bank is sited prominently on the southwest comer of West Fourth and Main Streets, and is one of <br />the most articulated buildings in downtown Santa Ana. Variations in treatment separate the building horizontally into a one -story <br />base, four -story shaft, and one -story cap and vertically into five bays on the north and seven bays on the east. The terracotta cladding <br />is rusticated, giving the appearance of large blocks of stone. On the ground floor, arched openings in each bay spring from a simple <br />concrete bulkhead. The metal -framed windows include art glass in the semi - circular window heads. The entry in the central bay on <br />the north facade and the entry in the penultimate south bay on the east elevation are marked by doors flanked by two fluted Corinthian <br />columns carrying pedimented entablatures. Cartouche motifs embellish the keystones of the comer arches and the entry doors. The <br />four -story shaft has one- over -one double hung wood framed windows with transoms in the end bays, and tripartite windows with <br />transoms in the middle bays. The central bays are slightly recessed from the face of the building, and there are decorative spandrels <br />between floors in the middle bays. The one story "capital" of the building is marked by a prominent molding course resting on <br />decorative scrolled brackets. The windows consist of one - over -one double hung windows paired at the comers, and sets of three <br />elongated windows in the middle bays. The intact entablature and cornice includes a simple frieze, a dentil course, and a broad <br />overhanging cave with bed molding and cornice detail. Other than relatively non - intrusive signage, the design of the building appears <br />virtually intact. <br />HISTORIC HIGHLIGHTS: <br />The Fist National Bank Building was designed by architects John Parkinson of Los Angeles and Eugene Durfee of Anaheim in 1923 <br />(Thomas, 7:9). John Parkinson, one of the most distinguished and prolific architects to practice in southern California during the first <br />few decades of the 20ib century, is known for his designs, many in partnership with his son Donald, for numerous Renaissance <br />Revival commercial buildings in Los Angeles, the Art Deco Bullocks Wilshire, and the Spanish Colonial Revival /Art Deco Union <br />Station, also in Los Angeles. <br />This building is essentially unaltered in exterior appearance from the time of its construction. The First National Bank moved to this <br />location from die northwest comer of Fourth and Main Streets. The Bank was run by A.J. Crookshank, President, and F.E. <br />Farnsworth, Vice President. <br />(List attributes and codes from Appendix 4 of Instructions for Recording Historical Resources, <br />Office of Historic Preservation.) <br />(HP 7) 3+ story commercial building <br />cmNisumaiempineslrvrunh 102 W4 NN9 B.A) <br />P+xN I <br />Page 2 of 4 <br />25D -7 <br />