25D - AGMT - HISTORIC PROPERTY - 102 W 4TH ST

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® Building ❑ Structure ❑ Object MOVED? ® No ❑ Yes ❑ Unknown ❑ site Date: ❑ District ® Element of District ❑ Other Original Location: 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. Early growth and development was stimulated by the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1878 and the Santa Fe Railroad in 1886. By the end of the 1980s, Santa Ana's downtown business district was defined by five city blocks of brick commercial buildings on Fourth Street, with the heart of the city at the intersection of Fourth and Main Streets (Thomas, 8:1). The period of 1911 -1915 saw many characteristic new business blocks or remodels along Fourth Street, and by the 1920s Santa Ana's downtown had expanded in each direction to include both commercial and civic development. Growth in the 1920s included new contraction as well as the remodeling of older buildings. Santa Ana was the professional center of Orange County in the 19208 as prominent lawyers and doctors located in equally prominent new buildings such as the First National Bank Building. Due to the extraordinary integrity of the First National Bank Building, all features of the exterior, except recently added signage, should be considered to be character - defining and should be preserved, including (but not limited to): all exterior finishes including terracotta and glazing; vertical and horizontal divisions and their articulation through piers, belteourses, etc.; all fenestration; and the decorative overhanging comice. The First National Batik Building is significant as Santa Ana's first steel framed, terracotta clad "high rise" building in downtown. Designed by highly influential architects John Parkinson of Los Angeles and Eugene Durfee of Anaheim in 1923, the building remains essentially unchanged in exterior appearance from the time of its construction. It is also significant as the most intact and most ambitious example of Italian Renaissance Revival commercial architecture in Santa Ana. SUMMARVICONCLUSION: This building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as a contributor to the Downtown Historic District. Under the regulations implementing the California Register of Historical Resources, the building is also listed in the California Register. As an archetypal example of the Italian Renaissance Revival styling that characterized the development of major urban centers in the 1920s, which moreover was designed by a master of the oeuvre, the First National Bank Building satisfies several of the criteria for inclusion in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Property, including Criteria 1 through 4. It has been categorized as "Landmark" because the building "has historicallcultural significance to the City of Santa Ana' and has "unique architectural significance" (Municipal Code Section 30- 2.2(l)). In addition, the property also appears to be eligible for individual listing in the National Register. OWNER AND ADDRESS: TOPA Financial Corporation 1800 Avenue of the Stars CA 90067 cm'hixpvicacmplma�Fonrth 102 W I I' NW I annk) 9 *01 Page 3 of 4 25D -8