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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) Maharajah House
<br />*Recorded by Leslie J. Heurnann, SAIC *Date May 25, 2003 El Continuation ❑ Update
<br />*B10. Significance (continued):
<br />Even before the house was constructed, Yeshwant Rao Holkar, the Maharajah, had captured the public imagination.
<br />Educated at Oxford, the Maharajah had been traveling in the United States in 1936, had taken ill in Los Angeles, and had
<br />been nursed by Marguerite Lawler Branyan, an American divorcee. They married in 1938, following the death of the
<br />Maharajah's first wife in 1937. In search of a safe haven prior to the beginning of World War II, the Maharajah decided to
<br />settle his young daughter, Princess Usha, and his new wife in Santa Ana. The large home, 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 property at 615
<br />West Santa Clara Avenue, were to build a modern, but not too severe refuge. Lavishly appointed, the house contained, in
<br />1986 when it was the International Society of Interior Designers Orange County Chapter Design House: three bedroom
<br />suites, eight bathrooms, four fireplaces, a grand foyer, spacious living room, formal dining room, library, solarium, kitchen,
<br />butler's pantry, pool house (added later), servants' 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 his favor in 1926. The 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. The Maharajah married again, to another American, who bore him four children
<br />including a male heir, but Princess Usha, as the only offspring born of an Indian woman, succeeded her father 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 Holkar's hereditary 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 West
<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
<br />parcel chosen became the Floral Park subdivision between Seventeenth Street and Santiago Creek. "When built in the
<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 15, 1981). Revival architecture in a wide variety of romantic styles was celebrated in the 1920s
<br />and 1930s and Floral Park showcased examples of the English Tudor, French Norman, Spanish Colonial, and Colonial
<br />Revival. The Allison Honer Construction Company went on to complete such notable projects as the 1935 All Deco styled
<br />Old Santa Ana City Hall, the El Toro Marine Base during World War II, and the 1960 Honer Shopping Plaza. Honer lived in
<br />the 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 (2003) Floral Park maintains
<br />its identity as the premier neighborhood of Santa Ana, historically home to many affluent 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. It also qualifies for listing in the Santa Ana Register of Historical Properties under Criterion 1 for its
<br />exemplification of the Art Moderne variant of the Moderns, style and under Criterion 4b for its 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 corner casement windows, and its fortress -like quality. The house also contributes to the
<br />historic character of the Floral Park neighborhood through 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 All Moderns variant of the Moderne style and its historic /cultural significance to City as the "castle" of a
<br />sitting ruler. All original exterior features of the Maharajah House are considered character defining and should be
<br />preserved. These features include, but may not be limited to: materials and finishes (stucco, wrought iron); roof
<br />configuration, materials, and treatment, massing and composition; entry, doors and windows; terraces and walled gardens,
<br />architectural 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 />DPR 523L
<br />25A -207
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